THE BEST AMERICAN MOVIE WRITING 1999

Name: THE BEST AMERICAN MOVIE WRITING 1999
Author: Peter Bogdanovich
ISBN: 0-312-24493-2

edited by Peter Bogdanovich ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

With confident writing, opinions infused with knowledge, and expressions of sheer ecstasy about the move-going experience,...

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The second annual volume in this series is an outstanding collection of essays that takes both movies and writing seriously.

Compiled from an assortment of mass-market magazines and specialty film journals, the essays range widely over a spectrum of film topics. The best are the personal pieces, such as Gore Vidal’s on firing Frank Capra from directing The Best Man and William Zinsser’s about being an extra in Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories. Only a few of the pieces concentrate on modern film topics, such as Mia Mask’s take on Eve’s Bayou and African-American film, and Chris Chang’s essay on the cruelty of Todd Solondz’s work. The rest of the essays, all 22 of them, share a deep dissatisfaction with today’s movies and a corollary nostalgia for movies past. The view comes from established critics Andrew Sarris, Molly Haskell, David Denby, Roger Ebert, Jonathan Rosenbaum, and Terrence Rafferty and it comes from filmmakers Martin Scorsese, James Mangold, and Steven Spielberg. Editor Bogdanovich sets the tone in his introduction, which harks back to a day when writing about moves could actually change the way movies were made for the better. The side jibe is that most writing about movies today is as worthless as the films that are produced. Bogdanovich says it’s all about money now and not at all about art. That is why he selected serious essays and none of the actor profiles or quickie question-and-answer sessions that fill the newsstands. While so much protest can border on whining – and what a common whine it is to complain that things aren’t as good as they used to be – this volume is much more a celebration of the good stuff than a rant on what has been lost since the 1970s.

With confident writing, opinions infused with knowledge, and expressions of sheer ecstasy about the move-going experience, this volume is a joy to read.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-312-24493-2

Page Count: 240

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
WHO THE HELL’S IN IT
by Peter Bogdanovich

- BOOK REVIEW
WHO THE DEVIL MADE IT
by Peter Bogdanovich

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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.