Far from groundbreaking, but undeniably fascinating and sadly enjoyable.
Hollywood dreams are turned inside out in this tragic collection of some of the most disastrous film productions in cinematic history.
The casualty list of the dead and broken is horrifying, and some of the true-life tales are staggering in their sheer level of insanity. Included in Taylor’s rogues’ gallery of misbegotten movies are big-budget Hollywood entries like The Crow, Waterworld and The Abyss, but lesser-known forays into the dark side of film production—e.g., the mind-boggling North Korean monster flick Pulgasari and the unbelievable Werner Herzog–directed Fitzcarraldo—are no less astounding. The author doesn’t offer new revelations about how or why any of these failed projects were allowed to wander so far astray, but his cold, flat approach still packs a wallop. If nothing else, a few inchoate film students might be discouraged from yelling “action” before they’re ready. The sweeping allusions made at the head of each chapter to such disparate figures as disgraced journalist Stephen Glass and Romanian despot Nicolae Ceausescu are something of a stretch. However, they do provide at least some perspective on the collected calamities and lend an appropriate amount of gravitas to the epic nature of the cinematic failures that follow. Believe it or not, knowing something about the housing-market collapse really does make the decision to greenlight a seasick saga about a post-apocalyptic Planet Earth a little easier to grasp. Ultimately, picking through this much celluloid wreckage is a sorry business, especially for those who view movies as a refuge from the cruelties and injustices of the world.
Far from groundbreaking, but undeniably fascinating and sadly enjoyable.Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59020-188-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Overlook
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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