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SEDUCTIVE CINEMA

Name: SEDUCTIVE CINEMA
Author: James Card
ISBN: 0-394-57218-1

THE ART OF SILENT FILM

by James Card ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 31, 1994

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An uneven but often delightful tribute to the world of predialogue films. Pioneer film collector Card, founder of the Eastman film archive and the Telluride and Montreal film festivals, may be the leading authority on his subject. This revisionist history of silent film, though erratic, is studded with moments of insight and critical understanding. Card calls attention to hundreds of important silents, many overlooked—in part due to the Museum of Modern Art's hegemony over the legacy of early American film. Card has rescued thousands of rare works from oblivion and worked to bring attention to those who produced them. Here he sheds light on the work of directors John Collins, Monta Bell, and Marshall Niehlan; debunks critical overestimation of the contributions of Edison, Eastman, Von Stroheim, and Griffith; and demands reappraisal of neglected work by Cecil B. DeMille and others. His take on the issues is striking: how critics can miss the boat when they see films just once; the undetected influences of filmmakers on one another, such as that of King Vidor on Italian neo-realists; how overemphasis on cinema's auteurs leaves many contributors to great films unappreciated; and how discoveries of early cinematic wonders from Japan, Russia, and elsewhere compel revision of film history. From such acute concerns Card sails into long chapters detailing the careers of favorite stars; here far less critical rigor prevails. He reserves a chapter for an out-of-hand dismissal of semiotics, never really locking horns with the subject. Still, the book's best moments demand reckoning with, and Card's is the beckoning tone of the true addict; his history makes us itch with desire to see the films he describes. Despite its uneven qualities, Seductive Cinema will prove a field day for aficionados and an education for those who remain unaware of early cinema's glories.

Pub Date: May 31, 1994

ISBN: 0-394-57218-1

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1994

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.