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Theatre Cinema Bookshelf from the Midwest Book Review |
Monthly theatre and film book selections from Midwest Book Review.
THE THEATRE/CINEMA SHELF
Sitcoms: The 101 Great TV Comedies of All
Ken Bloom & Frank Vlastnik
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
151 West 19th Street, New York NY 10011
97815679127527, $29.95 www.blackdogandleventhal.com
Any general-interest library strong in TV history and culture needs SITCOMS, a visual and verbal review of the top 100 shows over TV's 60-year history. Each show receives color and black and white photos, cast coverage, sidebars of off-the-set information and actor/actress profiles, and more. It's an outstanding coverage of some of the highlights and best of TV's sitcom shows over the decades.
Gem of the Ocean
August Wilson
Theatre Communications Group
520 Eighth Avenue, 24th floor, New York, NY 10018-4156
9781559362801, $13.95 www.amazon.com
Broadway theater playwright August Wilson presents Gem of the Ocean, the first play in a ten-play cycle about the African-American experience during the modern twentieth century. Set in 1904 Pittsburgh, Gem of the Ocean follows a long-lived, fierce-willed matriarch and the two men she welcomed into her Hill District home: Solly Two Kings, who was born into slavery and served the Union Army in the Civil War, and Citizen Barlow, a man from Alabama seeking a better life. A richly textured exploration of the challenges faced in adapting to a new environment, no matter how many hardships one faced in the past, Gem of the Ocean is highly recommended.
The Philosophy Of Science Fiction Film
Steven M. Sanders, editor
The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40508-4008
9780813124728, $35.00 www.kentuckypress.com 1-800-839-6855
Expertly compiled and edited by Steven M. Sanders (emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Bridgewater State College, Massachusetts), "The Philosophy Of Science Fiction Film" focuses upon science fiction films in terms of their philosophical implications and issues including 'Engimas of Identity and Agency'; 'Extraterrestrial Visitation, Time Travel, and Artificial Intelligence; and Brave Newer World: Science Fiction Futurism. From Deborah Knight and George McKnight's 'What Is It to Be Human? Blade Runner and Dark City'; to Aeon J. Skoble's 'Technology and Ethics in The Day the Earth Stood Still'; to Jerold J. Abrams' 'The Dialectic of Enlightenment in Metropolis, "The Philosophy Of Science Fiction Film" offers erudite insights that are thoughtful and thought-provoking, superb examples of scholarship, and a seminal contribution to the study of science fiction films. "The Philosophy Of Science Fiction Film" is highly recommended for academic library collections, as well as the supplemental reading lists for students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Cinematic Studies, Science Fiction & Fantasy, and Philosophy.
Clint Eastwood, Actor and Director
Leonard Engel, editor
University of Utah Press
1795 E. South Campus Drive, #101, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-9402
9780874809008, $21.95 www.UofUpress.com
Clint Eastwood, Actor and Director: New Perspectives is an anthology of essays by learned authors discussing Hollywood star Clint Eastwood, who has made a stand-out name for himself as a top-notch director through films such as "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby". Individual essays include "Mocking Success in 'Every Which Way but Loose'", "Irony as Absolution", "Mystic Moral Miasma in 'Mystic River'", and much more. The essays have a scholarly tone and a perceptive eye toward meticulous analysis of theme; Clint Eastwood, Actor and Director is especially recommended for film studies students and professionals who would learn from Eastwood's work, as well as cerebral Clint Eastwood fans.
A Jesuit Off-Broadway
James Martin, SJ
Loyola Press
3441 North Ashland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60657
DeChant-Hughes Associates (publicity)
1440 North Kingsbury, Chicago, IL 60622
9780829425826, $22.95 www.LoyolaBooks.org 1-800-621-1008
Jesuit priest James Martin presents A Jesuit Off-Broadway: Center Stage With Jesus, Judas, and Life's Big Questions, a memoir recounting the six months during which he served as a theological consultant for the New York theater production of "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot", directed by Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and starring Sam Rockwell and Eric Bogosian. Even as Martin taught his charges about religion and spirituality, he learned about the amazing labor of love that is the theater, as well as the toll it takes upon a cast and crew to pour their blood, sweat and tears into a successful play. A wondrous journey into two worlds: the world of the stage and the inner world of the humanity's soul-searching questions.
Cinema of Obsession
Dominique Mainon and James Ursini
Limelight Editions
c/o Hal Leonard Corporation
19 West 21st Street Suite 201, New York NY 10010
9780879103477, $24.95 www.halleonard.com
CINEMA OF OBSESSION: EROTIC FIXATION AND LOVE GONE WRONG IN THE MOVIES is an excellent recommendation for any library strong in film studies. It considers film images of love in its many darker sides, from violent obsession and star-crossed love to erotic undertones. Movies are described, analyzed, and include plenty of commentary and analysis in a survey perfect for college-level film studies collections. Black and white photos from movies liberally pepper the survey.
Rescue Me Uncensored
Dennis Leary & Peter Tolan
Newmarket Press
18 East 48th Street, New York, NY 10017
9781557047915, $19.95 www.newmarketpress.com 1-800-669-3903
Featuring an informative preface by Denis Leary and Peter Tolan, "Rescue Me Uncensored: The Official Companion" includes complete episode guides with music playlists of the first four seasons of this popular and successful television drama series. Tolan was nominated for Outstanding Directory for a Drama Series for the first season of 'Rescue Me', and Leary was nominated twice for an Emmy for Outstanding lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role on 'Rescue Me'. Enhanced throughout with a profusion of full color photography of actors and scenes, "Rescue Me Uncensored" features a 'Role Call' of cast members. Of special note is article about 'The Leary Firefighters Foundation'. Also available in a hardcover edition (9781557047922, $29.95), "Rescue Me Uncensored" is especially recommended reading for the programs legions of fans across the country.
Notes to An Actor
Ron Marasco
Ivan R. Dee
1332 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60622-2694
1566637570, $24.95 www.ivanrdee.com
NOTES TO AN ACTOR: PRACTICAL ADVICE SHAPED TO THE WAY ACTORS WORK should be in the collections of any library catering to drama students, whether at the high school to college levels or be it a general-interest lending library. It comes from the author's own experience in the profession as both an actor and as a director and acting teacher, and provides a more practical, user-friendly book providing insights on exactly how actors work. Tips from a director's viewpoint, rather than the usual acting text, are particularly useful, gleaned from everyday life.
Film Talk
Wheeler Winston Dixon
Rutgers University Press
100 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8099
9780813540788, $22.95 http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu 1-800-446-9323
Film Talk: Directors at Work is an amazing, behind-the-scenes glimpse of filmmaking from the 1940s to the modern day. Eleven up-close-and-personal interviews with contemporary film directors, speaking frankly about their work, comprise frank-talk this insider's view of the industry. The directors interviewed are "old masters" Ronald Neame, Val Guest, Budd Boetticher, and Albert Maysles; "cult visions" Jack Hill, Monte Hellman, and Robert Downey Sr.; and "new voices" Takashi Shimizu, Jamie Babbit, Bennett Miller, and Kasi Lemmons. More than fifty rare photographs illustrate this one-of-a-kind testimony sure to appeal to movie lovers of all walks of life.
Cinema of Obsession
Dominique Mainon and James Ursini
Limelight Editions
c/o Hal Leonard Corporation
777 West Bluemound Road, Milwaukee, WI 53213
9780879103477, $24.95 www.halleonard.com 1-800-637-2852
Filmmaker Dominique Mainon and film journalist James Ursini present Cinema of Obsession: Erotic Fixation and Love Gone Wrong in the Movies, an in-depth discussion and analysis of modern cinema that revolves around the dark side of human attraction, from erotic obsession to heartbreak and jealousy to deception and even murder in the name of love. Black-and-white photographs illustrate Cinema of Obsession throughout, and the text offers commentary on numerous specific films including "Fatal Attraction", "Basic Instinct", "The Killers", "Wild at Heart", "Last Tango in Paris", "Vertigo", and many more. Accessible to lay readers and cinema scholars alike, Cinema of Obsession lives up to its title and is indispensable for connoisseurs of movies that deconstruct human romantic bonds.
Sitcoms
Ken Bloom & Frank Vlastnik
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
151 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011
9781579127527, $29.95 www.blackdogandleventhal.com 1-800-722-7202
The collaboration of Ken Bloom (playwright, theater director, radio host, arts consultant, and president of Harbinger Records) and Frank Vlastnik (actor, photo researcher, and editor), "Sitcom: The 101 Greatest TV Comedies Of All Time" is an illustrated showcase of the television situation comedy alphabetically ranging from 'The Adams Family' to 'WRKP in Cincinnati'. Profusely illustrated with some 400 photographs of the stars and the sets, "Sitcom" offers so much more than a simple recitation of statistics and trivia to inform the reader as to everything that went into the creation of a truly classic sitcom beginning with the writing and casting, thorough to the directing and acting. In addition to the photos (some taken behind-the-scenes), there is an abundance of expert commentary; biographies of directors, writers, and actors; 'off-set' infobits; and insights into what made these shows so popular with the public. Very highly recommended for both personal and community library Television History collections as a work of seminal research and meticulous effort, "Sitcoms" is a fascinating, informative, entertaining, and engaging read.
Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood
Tom Lisanti
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
9780786431724, $39.95 www.mcfarlandpub.com 1-800-253-2187
Contributing writer for "Cinema Retro" magazine Tom Lisanti presents Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood: Seventy-Five Profiles, an homage to seventy-five different models, Playboy centerfolds, beauty queens, and Las Vegas showgirls of the 1960s who moved on to become "decorative actresses" who showed off their scantily clad skin on film and television. Black-and-white photographs illustrate the profiles, each only a few pages long, which include a physical description of the actress in her prime, notes on which movies or shows the casual browser may remember her from, a list of her 60's credits, the "beginning" or origin of the woman's career in show business, and how she fared in the 70's and beyond. Sometimes the actress herself offers in-her-own-words interview concerning the highlights of her career. Interviewed women include Victoria Carroll, Melodie Johnson, Vicki London, Lee Meredith, Anne Randall, and more. A lightheartedly sexy treasury sure to delight 60's pop culture fans and cinema buffs.
There's No Business Like Show Business...Was
Alan Young
BearManor Media
PO Box 71426, Albany, GA 31708
1593930534, $14.95 www.BearManorMedia.com
With a long and active career in radio, movies and television, Alan
Young will be best known to most Americans for his highly popular
1950s series 'Mr. Ed' where he plaid straight-man to a talking horse.
In "There's No Business Like Show Business...Was", Alan anecdotally
recounts his associations with such diverse fellow actors and
performers as Paul Whiteman, Tallulah Bankhead, Zero Mostel, George
Burns, Jack Benny, Peter Lorre, Clifton Webb, Jane Russell, Mickey
Rooney, Jane Powell, Roddy McDowall, Red Skelton, Sonja Henie, Dinah
Shore, Bing Crosby, and others. Enthusiastically recommended reading
and a welcome addition to personal, academic, and community library
Theatre/Cinema/Television reference collections, "There's No Business
Like Show Business...Was" is a truly nostalgic treat for those old
enough to remember radio and the movies in the 1930s and 1940s, and
the early years of television in the 1950s. Also very strongly
recommended from BearManor Media is Ben Ohmart's "Don Ameche: The
Kenosha Comeback Kids" (1593930453, $24.95) showcasing actor Don
Ameche whose showbusiness career ranged from the 1930s to the 1990s.
OMMMMMMMM
Hugh Fox
World Audience Publishing
25 Sickles Street, #6E, New York, NY 10040-1660
1934209260, $15.99 www.worldaudience.org
Written by professor emeritus Hugh Fox, OMMMMMMMM: A Collection of
Plays and Monologues is an anthology of short one-act plays. Though
meant to be performed in sequence with short black-outs between each,
they can be mixed, matched, or rearranged in any form the director
likes. From contemplation on the nature of God, to an imaginary
conversation between Hitler and a Jewish girl, to the different
shades of misogyny revealed in the talk of women between three men,
OMMMMMMMM offers a surprising, often mature-themed glimpse into both
the spiritual and the venal side of human nature. The plays are
dialogue-focused; their lack of complex action or expensive props
make them ideal for low-budget or community theater performance.
Zombiemania
Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg & Andrew Hershberger
Telos Publishing LTD.
c/o Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD
311 Washington Street, Brighton, MA 02135-3303
1845830032, $22.95 www.telos.co.uk 1-800-387-9776
Entertainment writers Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg & Andrew Hershberger
present Zombiemania: 80 Movies To Die For, a guide especially for
zombie movie connoisseurs. From "28 Days Later" to "Night of the
Living Dead" to even movies that are not overtly about zombies
overrunning the world such as "Pirates of the Caribbean", Zombiemania
offers all the juicy, flesh-rending morsels a zombie movie lover
could want. From a plot synopsis, to notes on continuity or logical
quirks, to cast lists, behind the scenes tidbits, black-and-white
photographs, notes on ideas borrowed from other movies and where cast
members appeared before, critical analyses, and much more,
Zombiemania provides an in-depth portrait of the 80 zombie movies it
profiles. An additional title index with over 550 films described and
cross-referenced (taking alternate titles into account) rounds out
this first-rate guide, especially recommended as a Halloween giftbook.
Commercial Theater Institute Guide to Producing Plays and Musicals
Frederic B. Vogel and Ben Hodges, Editors
Applause Theatre
c/o Hal Leonard
19 W. 21st Street, Suite 201, New York NY 10010
1557836523, $19.95 www.applausepub.com
Any who want to put on a play will find the decades of experience of
the Commercial Theatre Institute lends to working knowledge and
real-world applications, collecting for the first time the cream of
the crop of advice from the professionals who participate in an
annual intensive program in New York. Chapters include interviews and
contributions from over thirty such professionals as they explore
everything from fundraising and Broadway and off-Broadway productions
to community theatre and sponsorship and co-production opportunities.
This excellent survey will appeal to any interested in commercial
play production's nuts and bolts as well as to those libraries
specializing in community drama and theatre efforts.
With Our Good Will
Doug Copsey
Caxton Press
312 Main Street, Caldwell, ID 83605-3299
0870044567, $37.95 www.caxtonpress.com 1-800-657-6465
Compiled and written by Doug Copsey, "With Our Good Will: 30 Years Of Shakespeare In Idaho" is a profusely illustrated history of performances of Shakespeare's comedies and tragedies in the theatres of Idaho. In addition to photos of performers and performances, this compendium details Shakespearean productions arranged chronologically beginning with 'The Downtown Years' of 1977 to1980; 'The Plantation Years' of 1981 to1983; 'The Parkcenter Years' of 1984 to1997; and 'New Beginnings' from 1998 to 2006. Concluding with a chapter on 'What the Future Holds', "With Our Good Will" is enhanced with the further inclusion of Acknowledgments, Appendix, Index, and '30 Years of Posters'. A unique and welcome contribution to American Theatrical History reference collections, "With Our Good Will" would also serve as an excellent template for other regional and statewide theatre histories.
Cinema By The Bay
Sheerly Avni
Welcome Books
6 West 18 Street, New York, NY 10011
1932183884, $39.95 www.welcomebooks.com 1-800-733-3000
"Cinema By The Bay" by San Francisco-based film and culture writer Sheerly Avni is a profusely illustrated survey of influential, full-length, post-1960s feature films produced by five movie studios located in the San Francisco Bay Area (American Zoetrope, The Saul Zaentz Company, Lucasfilm Ltd., Pixar Animation Studies, and Pacific Data images), or which were directed by independent filmmakers living and working in Northern California (many of whom were recent graduates of the California Institute of the Arts and Stanford – where they had studied experimental animation). Enhanced with the inclusion of an informed and informative introduction by film critic Michael Sragow, filmographies, an index, credits and acknowledgments, "Cinema By The Bay"is a welcome and strongly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Cinema History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
Asia Shock
Patrick Galloway
Stone Bridge Press
PO Box 8208, Berkeley, CA 94707
1933330120 $19.95 www.stonebridge.com
Written by multinational traveler and lifelong student of Asian film culture and philosophy Patrick Galloway, Asia Shock: Horror and Dark Cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand is a movie buff's guide to the horror and shock cinema of the far east. Asia Shock is not a comprehensive encyclopedia of all films in the genre, but rather a "reviewer's choice" of top shocking picks, some with in-depth reviews and some with capsule reviews, nearly all with extensive notes on unique cultural paradigms, viewing tips, and genre considerations. Focusing on over 50 critical and fan-favorite gory, chilling, and startling Asian horror movies, Asia Shock is the connoisseur's definitive guide to the classics of this pop-culture genre.
American Theatres
David Naylor & Joan Dillon
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Road, Route 372, Atglen, PA 19310
0764324918 $39.95 www.schifferbooks.com
American theatres are marvels of design and content and here to celebrate their history is AMERICAN THEATRES, a top pick for any serious college-level holding strong in film and stage history. The book profiles some forty of the finest theatres in operation around the country, covering a range of structures and styles and blending original photos by David Naylor – many published here for the first time – to contrast histories of different venues, from playhouses and opera houses to concert halls. The state-by-state listing of over 200 surviving 19th century theatres assures any serious buff will easily locate venues.
Mr. Confidential
Samuel Bernstein
Walford Press
1133 Broadway Suite 708, New York NY 10010-7903
0978767128 $22.95 www.walfordpress.com
Hollywood sex, scandal and ironies comes to life in MR. CONFIDENTIAL: THE MAN, HIS MAGAZINE & THE MOVIELAND MASSACRE THAT CHANGED HOLLYWOOD FOREVER, which tells of publisher Robert Harrison and his magazine Confidential, which changed the face of entertainment writing. From the impact of different kinds of stories and dramas to changing Hollywood personalities, MR. CONFIDENTIAL offers up an inside look into the industry that is required reading for any who would understand Hollywood's underlying influences.
The Show I'll Never Forget
Sean Manning, Editor
Da Capo Press
c/o Perseus Books Group
Eleven Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
0306815087 $16.95 www.dacapopress.com 1-800-242-7737
Unforgettable concert memories have been revealed in numerous sources, from magazine articles to biographies and the works of literary writers: here they're gathered under one cover to prove a powerful collection of insights from those who observed Patti Smith, Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis, Rush, and more in concert. The musical genres are diverse here and range from rock to classical, but these insightful, sometimes funny, thought-provoking essays have all been written especially for THE SHOW I'LL NEVER FORGET and are vivid recollections for both general-interest public libraries and specialty music collections alike.
Screen World 2006 V. 57
John Willis with Barry Monush
Applause Theatre Books
c/o Hal Leonard Corporation
19 West 21st Street, Suite 201, New York, NY 10010
1557837066 $49.95 www.applausepub.com 1-800-637-2852
SCREEN WORLD V. 57 celebrates the major productions of 2005, is a 'must' foundation pick for any in-depth film library holding, and includes both American and foreign films released in the U.S. in 2005. This is more than just a listing – film credits, biographical notes on actors, and black and white photos from Academy Award-winning productions and actors all blend to make for an exceptional film reference.
A Good Year
Ridley Scott and Peter Mayle
Newmarket Press
18 E. 48th Street, New York NY 10017
1557047480 $19.95 www.newmarketpress.com
A GOOD YEAR was set in France and celebrates life in a blend of romance and comedy filmed on scene: both fans of the movie and newcomers will find most accessible a recap of the story, blending over a hundred color photos with interviews with authors Ridley Scott and Peter Mayle. Winemaking culture comes to life under this treatment and A GOOD YEAR is thus recommended for both film libraries and any with an interest in winemaking history and French culture – and comedy.
There's No Business Like Soul Business
Derek Rydall
Michael Wiese Productions
3940 Lauren Canyon Boulevard #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
1932907246 $22.95 www.mwp.com
From exercises to discussions of how to link performing arts with spirituality, THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SOUL BUSINESS: A SPIRITUAL PATH TO ENLIGHTENED SCREENWRITING, FILMMAKING, AND PERFORMING ARTS will reach both new age and film libraries with an unusual link between two genres. Chapters come from a screenwriter and script consultant who has sold or optioned over 20 scripts himself and who regularly helps clients turn books into scripts. Chapters tell how to incorporate meditation, blessings, imagery and self-analysis into the art of screenwriting for maximum results, making this a top pick for both aspiring screenwriters and film libraries catering to the 'how to' reader.
Rough Guide to Westerns
Paul Simpson
Rough Guides
c/o Penguin Putnam Inc.
345 Hudson Street, New York NY 10014
1843536495 $14.99 www.roughguides.com 1-800-847-5515
THE ROUGH GUIDE TO WESTERNS is a top pick for any film collection strong in cinema history – and for any general-interest lending library where patrons enjoy movies and movie history. From the origins of the Western in the silent movie era to its evolution to spaghetti and modern screen, some fifty top Westerns are included, with major actors and films analyzed. Westerns from around the world are also included, along with books, magazines and websites, making THE ROUGH GUIDE TO WESTERNS a far more comprehensive survey than one might initially think. Loaded with black and white photos throughout, it's a title any film library needs.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.
The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
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