Anjelica Huston Books

I initially borrowed this from the library, I picked it up because I loved the photo of Audrey. Every page is a little feast of information and every photo a work of 'Art'. I need say no more.

Legends aptly pairs essays with black and white photos to examine the lives of women who have changed the world - as presented by great women writers such as Meg Cohen, Anne Hollander, Patricia McLaughlan and others. Enjoy an inviting collection of contemporary biographical sketches which reveals these women's many contributions to modern society.

After reading Legends 2 : Women Who Changed the World through the Eyes of Great Women Writers by John Miller, Kirsten Miller (September 2004) my curiosity to know more about `the women who are considered legendary' in our times, lead me to the original Legends by John Miller.
As my life is always inspired by those who `live their purpose' I was not disappointed by John Miller's daring assemblage of writers to optimize in words, their thoughts of contemporary iconic women from Golda Meir, Bette Davis, Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, Helen Keller, to the power of Georgia O'Keeffe, the bravery of Amelia Earhart, the beauty and wit of Lucille Ball, to the omni-presence of Oprah Winfrey.
As I tackle my days of mountains and mountains of to do's, during my mandated 3:00 mediation time, I read a page for renewal and inspiration to tackle the next contract, the next segment of my radio show or write the next review. Each well written snapshot of each of these heroic women is pure energetic inspiration. Reading the shards of Ella Fitzgerald life, reminds me of how far our world has come and how GOD has kept watch over "women" who are the perpetual of the world (not the destroyers as our gender counter part seem). The passions of Martha Stewart no matter what is said, you can not tarnished her business greatness for turning the mundane into an empire, (no matter what you think today).
As I continue to read, I want my daughter to now know these books, Legends. I want her to know and revere the women who faced odds and simply saw obstacles as `what you face in life.' Babe Didrikson Zaharias, an Olympic Athlete, faced it all; controversy, cancer and unbelievable discrimination to live her purpose. Anne Frank, has shown us that our greatness will rise, no matter what the circumstances. Marion Anderson exhibited that greatness will fulfill its purpose, no matter where; before a segregated audience or from the Lincoln Memorial.
Women. We make the world revolve, we create new life, and we are the reason for the term `a glass ceiling' being incorporating into modern language. John Miller reminds us `women-you have to live with us because you can not advance without us.'

Rather ironic, really, that the editor of this fine book is a man ~ unless "John Miller" is the nom de guerre of some radical female. Still, editing the book can't have been very hard; Miller had some excellent writers to work with. The selection of the legends is somewhat more questionable. Of the fifty, less then twenty are neither from nor intimately associated with the United States; in the effort to remind people of the ability of the other gender to produce legends, the publishers have largely neglected the largest portion of that gender. And as if that restriction is not enough, the editor has not included anyone for whom a photograph is not available, thus denying any woman from the first 95% of history the opportunity to be a legend. Funnily enough, these censures aside, i really enjoyed this book. Quite unlike the usual "feminist book" (i hate the quotes, but you have to admit they belong there), this is neither strident not shrill, nor even obnoxious. It is beautifully written, nicely put together, with superb selection of wonderful photographs of handsome people. Can't ask for much more than that, eh?

I got this for my mum once and it is so good.A different author writes about each of the different famous women in the book in only praising tones and it is really great to look through.Each page is a seperate female,author,article and photograph. Some of the sheilas written about are:Marilyn,Audrey Hepburn(as the cover shows you),Twiggy,Anne Frank and lets not forget Mother Theresa.Or Princess Diana.Madonna does not make it into this book,thank the lord,and thankfully neither do big modern-day stars such as Britney Spaniels..I mean Spears.All-in-all as they say!,a very good book!

The end, on post-production, is priceless. Especially the material about adding the score. But I think Louis B. Mayer comes out as the true hero, because of his skill at balancing commercial and artistic considerations.

Lillian Ross's books "Picture" and "Portrait of Hemingway" were listed as two of the top 100 best-of-the-century works of Journalism compiled by 36 judges working under the aegis of New York University.

Lillian Ross made her name with this New Yorker series about a half century ago. It was startling in its cynical and very humerous view of the self important and self delusional power players at MGM. With all that we have learned about this industry during the intervening 50 years the story has lost much of its potency, but is still a classic of the genre.

I read it in its original form all those years ago. It was a wonderful and hilarious read. But the protagonists, of course, were extremely upset and hated it. Happily,Lillian has survived; still writing for New Yorker.

Lillian Ross has given movie fans and those with a serious interest in film an extraordinary book about the final days of the studio system--and shows exactly why it collapsed. A few years later the independent film-maker emerged, and another book details that experience. Interestingly enough, both books deal with Audie Murphy. Like the Ross book, A THINKER'S DAMN by William Russo recounts the foibles of movie-making, this time in Saigon with Joe Mankiewicz in 1957. Each provides a timeless impression of a bygone movie era.

Lillian Ross, a writer for the New Yorker, heads to Hollywood in 1950 to watch John Huston make his next picture, "The Red Badge of Courage" at MGM, and manages to capture a horrifying snapshot of the studio system at its worst during a difficult time of transition for the film industry. She happens to be on hand to see Louis B. Mayer forced out and Dore Schary installed as studio head while the film is in mid-production. There are several scenes of Huston grinning and bearing it as Schary pompously lectures the great director of "The Maltese Falcon," "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "The African Queen" on how to make a movie. Schary pompously cites how he "solved story problems" in several of his own stodgy, now-forgotten pet projects as producer, like "The Next Voice You Hear." In one hillarious scene we see Arthur Freed, MGM's great producer of musicals, playing yes-man to Schary, and we glean, perhaps, how Freed, by appeasing the new boss, managed to keep some autonomy for his own expensive production unit through much of Schary's cost-cutting reign.

Then come the ill-conceived (or deliberately rigged) sneak previews. This serious war drama is screened at a local theater for an audience that came to see a Ginger Rogers romantic comedy, and the audience response is... (surprise!) vociferously negative. They find the film depressing, and many walk out. The old adage that new executives try to kill the projects put into the works by their predecessors may apply. Schary uses these preview results to justify having the movie re-cut while Huston is out of the country working on another film.

Anyone who suspects that there never was a golden age of Hollywood without inept executives and corporate committees will enjoy this book. You wonder how anything good ever gets made. Cynics will chuckle, film lovers will just shake their heads in sorrow. Of course, there is that other adage about not wanting to see how the sausage gets made...

When I purchased this and the Treasury of Fables CD, I had never heard of Rabbit Ears Productions. I listened to Davy Crockett on the way home & couldn't wait to play it for my son (He was 3yrs). He begs to listen to these stories every time we get in the car(Now he's 5yrs). I'm getting at least 2 more Treasury collections for Christmas this year. Thank you Rabbit Ears!

Thia is was very enjoyable and easy to listen to. I would feel amyone no mater their age would enjoy this listening to this book.

I purchased this for my daughter's fifth birthday and was very pleased with this collection.
Things I liked about Rabbit Ears Treasury of American Tall Tales:
1. Garrison Keillor has an amazing reading ability. He is easy for everyone to listen to.
2. Each story was backed by original music, written to enhance the mood of the story. It was well played and enjoyable.
3. Almost all of the tales were enjoyed by everyone in my family.
4. Each was an appropriate amount of time (approximately 30 minute per story) to hold interest and provide detail.
5. We have listened to the stories over and over, and no one is tired of them yet!
6. The vocabulary is not dumbed down, but understandable in context.

Things I didn't like:
1. Rip Van Winkle was a bit scary to my five year old. The ghosts' decision to sabotage Rip's future with his family really bothered her a great deal.

2. Occasionally the audio became difficult to hear. Repeat listenings and cranking the sound during quiet moments helped, but shouldn't have been necessary.

3. The bit about Johnny Appleseed believing he will have three angel brides in heaven if he remains pure on earth just kept bringing my mind back to the 9/11 sickos who believed killing innocents would mean they would get virgins in heaven. That's my own personal connection, so it shouldn't be troublesome to kids listening to the story (though adults reading this might feel squeamish after seeing this connection. Sorry.)

This is great for car trips, and a real entertainment bargain. Overall, I would recommend this CD and would buy more Rabbit Ears audio cds in the future.

Frank Chambers (Jack Nicholson) is a drifter who manages to scam his way into the lives of married couple Nick (John Colicos) and Cora (Jessica Lange). Nick owns and operates a small diner in the middle of nowhere and his wife Cora is the cook. Nick falls for one of Frank's schemes but nonetheless offers him a job and a place to stay. Frank is immediately attracted to Cora and decides to stay on as a mechanic behind the diner. Cora is initially cold to him and refuses his advances while Nick likes Frank a great deal and invites him into his home to talk and drink all night. Frank waits for the day when Nick leaves town on business to make a move on Cora. He tries to whisk her away to Chicago but she is resistant and the trip ends with her returning home. Frank feels burned by her and isn't interested when she tries to get him to help her kill Nick. " They hang people for that" he tells her. Cora continues that Nick is worth a lot of money that the two could run off with and make a life for themselves. Frank takes some convincing but agrees to act as lookout while Cora kills Nick in their home. The attempted murder doesn't go smoothly since Nick is not really dead and he emerges a changed man who wants to keep Frank and Cora even closer than before. The two decide to try again and make a life for themselves but they have now drawn the attention of cops and lawyers who have them pegged for murderers who are hoping to collect on the hefty life insurance policy. The film is actually a little long and boring in spots. Nicholson is pretty good but this is not one of his best performances and Lange is quite sexy. Colicos is the most sympathetic character and actor Michael Lerner plays a lawyer who represents Frank as the story progresses. Anjelica Huston, Nicholson's lover at the time, has a very brief role as a lion tamer in a traveling circus that Frank has an affair with. The script has none of the usual Mamet dialogue and in fact was changed drastically in spots by director Bob Rafelson. The biggest example of this is the first time Frank and Cora have sex. The scene is very brutal and plays like a rape that Cora doesn't entirely consent to at first. This scene also sets the standard for the rest of the sex scenes. There is practically no nudity only brief flashes but regardless the scenes are quite explicit. The film is okay but a little long and pointless all leading up to a dumb ending. Still fans of Nicholson or Mamet might want to check it out as a curiosity.

Very, very much the classic "Nicholson". Jessica Lang is supremely sexy, beautiful, and the combination of the two of them just explodes on the screen, Both are truly wonderful actors and, although a remake of the original, it is better by far.

There are only a few movies that I would put in the same category along with it: Casablanca, The African Queen, and The Great Escape. In short, I loved it and probably have seen the movie about 50 times. It is indeed a classic!

I saw the 1981 "Postman" when it first came out. The period recreation and photography are excellent. Moreover, the performances are convincing and the sexual heat can be felt. Lange, who hit major stardom the following year with "Tootsie" and "Frances," has been a top notch actress ever since her arrival in Hollywood. Here, she gets her first high profile dramatic role. In her prime, Lange was an incredibly sexy woman. Hot with a capital "H." In this version, Rafelson and company are true to the ethnicities of Cain's characters. Nick is Greek not English and the lawyer is Jewish not Irish. Another reviewer, Dennis Littrell, suggested that 1946 Hollywood was afraid of being offensive. Littrell is mistakenly applying modern PC concerns to the past. Unflattering and even offensive potrayals of different races and ethnic groups were commonplace at the time. Even though Jews of European descent largely ran Hollywood, they were convinced that many audience members didn't want to watch anyone that might be a little different from them. Of course, John Garfield was Jewish but he wasn't playing a Jewish character. Although certain forties films like "Gentleman's Agreement" addressed the issue of bigotry, it wasn't until the fifties that people of different races and ethnicities were up on the screen more often. Nonetheless, the 1946 version with sultry Lana Turner and ruggedly handsome Garfield really captures the era and the tragedy of these doomed characters.

I admit to being a film noir fan of long standing. Maybe it was the fact of growing up in the time of black and white television and watching all those late night movies which were freely available at the time. Maybe it was that tight, if improbable, dialogue, the relatively simple plots and the dramatic effect of the shadows of black and white photography on mood. In any case, the Postman Always Rings Twice fits nicely into that mix. The plot line is fairly simple- unhappy California house wife, an older overbearing, uncaring lout of a husband and a younger man at the door who turns out to be handy with a wretch- all the ingredients for a murder. Of course, as always the guilty parties will have to face justice. You know this is a modern morality play, after all. This remake, in color, starring the always watchable Jack Nicholson and forbiddingly sexual Jessica Lange is probably truer to Cain's wicked designs but to my mind the old noir classic black and white starring John Garfield and Lana Turner is the definitive Postman. In any case one should read the book by James M. Cain to get a better feel for the language, the steamy sexual tension and better insight into the motivations driving the characters to their fates.

Director Bob Rafelson reunited with his "Five Easy Pieces" star Jack Nicholson on this film, which also stars Jessica Lange, Anjelica Huston, and briefly Christopher Lloyd (also reunited with Nicholson from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"). When Rafelson set out to make this film (which had already been adapted from the novel into a 1946 film starring Lana Turner), he wanted to take a detour from the original. In 1946, you weren't really allowed to show sex so the film had destroyed the whole vision of the novel. So, Rafelson has been adamant about not calling this a remake. I've never seen the original or read the book, so this is my first exposure to the material. Having said that, there's something about this film that's kind of funny...There is no postman. When we meet drifter Frank Chambers (Nicholson), he just scammed a restuarant owner named Nick (John Colicos) out of a free meal. About to leave, Nick offers him a job and Frank accepts. Problem is, Frank can't contain his feelings for Nick's wife Cora (the beautiful Jessica Lange). After Nick and Cora begin having an affair, Cora tells Nick that the only way they continue is if Nick is killed. After a failed attempt, they cool off for awhile...But eventually realize that it's something that must be done. The first hour of the film is spectacular, it sags a little in the second hour (causing me to almost give it 4 stars). But the performances are so good and the ending is so beautifully done (some complain it's abrupt, but it works to suit Nicholson's character). I don't know how this film is compared to the book and movie that inspired it, but it's a great movie. For people just looking for nudity, this isn't your movie. The sex scenes are pretty graphic, but the only nudity is Anjelica Huston side-boob.

GRADE: A-