Movies Books

It's amazing that the following mistakes appear in this book:

1) A reference to Cecil B. DeMille's "Sunset Boulevard".
It's Billy Wilder's and Leigh Brackett's picture. DeMille had
a cameo in it.

2) Donna Douglas (of "Beverly Hillbillies" fame) is referred to
in a caption as "Donna Dixon" and in the accompanying text as
"Joey Heatherton".

3) Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, in English riding clothes,
are described as wearing "Western gear".

4) Sammy Davis Jr's ex-wife, Mai Britt, is twice referred to as
"May Britt".

Did anybody edit this book, or were Garrett's reminiscences taken
on faith because he, of all people, should know?

I have had the priveledge of knowing Murray Garrett for over 25 years as a business associate and friend. I was completely blown away by his incredible talent as a photographer and writer. This book captures a Hollywood that I remember as my home town and really was the entertainment capitol of the world. The pictures are unique, and definitely candid. Murray's comments about the stars shed new insights into the personalities and quirks of some of the most loved and famous celebrities of the era. A beautiful collection of memorys from a man who approaches Hollywood from an honest, compasionate and humorous point of view. Highly recommended.

This is a wonderful compilation of photographs and text taken throughout the years by Murray Garrett. All of the Hollywood golden age stars are featured: Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Jean Simmons, Natalie Wood, Ava Gardner. The photos catch the personal side of the stars, such as the photo of Richard Burton strapped into an airline seat along with his daughter's doll, as well as their entrances into glamourous events. He also adds his personal recollections such as Ava Gardner's love of jokes, off color or not, Eve Arden's love of her daughter, the secrecy of Natalie Wood's 21st birthday party. The stories are fascinating. The pictures are beautiful and unique. I am glad Murray decided to share them with us.

I had the privilege of seeing much of this book in pre-press form and knew it had to be a knockout. The pics are all exceptional but Murray's anecdotes and insight make this much more than a celebrity puff-piece. The finished book is even better than my early predictions. Great stuff!!!

Unlike other episode guides, this book doesn't give the useless details showwing every action a character makes. For a Buffy and Angel fan such as me you probably seen every episode and season so you know what's going to happen. This book however does give you unique headings such as Logic Let Me Introduce You To This Window which features all the plot flaws, goofs and stunt double that look nothing like the actor. It also includes Dudes and Babes which takes a look at the cute guys and girls shown. The Charisma Show relives the funny and cool bits that Cordelia does. LA Speak gives quotes on the street talk seen on teh show. Designer Label highlights the fashion mistakes so when you watch the episode again you cna take a moment to laugh. It catches all the juicy details missing from regular guides and has a unique style.
I recommend this book and Slayer ( Buffy version) because of it's uniqueness and is a simply must for any fan.

This guide to the TV series "Angel" is a british book by british author Keith Topping(who also did one for Buffy too called "Slayer"), and it's a good, well put together book. You will definitley have a great time with it. It is kinda funny to read it because it's british, but that's what also makes it really interesting. A british perspective on things. The book has descriptions of all the episodes for the show's first two seasons. Along with each episode, comes a number of categories with it.... which has some of the best of the nasty dialogue. It has critiques and notes from critics including the author. It also features "L.A. Speak", featuring slang used in the series. "Logic, Let Me Throw You Out This Window" is about all of the mistakes and goof ups in the show. There is even a section dealing with fashion and describes what characters were wearing and if they were good or not. Plus, there is just some dialogue. Topping really outdoes himself getting into the specifics of the mistakes, or just little details in the background or in the forefront. This guy really has a keen eye!. What would've made this book better was if there were some pictures. Nope. Not here. That is the only drawback to this exceptional book. Topping is a fan. He writes as a fan. He can be overy critical for some episodes, but isn't that a way die hard fans should be?. A great, fun read with really cool tidbits. Fans should really enjoy this!.

This is an excellent guide to seasons 1-4 of Angel. It has very interesting unknown facts. The one that I was most surprised about was that Charisma Carpenter was almost raped back when she was a cheerleader for the Chargers. But with a gun to her and her friends heads she refused to back down. For a more detailed description of this event buy the book.

I also love how it had quotes from each episode. Usually the funniest ones.

Go out and buy this now!

Keith Topping is the best writer of tv episode guides in the business, and this book is another winner. What keeps Keith's guides at the top of the pile is his sense of humour and his infectious admiration for the shows he writes about. His Buffy guide, 'Slayer', is the best episode guide I've read about the show, and this book stands right alongside it as far as detail, opinion and humour go.

If you want a dry, humourless bunch of lists and facts about Angel, give this book a miss. However, if you want a well written and opinionated book with so much detail that you'll re-read it again and again, then this is the book for you. If you are an avid viewer of Angel, you'll be going back to this book frequently.

This is a really different kind of memoir. It's personal, yet gripping as a novel would be (part of it is memior, part is fiction). It's also thoughtful and analytical without falling into the trapof being dry or over-intellectualized. I learned as much about myself as I did about the author. The blurb on the back cover is right - once I started it, I couldn't put it down.

This is an intimately written and insightful work. Anyone interested in women, film, or issues surrounding lesbianism will enjoy the work. Beautifully formatted.

In "Home Movies..." Citron uses an interplay of fact and fiction to guide the reader on a journey of secrets. We are never quite sure of who is speaking and yet always sure it is the author's voice we hear. Citron has crafted her written words with the same sense of artistry evident in her films. This book is powerful and artfully written. It is as much about understanding the well-buried and fragmented narratives we each conceal as it is about the story of Citron's individual exploration of her own stories. Communicated through simple language inflected with subtle nuances, the truths among these pages explore the juncture of life and art. Interacting with this text is quite an experience.

This is a really different kind of memoir. It's personal, yet gripping as a novel would be (part of it is memoir, part is fiction). It's also thoughtful and analytical without falling into the trap of being dry or over-intellectualized. I learned as much about myself as I did about the author. The blurb on the back cover is right - once I started it, I couldn't put it down.

I thought this book was wonderful. Not only would Disney himslef be pleased but the original author of the Peter Pan books would also be pleased.

It is also classic Brooks. Filled with his enriched details and his way of writing that draws the reader into the book.

I have read almost all of the books that Brooks has written, including all of the Shannara books and the Landover series.

He is a wonderful writer and is able in his own way to make the reading of a book not only enjoyable but also very stimulating.

His way of bringing the reader into the novel is so wonderful that you can not put the novel down.

Brooks stayed true to the Peter Pan story and offered us a look at what Peter Pan might have been like had he actually grown up.

For a "What If" book, I give this book, not a 5 star rating but a 10 star rating.

I just read "Sometimes the magic works," a memior from Terry Brooks. He said writing this book was the worst experience of his life. The movie workers helped him in no way, so I was shocked when that person (someone who reviewed the book on amazon) said that the credit for this book goes to them.

And yes, it was good. No, don't buy it though. Borrow it from a friend, that way, Amazon doesn't make any more money.

Let's see how long this review stays posted, if at all.

Poor Peter Banning is living his life in the fast lane, making deals, making deadlines, attending meetings, and getting ahead. But, if there's someone he's not getting ahead with, it his children. But, when his children are kidnapped, Peter suddenly finds himself thrust into a world beyond his imagination. It seems that his children were kidnapped by Captain Hook...that's right, the villain of J. M. Barrie's story. It seems that Hook has this far out idea that Peter Banning is really Peter Pan. To rescue his kids, Peter is going to have to reach deep inside himself, and find something that he lost. But, will he do it in time?

In 1991, director Steven Spielberg produced yet another great movie - Hook. I absolutely love that movie. (I think it is directed more towards fathers than kids!) So, when I saw the book, I jumped at it. In this book, veteran fantasy author takes the story of Hook, and presents it in story form.

Now, it must be admitted that this book does not go beyond the movie, being a faithful novelization of the movie, and nothing more. But, that said, this is a very good book, one that brings back the magic of the movie to you when you are sitting trapped in an airplane, or God knows where. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it.

Granted, this book is a novelization of a movie, and a very faithful one at that, so much of the credit goes to the makers of the movie rather than to Brooks, but he does succeed in taking a marvelous story and telling it wonderfully, fully capturing the spirit of the story with his tone, as well as the events in it.

And a wonderful story it is, too. A superb sequel to the original Peter Pan story, answering the question "What would Peter be like if he ever DID grow up?" in a very plausible, indisputable way. Further, it is a perfect primer on how NOT to be a father, and what effects it can have on the children of someone who's falling down on the job, as well as showing a good example of how to do it right for comparison. Additionally, it is, like the original Peter Pan, an excellent story of the magic of childhood, but this one discusses how an adult can (and indeed MUST, if they want to avoid becoming unbearable) hold on to some of that magic, even while growing up and becoming responsible. And that sometimes, even people who HAVE lost that magic still don't learn how to be particularly responsible.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is truly wonderful; do yourself a favor, and track down a copy. It will be worth the effort. Then settle in for a good evening's read. You won't regret it.

I won't live without this cookbook! I bought this (my second copy) for the cottage. I must have one at home and one at the cottage. I have yet to make a recipe that people don't rave about.

Ted Reader brings grilling to new levels. The recipes are simple to follow and understand, and the ingredients are easy to find. There is a wide range of recipes for everyone's taste. Ted makes grilling fun, adventurous, and most of all delicious. Using this cookbook you will be a master griller. Have fun.

I've been grilling since I was a kid and have more than a few grilling books. I completely agree with other reviewer's in that both of Ted's books in this series raise the bar for bbq'ing to an entirely new level. The reciepes taste amazing and are also fun to make. Some of the receipes take a little more time to put together...but they are worth every second of preperation!

I have become addicted to Ted Reader's cookbooks. His latest, On Fire in the Kitchen is as adventurous and enjoyable as his others.

He makes the amateur chef want to get back into the kitchen. One word of warning however: you won't want to go out to dinner again....between having fun cooking his recipes, and eating the results, dining out will become boring.

Put your favorite music on, put something special in your best crystal goblet, get out that funky apron....

And start cooking.

A devoted follower of the 'King of Q'.

The title says it all: not only does this book tell you what a movie technically is made of (differences between film stocks, sound recording techniques, etc), it also tells you how the movie is shot (lighting, lenses, special effects, etc) but finally it also tells the deeper meaning of certain shots or sequences. Especially that last part is very interesting: with examples from Citizen Kane, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and many others, the author explains how the composition of the picture, movements and sound can communicate concepts like mood, emotion and relationships.

How Movies Work is an excellent introduction to the process and techniques of filmmaking. For any aspiring filmmaker or movie buff, it will introduce all of the intricacies from pre-production to post-production. Usually, the author's style is clear and comprehensible for the layman; however, there are moments when the text is burdened by the minutiae of the trade: trying to comprehend the definitions of film developing and editing practices is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, these moments are few and far between, and any dutiful reader will leave the book with a valuable wealth of knowledge regarding filmmaking.

What is disappointing, however, is that the book deliberately sidelines even a cursory overview of what the author terms "film theory." Admittedly, Kawin does not disguise the fact that he presents a bare-bones overview of the specific, concrete details regarding filmmaking, but a few pages on the psychological and abstract components of film theory would surely have supplemented the book nicely. Kawin argues that the most in depth analysis of film construction cannot be accomplished without a thorough knowledge of the production process, which is certainly true. While his book elaborately details the production process, it may not satisfy those who are interested in the theoretical constructs that deconstruct cinema.

As a final note, the illustrations are almost always beneficial. The text is, however, considerably dated. Films before 1986 are not included. The text discusses nothing about digital photography and very little about computer-generated imagery. Personally, however, in the age of DVD extra features, there is already a superfluity of this information easily located in the world of cinema, and the text does not suffer considerably from its absence.

You must buy this book if you want to find out how movies work, i.e., how they enrich our cultural experience and how they are made. Kawin's textbook is pleasantly readable by anyone interested in the cinema. It contains a wealth of information from film appreciation to film production (including explanations of various special effects!) to film studies. Every aspect of the cinema is clearly explained and illustrated with examples, and the book contains many still photographs, 96 of which are in color.

I think this is exactly how a "how-to" book should be written. I only wish it had been updated to reflect advances in the 1990s -- this book was first published in 1987 and reprinted in 1992.

Kawin is by far one of the brightest minds in film literature and theory today. His text brings the background of film to light and stresses the importance of all aspects of the cinema. This text is an excellent resource for any student of the cinema.

My Mom bought this book for my step-daughter who loves Garfield thanks to all my old books. She's often tried to draw our favorite furry orange fat toon, but has had a few problems. This book has set her straight and she's now drawing some good looking Garfield and friends.
It's given her new confidence in her drawing skills.

like i said VERY GOOD

This is a book where you can draw almost all the characters in the books of garfield.GREAT FOR GARFIELD FANS.

My best friend lent me the book for a wekend. It was wonderful! The instructions were clear and I'm now drawing Garfield like an old pro.

"I Want to be in the Show!" is a rare "Blue's Clues" book based directly one of the stories from the show. This is a version of "Blue's Big Musical Movie" and featuring Sidetable (Drawer)'s story. Everyone's holding a big music show. Sidetable wants to sing in the show, but she keeps getting stuck with boring jobs. She just needs a little help to speak up for herself.

This book has a bit different feel from some of the others. For one thing, the font being used a bit larger and more stylized than the normal font used in the books. Something about the overall look of the coloring feels a bit different and the story starts on the same page as the Note to Parents. None of this detracts from the story, though, which is quite enjoyable.

In the Note to Parents, it says that the book stresses empowerment and they hope it will teach kids "they can be anything they want to be." Certainly a nice lesson, and very Blue's Clues.

Any BluesClues book is wonderful..you can't go wrong. Deciding which one to buy is difficult. I bought so many for my 36 mo old daughter and like them all.

My two boys (5&2) enjoy Blues Clues books. This book teaches them not to be shy and to speak up when it is needed. It is very illustrated and colorful for all ages.

This is such a sweet story, a real lesson in how shy children can make good friends, and fulfill their dreams. The best thing about Blue's Clues is the spirit of friendship and respect among all of the characters. My daughter absolutely loves this book.

... at a great price. My boys love the books and I love that they love them.

These are a great set of books. Each item the specific animal wants always leads to another item, sounds a lot like a child doesn't it? I love how the author has recreated the mind of a child acting out the story in the form of a moose, pig, or mouse. Any of the titles would be an exception gift.

If You Take A ... books are some of the best children's stories written. The whole series is great and this set is a great value! I highly recommend it for children age 3-6.

I bought this series for my nephew, who is 18 mos. old. He loves to be read to. There is enough detail in the pictures that there is plenty to point out. I can ask him "Where's the mouse" and he can look for it in the picture and point it out. And the artwork is cute. The stories are also cute and the sentences are simple enough that once my nephew does begin to read he'll be able to read these easily enough. A bit of subtle humor though, on one page the mouse writes words on the chalk board and one of them is versimilitude...just wait until my nephew want's to know what that word means!

"After too many years looking for an answer, a man marries the most beutiful woman in the world, with her, he's got most of the things he's ever wanted in life. Except money"... Josh and Joan, a happily married couple, decided to take a week of and fly to Las Vegas. There, they met Ibraham, an Arab billionaire, which proposed Joan to spend a night with him, in exchange of a million dollars. Joan and Josh felt desperate and empty, they did not know what to do. Finally they both decided to accept the proposal. After that night, Josh and Joan werent the same, everything seemed to go wrong. They decided to separate, and Joan left with Ibraham.Later on, she realizes that the only man she belonged to was Josh,she discoverd how deeply in love she was with him, and returned to Josh. This novel shows how ambition can destroy your life. It taught me that everyone should be happy with what they have, and try to make the best out of it. Who cares if you have all the money in the world, all the cars you've ever wanted if you dont have love.Love is life, and it's free.

I am a fan of Robert Redford so I enjoyed the movie, but it was NOTHING compared to this book.

Jack Engelhard while telling an interesting story is super adept at weaving in moral dilemmas which make his readers THINK!!!

Bottom line...the book is better than the movie by far.

BTW...I have read ESCAPE FROM MOUNT MORIAH...I just wonder if it weren't for Adolf Hitler, Jack could well have become a rabbi...a very distinguished rabbi.

REALLY GREAT BOOK, Jack!! You and Cassell write about different Atlantic Citys. Yours is the Atlantic City of today:slick and tinseled...as opposed to Cassell's shabby but colorful.

Love lost and regained... maybe... at what price.

I quest for novels like this (The Bathsheba Deadline: An Original Novel was one, too), which are inspired and masterfully presented, but which do not leave the reader in the hopeless state of wanting to jump off a cliff, or off a skyscraper or high bridge, whichever arrives first.

Not only that, the story surged contemplations on various vital issues of life games... politics, religion, culture, all of what Engelhard ascribed to King David (the protagonist, Josh's man) as "lover, poet, warrior, sinner, king"... (I flipped instantly to page 61 when looking to verify that list, ha!)

Each character in this novel is precisely, profoundly, psychologically on target, with Joan, Josh, and Ibrahim being the prime trilogy in that observation:

--- Joan must have written her part, as the author accused of her in his introductory remarks, because her psychology of the feminine, as it is breaking down and rebuilding itself, are true to that psyche and hormonal balance which limits, defines, and elevates that gender, a gender which each human has within.

--- Ibrahim must also have written his part, because, as it appears to me, he is an embodiment of the pure strength and raw beauty of princely power, and of the potently rich addiction of profanity, both within his Amalekite blood.

--- Of course, Joshua, as bred by the author, constantly works the phenomenal growth potential inherent in his Jewish ancestral blood, as he relentlessly responds to the dynamic demand of consciousness shifting through the kaleidoscopic, mesmerizing, eternal process of thesis, antithesis, synthesis.

As I was reading somewhere in chapter 27 of INDECENT PROPOSAL, a thought came to mind:

"THIS IS A NOVEL."

I've never said that before, in that way, and in the most precise sense of the term "novel." For me, INDECENT PROPOSAL has delineated the term. Regarding that novel, I mean that term in the full, brightest sense of an inspired, artistic, structural accomplishment enhanced by the ability to entertain and enthrall a reader within the circular cohesion of a story format.

The complicated twists leading to the denouement of this story were awesome.

They had me fluctuating between seeing the book as a novel in the sense of bright-side brilliance...

... (especially during the reader's joy in experiencing the growing anticipation between Josh and Joan that the New York scene they had planned as a renewal of their love might work a healing magic for this pair of desert-crossed lovers)...

... then seeing the book as a novel of dark-side brilliance (on par with the literary classics, many of which I honestly can't condone as contributing to the mental health of the human race)...

... then flipping maybe a couple more times between the bright and dark... finally ending with the conclusion that INDECENT PROPOSAL has honored the grace of art and redemption of soul.

All of which brings me to noting how much I was impressed and edified by seeing parts from Escape from Mount Moriah: Memoirs of a Refugee Child's Triumph, Engelhard's childhood memoirs, bleeding, literally, into PROPOSAL. Now, of course, I see why ESCAPE stepped up to me to be read just prior to PROPOSAL, and why I was compelled to buy both in the same order on Amazon.

A question which remains after having read INDECENT PROPOSAL is:

Why did the movie move away from the intriguing, if discomforting, thematic landmine within the original novel.

Of course, the introductory essays to this original version of the novel made the opening reading of the first chapter all the more riveting, especially knowing ahead of time that this book contrasts so obviously with the movie.

As Englehard detailed generously in his intro remarks, the attempt to translate a novel into a movie is always limited by the forms of text Vs film. Also involved, as I know from my own perspective, is the fact that reading a novel aloud takes around 7 hours; whereas a movie's average run is under 2 hours. In any case, a balsamic touch for condensation is required for an honorable translation.

In this case, the movie script did not go balsamic with the essence of the original novel. It did ingeniously exploit one of the surface concepts of the book, while ignoring the deeper issues in the novel, eclipsing them with a concept of "every woman's fantasy." That fantasy may have been true for the screenwriter, but is not true for me, and not true for 90% of the female population, in my opinion.

Truly, the translation from novel to screenplay was confusing.

There was a reason that the female lead in the original novel was a high-spirited, gorgeous, blond Gentile. There were reasons that it was an Arab prince, an enormously wealthy Sheik, who tempted a Jewish man and his wife. There were reasons for the setting of the story being in Atlantic City's gambling cassinos, with the Jewish man being unlucky in his gambling addiction due to the intensity of his need, with the Arab prince owning the dark luck his wealth and ancient blood empowered. Where did all those reasons go.

As others have said, Engelhard has accomplished something timeless, eternal, and primal in this book. To acknowledge the publisher, Huberman's understatement, it holds universal messages.

Possibly, when this book was written on Engelhard's kitchen table, and later when it was made into a blockbuster movie, the human race was not ready to be entertained by the primitive sides of politics and truth. At that time, we were buying the romantic ideal, paying for redemption through rose-tints.

In the long run, truth designs a much bolder, richer story. Jack Engelhard has presented that story with literary finesse, with gritty depth and enthralling prose.

I love movies as well as books, yet I wonder if a movie could ever capture what this author can bring to life in an original novel.

Long may he write.

In some ways movie producers today have been getting away with politically and culturally adventurous plots. Maybe they're closer now to portraying the type of bold and rich which resides in the true novelist's soul.

Every minute of every day is a choice and a second chance (I said that).

Linda Shelnutt

Check out also Engelhard's Kindle novel, The Girls of Cincinnati
And see the works of John W. Cassell for novels of the same caliber which also embody the qualities praised in this review.

Oh, boy! This book is really something else. Although the movie gets the general idea of the plot, the characters are totally different from the book. Woody Harleson is a dark, moody and sacrastic European Jew obsessed with his blonde trophy wife. He lives in Philadelphia that he so deliciously hates. When the twosome go to Atlantic City (Vegas would be too happy a place), they meet, Robert Redford? Nooo! An evil oil prince from some desert kingdom. And this time it's not about money...