Movies Books

My newly discovered hobby is tucking this book under my arm, stuffed with an array of bookmarks, old business cards and straw wrappers -- to help seek out these cinematic gems when I enter my video store. Author DiLeo has unearthed a wealth of fantastic performances in films that I never would've thought to view or even knew existed! I actually called in sick to work one day after viewing three of his recommended classics back-to-back till the wee hours. What a glorious night! Mr. DiLeo... you're gonna cost me my job! BUY THIS BOOK!

John DiLeo's opinions and quips are quick, tart, and fun. But this book wouldn't be as fascinating if that was all that was going on. The depth of his film knowledge, his obvious love of movies, and the acuteness of his recommendations make this a wonderful book for anyone--from cinemaniac to cultural reader.

My newly discovered hobby is tucking this book under my arm, stuffed with an array of bookmarks, old business cards and straw wrappers -- to help seek out these cinematic gems when I enter my video store. Author DiLeo has unearthed a wealth of fantastic performances in films that I never would've thought to view or even knew existed! I actually called in sick to work one day after viewing three of his recommended classics back-to-back till the wee hours. What a glorious night! Mr. DiLeo... you're gonna cost me my job! BUY THIS BOOK!

Anyone who loves watching classic movies should buy this book! The author gives thorough reviews of all one hundred movies. He doesn't focus on just one genre and there is a good mix of comedic, dramatic, and musical performances. Some of my favorite performances are here including Jeanette MacDonald in Naught Marietta, Vivien Leigh in Waterloo Bridge, and William Powell in Libeled Lady. After reading this book there are many more films I want to see.

Overlooked performances from the movie stars of old or the present crop, take your pick. Whichever you prefer make sure you read John DiLeo's book. He captures the performances in such a way that you feel you are watching the film while reading his eloquent, captivating description. It is an absolute joy for any movie buff.

This is going to be short because english is not my first language.

This is an excellent study on the action genre. I never thought somebody could analize action movies like this.

Lichtenfeld has worked both in making films and as a film critic and commentator, including doing extra features for DVDs of several action films. He sees this popular film genre as "derived from the Western, film noir, and the police procedural (with special guest appearances made by the disaster film and others [with an evolution] quite analogous to the horror film." Though many films depict violence and mayhem, the action film is distinguished in that it ushered in a "new violence [which] would be deployed more to pleasure audiences than to jar them." This "new violence" came about from a shift in standards marking a "New Hollywood" and related changes in structures and pacing of films and cinematographic techniques such as lingering on the violence by slow-motion and close-ups. It is these and other elements, not merely the violence and plotting, which account for the new genre of the action film. The cluster of elements reflected changes in the culture's psychic relationship with violence and what it looked for in entertainment. Bonnie and Clyde is pointed to as a seminal action film, with the films Billy Jack, Shaft, and The French Connection closely related to it in paving the way for the action film by demonstrating its popularity and giving guidance for filmmakers. Advertising, publicity, and marketing of action films has as much a part in the author's multifaceted study of this major contemporary film genre as film history, film editing, and cinematography. References to numerous action films over the past couple of decades make for enjoyable as well as engaging and stimulating reading.

Useful because it shows there is a deeper level of impact than just the shoot 'em up bang-bang to the typical action picture.

Lichtenfeld's book is required reading for anyone interested in the contemporary action film. Beyond its obvious merit as the best book available on the genre, I can recommend it as a model of genre criticism. I've used this as a text in my course on action cinema at Wesleyan where I teach it as an exemplar of genre studies. Lichtenfeld offers a compelling thesis about the genre's popular/cultural appeal without losing sight of industrial imperatives. This book does much to balance to often overly theoretical writing on the subject by offering a grounded, historically-minded account. Moreover, Lichtenfeld's critical observations are spot on, and his descriptions of scenes and sequences will send you back to the films again and again. The additions to the new edition further shore up his argument and expand the scope of films. It is also a fun read!

Being both a lover of film and a student of history, you can imagine my interest in this book. Who can deny the impact movies have had on the 20th (and now 21st) century? And what type of film most exemplifies what movies are capable of? Action, brother. Action.

I was introduced to this book and this author through a radio talk show I heard recently. Mr. Lichtenfeld came across as extremely intelligent, likeable and very knowledgeable about his subject matter. I immediately ordered the book from Amazon.

I read it through in one weekend (it's so accessible to even non-film students) and I couldn't believe how much I learned about movies that I had watched over and over again all my life. Mr. Lichtenfeld treats the topic with reverence without once losing the joy of what makes these movies great: the characters, the chases, the explosions and, of course, the lines. His breakdowns of each landmark film and his separation of them into specific categories makes it so easy to follow the development of the action genre over the last half century.

Even the bad films (my apologies, Mr. Seagal), of which there are many, are used as examples of the importance and social influence this genre has had on recent generations. They're all in here: science fiction, superhero actioners and even westerns, of which I have a particular fondness, are discussed.

I will pass this book on to my other film-loving friends with my highest recommendation. And now I'm off to watch 'Lethal Weapon' for the 56th time, albeit with a new outlook.

Finally action movies get their due! It's about time.

If you don't know this book, buy it immediately. It takes American film criticism up to about 1970 and coincides with the time Sarris was involved with the (real) Village Voice, Jonas Mekas, American Cahiers,and the founding of the NY Film Festival and the national society of film critics. It took me about five years of reading his reviews until I finally got it - Sarris had understood that the most profound thoughts and themes were played out with style and panache by genre filmmakers with personal obsessions and ideas that did not require Western Union to spell it out.

There's some things to quibble about (I never could see why he thought so highly of Blake Edwards, but I keep trying because I trust his insight. Even Sarris can change his mind as he did on Billy Wilder a few years back).

If you are a film buff and have not discovered his work (also recommended:
Confessions of a Cultist; The John Ford Mystery Book; You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet are among the best) start here. That goes double if you experience guilty pleasure and see things no one else does in people like Anthony Mann, Michael Powell, Sam Fuller, Max Ophuls, Budd Boetticher or James Whale. I have often given this book as a gift to film loving friends. It opens a world of discovery and rapport when a friends "gets it" and suddenly, you both have a shared sensibility and frame of reference.
Also, check out his website for yearly top ten lists and also the work of his wife Molly Haskell (especially good on Howard Hawks).

This volume parses the good guys from the bad guys, tells you whom you should love and why, and summarily dismisses the ones not worth taking seriously. In other words, for good or bad, it arms you, as will no other film book ever written, with a set of eloquently-stated prejudices that may seal off certain directors from your serious consideration for all time. (It would be too glib to say that this is the books best and worst point.) Suffice to say, it has taken years for me to tear down the wall Sarris built between me, as a budding cinephile, and William Wyler, Billy Wilder, John Huston and even John Frankenheimer, for that matter. (These are just a few of the ones I think he was, or may have been, wrong about.)

But I love this book and always find it worth picking up to reread a few entries, for two or three reasons that never grow old:

1) Sarris IS an absolutely remarkable writer. His prose bristles with alternately apt and acid phrases and insights. The parallel between Ambrose Bierce and Sarris has grown on me through the years. (I think it was Sarris who brought currency to the word "pretentious"-- possibly THE serious put-down word from the 70s to the 90s, possibly to the present-- by the way. He used it with unerring surgical delicacy, as a bludgeon.)

2) He is hard to argue with in his negative evaluation of certain other respected directors. Thirty-five years ago, Sarris renounced Kubrick, noting, in typical form, that the very fact that he made one film every 5 years seemed to be all the proof his advocates needed of his integrity. Ouch! And he said that Kubrick is the director of the best coming attractions in the business.

This last is highly prophetic of the present general situation, when Hollywood has made a sort of science of over-selling weak films with absurdly hyperbolic trailers that often have little to do with the tone or experience of the films they advertise. This comment indicates also how much of Sarris is audaciously arguable, and out of synch with conservative academia re Kubrick and just about everything else. --Not a bad thing, as far as I am concerned.) And I think he was also decades ahead of the curve in recognizing Keaton as Chaplin's better.

3) He has been, for decades, an antidote to Pauline Kael. Period.

If you know the directors covered well enough to take it all with a grain of salt where needed, this book is probably the best read on movies and their directors from the second and third quarters of the 20th Century that will ever be written. THE great mapping out of this seminal period by the auteur theorys chief surveyor-- and a fun and drolly amusing place to pick up your snazzy-looking anti-philistine, anti-pretentious attitude off-the-rack.

There are few books on cinema that are more important than this title. To any serious student of film this book is perhaps the only book that you will refer to as long as you watch films.

Extolling the virtues of The American Cinema would be too hard. Beside being an invaluable reference for cinema between 1929-1968, it also contains wonderful peices of film theory. Because of this The American Cinema can be read a few pages at a time or you can completely dwelve into the material. No matter the method, Sarris will engage you in a meaningful dialogue of film. Film literature is rarely able to be this give and take. Those with an above average inclination toward cinema should purchase.

When it first appeared in the late '60s, Sarris' book was literally memorized by critics, students and teachers. It provided a root approach to discussing film, quickly absorbed, and readily shaped to one's personal tastes. A beautiful combination of reference and aesthetic, it ushered in the era of "the director as superstar," and was completely absorbed by everyone in film. Unfortunately, its absorption was so complete, the author, Mr. Sarris, was for the most part uncredited and unrewarded.

My boyfriend bought this book for me 22 years ago and it has followed me around through seven changes of address. I can honestly say that but for this book, I don't think I would have read Crime and Punishment or The Grapes of Wrath. I wanted to be sure I was getting all the jokes. It was funny in 1984 and it is still funny.

To save the Cleavers from the network axe, past and contemporary literary giants pour forth their own "episodes" for the Beave and crew. Everyone's character --including Eddie Haskell--gets fleshed out in ways you'll never see on Nickelodeon. Personal favorites include Tennessee William's turn on Miss Landers and June. Brilliant and absurdly funny blend of high prose and Americana 50's schmaltz. Made me laugh out loud at every read.

When I first read the Dostoevsky episode ("Hey, Wally, do you think it's OK to kill an old lady?" "I don't know, Beav. We haven't gotten that far in civics."), I was in convulsions. This is the funniest book in the history of Western Civilization, even funnier than "The Lazlo Letters," and that's saying something. That it is out of print is some kind of culture crime.

In an attempt to save "Leave It To Beaver" from going off the air in 1963, famous authors submit scripts hoping their influence will persuade the network from dumping the show. Scripts include "Lady Cleaver's Beaver" by D. H. Lawrence, "Beavermorphosis" by Franz Kafka (where Theodore actually transforms into a giant beaver), and my personal favorite "And Thus Spake Beaver" by Nietzche ... "And Beaver descended alone from the house encountering no one, and all at once there stood before him Larry Mondello who bit into an apple. And thus spake Beaver unto Larry Mondello, 'Shared cookies make a friend, not getting in trouble together', and he punched Larry Mondello in the stomach." If you love the Beave and love Literary Parodies, you'll love this book.

Wow -- it's nice to see that there are other people out there who have read this book and loved it as much as I did. I bought the book when it first came out in 1985 and I was in college. I almost peed my pants reading it in the bookstore, so I figured I'd better buy it before they threw me out. I still have it on my shelf, and it's provided countless hours of amusement ever since. About the only books I would consider funnier than this one are George Ade's "Fables in Slang" and "More Fables in Slang", which are sadly almost unknown today. They should really reprint this, because it's as hilarious today as it was almost 15 years ago.

If you like reading celebrity autobiographies, and you even have a passing interest in this actress, don't miss this book. It really is a very engrossing read. She speaks of her life in a very honest and forthcoming fashion, and she has had quite an interesting life, the most dramatic part being the blacklisting of her actor husband, Larry Parks, in the 1950's, and her "guilt by association."

Also, if you happen to be a fan of either Lloyd, Beau, and/or Jeff Bridges, you should know that Betty and Larry are/were(Larry is deceased) very close to this family -- Betty is Jeff Bridges' godmother.

So, if you know Betty from her movie work (she tells such a funny story about Frank Sinatra, from when they were filming "On the Town"), her stage work, or her TV work on "All in the Family" and "Laverne and Shirley," I think you will more than appreciate this book.

I hope you read this and enjoy it as much as I did!

betty garrett was the best in those mgm movies and she could have been so much more famous

I like Betty Garrett very much! From Laverne & Shirley, All In The Family-very funny! I like that the book is her autobiography! I can't wait to read all about the life & times of the lovely Betty Garrett! I also have David L. Lander's autobiography & the unofficial Penny Marshall book! Any one who's a fan of "Laverne & Shirley" e-mail me @: tiff_lisatony7@yahoo.com. We can chat about Betty, Penny, David, Cindy, Michael, Phil, & evrything else related to "Laverne & Shirley".

I have loved the movies of both Betty Garrett and Larry Parks for years, and now feel that I have read their love story. Betty's descriptions of her multi-faceted career and personal life were written with humor, warmth, and love. She and Larry endured the 'unofficial' blacklist and other obstacles together, and showed what "in good times and in bad" really meant. I admire and adore them both even more now. Her book is a wonderful read and her career isn't even over.

Betty's wit, wisdom and reflections prove that there's a lot more to her than a pretty face and wise-cracks. Talent, sensitivity and grace make her a beautiful author with something important to say. Show business enthusiasts and historians alike will greatly enjoy her story. And, since her career is enjoying a recent resurgence, we can only hope she'll write a sequel, soon!

This book is a shortened version of the TV episode, "Blue's Big Birthday." It's interactive, as well as has the clue game of, "What does Blue want for her birthday?" Like the show, it features Steve, Blue, and the gang, and introduces Blue's turtle, Turquoise--although Blue doesn't name her in the book.

This is pure "Blues Clues," pure and simple. Blue is having a birthday and we are asked to give a hand. The format is like that of the excellent TV show. The art work is quite well done, the text simple and easy for the little ones to follow. This is a fun book to read with your preschooler. This entire series is quite good and I do recommend them quite highly.

It's party-time for Blue --- it's her birthday! The "Blue's Clues" house is fully decorated, with plenty of balloons, confetti and more. We arrive just a little early, so we help to get everything ready for the party. And there's a game of Blue's Clues as well --- Blue needs a present.

This is a good story --- it's a lot like the TV show and the text is readable, but sufficiently complex that it should keep kids that are used to the level of the TV show engaged. Kids will also enjoy seeing Steve, Blue and all the fun party stuff.

I got this for my little boy's 3rd birthday. He loves Blue, and loved this book. We read it every night, and every night he loves to find Blue's clues and show me all the things he remembered about the story.
Great buy!!!

This a great book. If you kids love Blue's Clue. They will love this book.

There is also a wonderful video that goes along with this book. It is wonderful. Blue's Clues - Blue's Birthday

Well-worth reading for its subject matter, I found the book to be over-manipulative at times. The author obviously feels that 'Jack' should be given a second chance, and tries to make us think the same way.

The one-sidedness of the argument appears is a few places: we are not fully exposed to the victim's horror, or to the loss felt by her family. We never know clearly how Jack feels about what he did, and indeed if he feels guilt or remorse. Infact, since we are not told what happened to the girl, we're not sure whether he's guilty at all.

Easy to read in spite of some horrible graphic images. Boy A's story exemplifies the harm that parents create for their children when they don't like themselves or don't love each other. Little sins, like little pebbles in a quiet lake making widening circles, become greater sins. Finishing the story led me to think maybe little sins should be dealt with instead of being waved away with a permissive hand.

I couldn't put this book down. Loosely based on the real life James Bulger murder (which was, dare I say it, even more horrific than the crime Boy A has committed) it is both harrowing and thought provoking, and I found myself feeling optimistic for Jack at the end.

Jack at twenty four years old has just been released from prison, he is in the company of Terry, his long assigned care officer, ahead he has a new life invented for him; only the name Jack did he choose for himself. But can he make a success of it? He has grown up in juvenile institutions having committee as a child, along with an accomplice, an horrendous crime. All seems to go well, he has work, makes good friends, even a girlfriend who loves him; yet he finds it a struggle to live as this invented person, and of course there are those, including the tabloid press, who cannot forget what happened in the past.

By introducing us to Jack as a young man before we know the extent of his crime, it is easy to accept him without judgement, and he comes across as a friendly, slightly naïve, but very likeable young guy. As we learn more about his unhappy upbringing, for we jump back and forth in time chapter by chapter, we are even more endeared to him. Having so endeared Jack to us, what subsequently transpires is all the more involving, for our heart goes out to the youngster and especially when everything appears to be falling apart for him.

The other characters are well drawn and very believable, including Terry, his devoted carer, his fun loving friends and workmates, and his attractive and slightly voluptuous girlfriend.

Jonathan Trigell writes eminently readable prose which captures just the right intimate mood. It is a thought provoking, cleverly yet subtly constructed story, with a touch of irony, and great humanity. Boy A is heart rending tale that could as easily be fact as fiction, and all the more moving for that.

In Luton, England Boy A and Boy B were convicted of murdering a young girl Angela Milton. Being teens there names were suppressed and their sentence relatively short for the heinous crime they committed.

A decade later Boy A is freed and uses Jack Burridge as his new name; a fight in the bar gives him the nickname "Bruiser". His probation officer Uncle Terry arranges a place to live for Jack and finds the young man a job as a map reader. As Boy A, Jack learned how to survive brutal incarceration by fitting in and being amiable with everyone. He is doing well until he begins an affair with a woman at work at the same time the media announces Boy A is free to kill again.

Although the alphabetizing of each subsequent chapter is gimmicky, it works as it accentuates the dilemma of society dealing with violent youths committing crimes. Jack is a fascinating character as he knows he will be insecure for the rest of his life looking back at who will point the finger at Boy A. Readers will see how he got to the situation he is in as Jonathan Trigell takes the audience back through the lead character's life that led to his joining Boy B to commit a homicide. Jack knows first hand that society pretends to rehab convicts, but expects revenge any moment. Fans will appreciate this strong character study of a young man who has no future, lives to barely survive the present, and cannot forget the past as no one (including himself) will ever let that occur.

Harriet Klausner

This book is one of the ultimate companions to the blockbuster show of the same title.

In a day and age when show creators and producers have gotten into the habit of talking down to their ausiences, Whedon again breaks the mold by sharing the direct scripts with us, the loyal fans.

I remember how happy I was when I heard that BTVS was going to be a television series and this book brought back the early euhphoria that I experienced with the revival. Thank you again Joss for everything.

Of course it's not all in the dialogue. You've got great acting, directing, editing, costuming, etc. HOWEVER, the Buffy writers obviously not only love what they do, but are also very good at it.

The pop culture references mingle freely with the historical. Renaissance Poetry class was never so much fun.

These scripts give you a chance to catch anything you might have missed the first time around. It's peppy. Is Poppy a word? Well, I know it's a word, but is it a word the way I mean it? Anyhow, I would recommend this book for any Buffy fan.

Watching "Buffy" T.V. series or cassettes is huge enjoyment already. Reading this script brought pure delight: sharp wit, self-derogatory under-/overstatements, punch and speed - this script is, quite definitely, for lovers of language. Stage directions, as indicated between parts of dialogue,are about as savoury as dialogue itself. I've just one reservation:I suppose, to really relish this book as it should be relished, one should obviously have seen related episodes on either TV or cassette. One then remembers Charisma Carpenter's studied drawl, Sarah Gellar's brisk deadpan humour, and Nicholas Brendon's fantastic "fool's faces". Only then does one realize, not just how good the writing is, but also, how brilliantly the whole cast has done its job. Yes, this definitely does show just how brilliant the whole "Buffy" act was - and still is. Can we PLEASE have scriptbooks of what follows?!...

The good news is that original shooting scripts of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" are available, as in this volume offering up the first six episodes of Season One. But the bad news, relatively speaking, is that we just get the scripts without any extras. The pages are your traditional Courier style font (including the title page), and while the pages are not in blue, pink, green, yellow, goldenrod and salmon to reflect the various revisions, if you follow the revision dates on the top of the pages you can figure that part out. Therefore, while I appreciate having the original scripts in front of my while watching the episodes so I can see what has been deleted/added/changed (these are not transcripts; big difference), I would have really liked to have a bit more such as introductions by the writers talking about the genesis of the script ideas or problems they had to overcoming in putting the script into production, beyond the production notes and stage directions. Certainly some of what I am looking for can be found in "The Watcher's Guide," which covers the show's first two seasons, but given how first-rate the BtVS companion volumes have been I am rather surprised this is a comparatively bare bones effort.

Included in this volume for those of you who do not have the first 100 episodes totally memorized are "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest," both written by series creator Joss Whedon, "Witch" by Dana Reston, "Teacher's Pet" by David Greenwalt, "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" by Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, and "The Pack" by Matt Kiene and Joe Reinkemeyer. After the two-part pilot these other episodes reflect a time when the Buffy mythos was just starting to get organized. After all, Buffy has yet to find out about Angel's true nature and the emphasis is on how high school is a living hell if you are a teenager, but even more so when you are perched on the Hellmouth. Besides, once you get the first half of Season One you have to pick up the second half as well. Then there is Season Two...

It's valuable for fans of Buffy, full of hints and descriptions that make the tv episodes even more enjoyable; it's also a very cool book for anyone interested in writing tv scripts who're curious about the format, or looking for insight into how to blend comedy and suspense and juggle an excellent ensemble cast without shortchanging anyone.

The message of the novel and film adaptation are essentially the same:
if you deny your true self, you will be left feeling empty and unfulfilled in life. You cannot give in to fear or society's definitions of who and what you should be at any point in your life. Scorsese and writer Richard Price took a lot of liberties with the story for the film adaptation. I like what they did, but I found the novel The Color of Money compelling for somewhat different reasons.

Tevis does a wonderful job of updating his Fast Eddie Felson character from the original novel, The Hustler, and the opening scenes in this book where Minnesota Fats "coaches" a middle-aged and tired Felson are outstanding. I have even more appreciation for Fats than I did in The Hustler, and it's unfortunate that Scorsese and Price choose not to include him in the movie.

Tevis has a great understanding of what drives certain people to excel at something as opposed to just getting by in life. The winner's mentality is at the heart of this novel -- as it was in The Hustler -- but now the idea is centered more around not giving up, despite what society tells each of us about what we can or cannot do (based on factors such as age, etc.).

Felson's midlife crisis is the bane of his existence, and it is only the acceptance of who he is and what he loves to do that can deliver him from his ennui. Relationships and suburban comforts are merely distractions for Felson. He needs to get back into the game that made him touch greatness when he was in his 20s.

For fans of The Hustler, this is a great compliment. If you've seen the movie a bunch of times, you will still discover a fresh story here. The angle is a bit different, and Tevis' perceptions about what it takes to rise about mediocrity are priceless.

Classic novel by a classic writer.

I'm a big fan of the movie, particularly the first restaurant scene with it's triangle of small timer, scheming girlfriend, and semi-retired hustler. But, thought the book was MUCH better. I enjoy his writing style, and although the ones I've read were on short side (Hustler, Queens Gambit, and COM), he always seems to draw me into the story. His writing is always anchored in the drama of recognizing/overcoming the psychology of self doubt and making ones way to redemption and/or self improvement. Highly recommend the book.

Great book -- maybe better than the Hustler. Ignore the movie. This is a handbook for living. It didn't change my life but it would have if i read it when i was 15. Will make an excellent bar mitzvah gift.

If you enjoyed the movie "The Color of Money" try the book from which it is loosely based. Not giving anything away, there is no Tom Cruise character, nor his movie girlfriend. If you are an "early to mid-boomer" you may especially relate to this work even if your eyes glaze over at the mention of "pool". If you read/saw "The Hustler", even better.

I have to admit I'm a fan of Scorcese's film sharing the same title, but these are two completely different stories. I was shocked at how little the two have in common, which is almost nothing.

Tevis's book paints a very different picture of Fast Eddie in the 80's. Tevis shows us a dejected man who let years of his life just pass by idly while he ran a small pool hall, as opposed to Scorcese's Fast Eddie who had become a successful liquor salesman (ironically, Tevis's Felson failed as a salesman). Not only that, the Vince character (and his t-shirt) does not really exist in Tevis's book - Felson does not take on a prodigy at all. Even Fats is back in the book.

All this drivel I've written here is to encourage you to read the book. A completely different story than what the movie offers, but one more plausibly in line with The Hustler (the book). As usual, Tevis is deft at writing the intricacies of pool and the psyche that surrounds it.

A theatre writer, Riccardo Molteni, cannot write anymore because his wife, Emilia, does not love him anymore. Moreover, she despises him, all of a sudden.

The search for the reasons which led to this sudden change of feelings, makes Moravia rewrite a modern versin of Ulyse's myth. In a few words, Penelope did not love Ulyse anymore, though she remained faithful to him even before he left for Troja. Why did she not love him? Because the king's behaviour was not masculine enough towards her admirers at the court.
Therefore, Ulyse wins his wife's contempt and consequently leaves for Troja to free himself in a way. After the war, he postpones sine die his return to Ithaca, obessed by the same thing: Penelope's contempt.

When he finally decides to go back home, he knows he has no other solution but to violently kill all Penelope's admirers, in order to get her admiration and love.

And this is how Homer can be well combined with Freud. The moravian style, vivid and direct, manifests itself in this novel, keeping alive the pleasure of your reading.

I think Alberto Moravia is one of the greatest Italian writers of all times. All his novels deal with important issues our society has to face, problems we all have. Many of us will recognize ourselves in his characters.

It will be a very challenging reading that will make you ask a lot of questions about yourself and your life. Enjoy it!

After a second reading of Contempt, I feel compelled to call the short, tautly written novel a masterpiece. Told from the perspective of a neurotic egotist, the narrator accounts how he "sacrificed" his literary writing career to debase himself in the tawdry task of writing screenplays so that he can afford to lavish his wife with a bigger more opulent living quarters. The narrator convinces himself that not only does his wife not appreciate his "sacrifice," but that she no longer loves him. It's horrifying to read this narcissist's account of his marital disintegration because you begin to realize that he is projecting his own lack of love toward his wife (a pefectly fine, loving woman) and you realize that he is so emotionally arrested that he is incapable of loving anyone. Further, a close reading reveals that the narrator never sacrificed his writing career for his wife's opulent tastes, but rather is debasng his writing talents for his own greedy materialistic acquistion.

Many see Moravia's novel as the quintessential example of "modernism," the movement that emphasizes the human limitation for self-understanding and the understanding of others. Also, the novel explores Freudian themes of projection, paranoia, and the powers of the unconscious.

The novel is fast-paced save for a few chapters where the writer and director indulge in long-winded discussions about the mythical exposition of their film but overall the novel is a real page-turner full of suspense and psychological realism.

If you enjoy this suspensful novel told from the point of view of an unreliable narrator, I recommend Asylum by Patrick McGrath, Despair by Vladimir Nabokov, and The Horned Man by James Lasdun.

somehow there is a new found celebration for contempt and everything associated with it. a year and a half ago, godard's contempt was finally re-released; a couple of months ago, two new books about casa malaparte allowed us to view the importance of the film's setting, most notably capri and it's culture, but now this new publication of moravia's contempt will allow everyone to view the masterpiece it truly represents.

Finally, someone had the common decency to reprint Moravia in translation. And they also picked the best titles. Il Disprezzo (The Contempt) is the best, most honest, unflinching look at the disintegration of a relationship that I have ever read. Last released in the States in the 1950's under the title A Ghost at Noon, this is the same excellent translation by Angus Davidson, who translated almost all of the authors works up until his death in 1990. If you've ever experienced the conclusion of a long-term relationship and for some masochistic reason want to remember what it was like, this is the book for you. I guess that's not a ringing endorsement. But trust me, Moravia's penchant for psychological details is so devastatingly on-point, you'll find yourself nodding nauseatingly at the pathetic delusions and convoluted rationalizations taking place between the couple. It should be noted that this isn't the book's only focus. Quite uncharacteristically, Moravia tackles popular culture and the highbrow-lowbrow dichotomy in a darkly humorous fashion. I haven't seen Godard's film adaptation but I understand that it is an incredible achievement in itself.

Moravia's writing which I would not have encountered were it not for these elegant new paperback versions of his work is open to the bone. His honest revelations through his all too human characters are poignant, pointed, and penetrating. To any one interested in looking deep inside themeselves and their relationships: I recommend Contempt. Prepare to squirm.