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Quinn Had One Heck of a LifeReview Date: 2008-07-18
The Very meaning of the phrase "Larger Than Life"Review Date: 2008-07-05
Quinn, a Mexican from Chihauhua, possessed an inner drive and an ego destined to make him larger than life in one arena or another. Although with multiple hidden talents, most of which only to be discovered later in life, Quinn became an actor in order to learn English better. But during a bumpy life course he became much, much more than just an actor, he sculpted, painted, cycled and kept a string of younger ladies and a host of wives and families happy until his death as an octogenarian. All of which required considerable talent.
Had it not been told so well and with such passion and verve, and from Quinn's own deeply passionate and artistic mind, this could have been a very tragic story indeed, but the way the events of his life actually unfolded lent itself to the pure poetry that is exhibited here; and the way they have been collated arranged and sorted out by Daniel Paisner, makes them a "song" to all of those like myself who only knew Quinn vicariously through that "rough but exciting" screen persona, as "Zorba the Greek" and his many other characters.
Unlike the biography of one of Quinn's (and my) heroes, Marlon Brando, which was lifeless to the point of being depressing, this one is alive and sparkles throughout. Both Quinn and Dan Paisner are to be commended for, at the same time raising the level of biographic writing, while also raising the human spirits in a story exquisitely well told.
One of the few books on any subject that is so full of life's dramas and metaphors, that you will love reading it so much that you will want to read it over and over. Fifty Stars.
One Man TangoReview Date: 2001-06-06
Although he would never receive accolades as a husband, he truly loved his family. He mentioned several times, his grief at the death of his son and the loss of father.
He made many friends along the way, and treasured every one. Not caring whether they were paupers or kings.
In 1983, we had the pleasure of seeing and meeting Mr. Quinn on Broadway, in Zorba the Greek. We had invested in several of his paintings and sculptures, and was invited to a party for him at the Helmsley Palace in New York City. We were really impressed with his ability to encompass a room with his presence, while giving every person a piece of his persona.
This book is excellent reading, which keeps the reader waiting for his next thought. The world will truly miss this great man.

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Funny! Witty! An exceptionally good read!Review Date: 2000-03-24
Bona strikes again with "Opening Shots..."Review Date: 2004-10-09
Gregory Peck as a Soviet partisan fighting Nazi invaders?
Sally Field as a Lolita-like teenager on a Westward bound wagon train?
Kevin Costner in a soft-core "T&A" film?
Michael Douglas as an antiwar activist who joins the Army?
Every career has to have a beginning, and acting in films isn't any different, as readers of Damien Bona's Opening Shots: The Unusual, Unexpected, Potentially Career-Threatening First Roles That Launched the Careers of 70 Hollywood Stars will discover when they explore this witty, informative, and even a bit biting tome by the author of Starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan and Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards.
Starting with Woody Allen's appearance in 1964's What's New, Pussycat? and concluding with Pia Zadora's debut in that same year's epic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Bona, a former lawyer who switched to entertainment reporting (he has contributed film-related articles to TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, and Premiere), examines and sometimes skewers some of filmdom's greats (and not-so-greats) in their fledgling film appearances.
Of course, Bona points out the good "opening shots" as well as the weird or just-plain-bad ones. Take Robert Duvall's career-starting role of Boo Radley in the 1962 classic To Kill a Mockingbird, where he plays the oft-talked about but not-seen-till-almost-the-end of Robert Mulligan's adaptation of Harper Lee's best-selling novel. He is only onscreen for three and a half minutes (appearing 113 minutes into the film, at that!) and has no dialog, but he does save Jem and Scout from a vicious attack, revealing himself to be not a monstrous freak but just a mentally retarded man with the gentleness of a child trapped in an adult man's body.
Many of the 70 entries deal with short first roles that don't add or detract from a film's positive qualities, but the more fascinating ones involve such possible career-enders as Sally Field's appearance in 1966's The Way West "as one Mercy McBee, a teenager whose personality is entirely defined by her sex drive." Who would have thought that this future two-time Academy Award winner (and TV's cute Gidget) made her film debut as a 19th Century Lolita of the Oregon Trail?
Equally silly was Walter Matthau's villainous turn in Burt Lancaster's only directorial effort, 1955's The Kentuckian, a Western which starred Lancaster, Dianne Foster, Diana Lynn, and Donald McDonald, with Matthau earning fifth billing as a saloon keeper with a very cruel streak. He clashes with Lancaster for various reasons, not the least of which is the fact that they both want the attentions of the lovely Miss Lynn. Now, the idea of Matthau as a heavy is not ridiculous, since he could play cold and unendearing characters (as he did in 1964's Fail-Safe), but the idea of rumpled, New York City-born-and-bred Matthau as a villain in a Western is, sadly, rather ridiculous.
Another surprising first film appearance, considering his later appearances in The Big Chill, The Right Stuff, and Jurassic Park, was Jeff Goldblum as "Freak Number 1" in that Charles Bronson vigilante vehicle, Death Wish (1974). There, the guy Bona characterizes as "an expert interpreter of neurotic intellectualism" has what the author describes as "one of the most unpleasant screen debuts ever, Jeff Goldblum goes through his paces robbing ...and... murdering." (I'll take Bona's word for it; I've never seen this "classic" vendetta-driven flick that started a franchise, and judging by the obscene lines written for Goldblum by screenwriter Wendell Mayes, I don't plan to!)
Debra Winger, she of the sexiest voice (at least to me) in movies and star of the somewhat mawkish but enjoyable An Officer and a Gentleman, made her film debut in a soft-core flick called Slumber Party '57, in which six nymphets gather for a, you guessed it, a slumber party while their boyfriends are out of town. Winger (who omits this film from her official resume) bares her assets and acts poorly in this "sex-ploitation" film that Bona says "is definitely in the running as the worst film in this book." Fortunately, not many people saw this film, much less read the few obscure reviews in the Hollywood trade publications, and Winger went on to other roles until finally catching the audience's imagination in Urban Cowboy.
Opening Shots is a light and entertaining read, and Bona mixes short star biographies, anecdotes (there is, for instance, a list of Hollywood stars who married co-stars they met on sets), and witty asides on the margins of pages. Each entry is presented in alphabetical order and introduced with a major credits box to the "first film," a still, and a Bona-ism (Meryl Streep's for 1976's Julia reads, "Already with the accent") which sets the tone for the short chapter.
Funny! Witty! An exceptionally good read!Review Date: 2000-03-24

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read it when i was 10!Review Date: 2008-01-24
This book is an awsom adventureby:BC from North BoulevardReview Date: 2007-12-14
A year 4 class opinion of The PagemasterReview Date: 2001-07-03

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Sweet!Review Date: 1999-10-28
awsomeReview Date: 1999-04-08
Telling of an immortal love...perfect for Valentine's Day.Review Date: 1997-02-14
In his own words, our own courageous, selfless, devoted, and poetical Patrick Thornhart lays bare before us his noble soul, writing movingly of his eternal love for the bewitching but troubled Margaret Saybrooke, who became the love of his lonely life the instant he lay his eyes, not to mention his lips, on hers.
The story of how Patrick and Margaret met on the enchanted Irish isle of Inish Crag sets the stage for the timeless romance with which the author spellbinds his readers in these pages. Not only is this tale mesmerizing on its own terms - a captivating story of lovers equally as captivating - but Thornhart gifts us with many lyrical poems that reflect on his feelings for Miss Saybrooke - and that also offer a welcome opportunity for the reader to reacquaint herself with some of the world's most senstive love poetry.
Some of the immortal poems included in Patrick's Notebook are the Shakespeare sonnet 116 ("Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments..."), A Thing of Beauty, by John Keats, How Clear She Shines, by Emily Brontë, She Walks in Beauty, by Lord Byron, Miles From Home, by Thorsten Kaye, and Longing by Matthew Arnold. Each of these poems, and all the others here besides, enhance Thornhart's true story of love, heartbreak, turmoil, and determination, and his own words suffer not by comparison...
We have in Patrick Thornhart an instinctive, articulate, and irresistible writer of the first rank, and we have in Patrick's Notebook that rare maiden effort that is destined to become a classic. Incredibly, the book comes packaged with an audiocassette of Thornhart's own recital, in his deep, warm, velvety Celtic-tinged voice, of several of the poems found in the book. His rendering of Sonnet 116 is especially heartfelt, and you'll hear his ringing Mother Ocean in your dreams for many nights to come.

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superb!Review Date: 1997-11-16
Great book on a misunderstood man.Review Date: 2000-12-19
Verhoeven is a VERY smart man and has led an intriguing life. If all you know of him is that he's "the pervert who made Showgirls," you'd do well to read this book. Good job, Rob Van Scheers!
Excellent overview of a director's careerReview Date: 2002-04-01
The book covers Verhoeven's childhood, early student days, his time in the military making documentaries, and his
entire film career in detail from his first major Dutch production through the making of Showgirls. For the length of the
book (only 300 pages) there is A LOT covered. If you are hoping to learn more about this rather infamous director you will
not be disappointed.
There is a new chapter for each of his major Dutch and American films.
Besides the biographical text, there are some black and white photos before and after each major section and a complete filmography (through Starship Troopers). The book also has an index that is actually useful in finding the info you need.
I recommend this highly for anyone interested in Verhoeven--you might even find yourself surprised at how personable, intelligent, and funny he is.
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Old Zoo, Modern SensibilitiesReview Date: 2007-12-22
touching and revealingReview Date: 1999-05-11
Behind the scenes in my childhood zooReview Date: 2001-07-24

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Solid and fair-minded.Review Date: 2006-02-02
Someone should get this guy to do a series of books on directors.
Great Peckinpah biographyReview Date: 2003-12-16
Peckinpah - just the factsReview Date: 1999-11-22

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Jack does it again!Review Date: 2008-04-26
In Dance of the Hours, I was once again on the edge of my seat (or the edge of my son's bed as I read it to him at bedtime) ! Jack is in possession of the time piece that is responsible (with his help, of course)for the world turning upside-down, literally and now he and Fitzwilliam have to fix it or Jack (and everyone else for that matter) will cease to exist.
Great read with pre-historic animals and twists and turns a long the way. I love being transported into Jack's world and I love being able to share it with my son.
Quick readReview Date: 2007-12-01
great books!Review Date: 2007-12-26

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The Golden Age At Its BestReview Date: 2001-06-06
A Different Curriculum for CambridgeReview Date: 2001-03-28
Joyce is the fiancée of Marcus Featherstone, one of Campion's oldest friends. She lives with her great aunt Caroline, a pair of unpleasant uncles and an equally depressing brace of aunts. Uncle Andrew, a singularly miserable fellow, has vanished and Joyce has come to Campion for help. In short order Andrew is found murdered in such a fashion as to implicate his heavy drinking brother William. Campion's presence is commanded by Great Aunt Caroline and he is settled into Socrates Close, their Cambridge home, to act as detective, defender and general factotum.
Yes, I said commanded. Great Aunt Caroline Faraday is a true Victorian 'grand dame.' For most of her life she has ruled Socrates Close and much of Cambridge's social life. Even now, in her 90's she is a force to be reckoned with. She has no patience with her dependents, who share little of her and her departed husband's brilliance. She sees no alternative to the ministrations of Campion, with whose mysterious but illustrious family she is well acquainted.
It will take the death of one of Joyce's aunts and yet another fatality before Campion is able to meet her expectations. In doing so he will brush with evil at its most petty and spiteful. The lightheartedness that Campion uses to cover his true feeling entertains and delights us, but is never completely able to dispel the pall that lies upon the great house until the very last, when he once again finds a way through.
I believe this is the first time Allingham puts aside her Chinese fire drill device and settles in to write true detective fiction. Her talent reveals itself as quite capable of handling the slower pace, which allows here more time to develop a remarkable cast of characters. These are never guilty of tediousness despite any other flaws they chose to reveal.
It is a shame that Allingham's books are often allowed to go in and out of print. Too often, Campion aficionados are condemned to rummaging in used bookstalls to fill a gap in their collection. Luckily, most of us like to rummage. Police at the Funeral is a wonderful tale that is reminiscent of Marsh's "Death of a Peer," although the Faradays are nowhere as near as appealing as Marsh's Lampreys. Except for Great Aunt Caroline, of course, who is a perfect treat. I can only tell you this tale is well worth digging for.
Families can be so trying at timesReview Date: 2006-04-17
Upon arriving at the Faraday household Albert discovers that his grandmother and the matriarch of clan, Aunt Caroline, are old friends. With this entree into the family Campion begins to unearth old family secrets and scandals. Ultimately the truth comes out but not before the body count rises.
Albert Campion has been compared to Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey especially in the earlier novels. The similarities are noticeable in this one but less so than the previous novel, MYSTERY MILE. Campion is still traveling in the close world of upper class old English families and still playing the effete fool. The setting here is Cambridge (as opposed to Wimsey's Oxford) and Campion's police contact Oats, is reminiscent to Wimsey's Parker. Campion though is beginning to remerge from Wimsey's shadow here and developing more of his own style.
The mysteries are intriguing, the clues are all present and challenging enough to keep the reader guessing. This is a great entry into the series, one that fans will not want to miss. It would also be a good place to begin if the earlier books are not available.

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Excellent -- for all agesReview Date: 2006-11-04
I absolutly loved the book. Thank you very much for wonderReview Date: 1999-01-23
An inspiring behind the scnes account of a classic tale...Review Date: 1998-11-01
Some of the topics covered in this book include the story of how the film was conceived and developed, the voice cast for the movie, the music (which appears to be excellent), creating the design for the movie, the animators, special effects and how all of this was orchestrated into a completed animated movie.
Of paraticular interests to those interested in history is the apparent attention to detail the animators have given to the cultures of both ancient Egyptians and the ancient Hebrews. The story appears to closely parallel the account in the Old Testament and also includes some of the best creative conceptulizations of the the other classic Hollywood produced movies based upon the story of Moses and The Ten Commandments.
This book will serve as an excellent companion to both the movie, associated printed material and most certianly the forthcoming soundtracks which are scheduled for release in mid-November.
Reviewed by Michael C. Turner
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Despite his inability to resist the ladies for whom his addiction and appeal was legendary, Quinn lived a life that could not have been fictionalized to be more interesting. He was born in a Mexican hut to a mother who had only recently been sent home from the front lines of the Mexican Revolution. She had wanted to remain and continue fighting, but her obvious pregnancy resulted in her being sent home. Her husband stayed and continued fighting with Poncho Villa. Years later his father moved to Los Angeles and eventually became an assistant cameraman at Zelig's Movie Studio. Anthony showed a talent for art early in life. Quinn studied briefly with Frank Lloyd Wright through the Taliesin Fellowship he won in a high school architectural design contest. Quinn was sent to have his speech impediment surgically corrected on Wright's recommendation. To further correct his speech he was sent to an acting school. That, combined with his father's friendships at Zelig's, led to Quinn being hired as an extra in the movies.
This second autobiography was published in 1997 when the actor was eighty-two years old. His last two children were born in 1993 and 1996 to Quinn and his third wife Kathy Benvin. Both his first wife Katherine DeMille and his third wife were named Katherine, which is one of those odd coincidences that make his life a bit confusing for the reader.
This memoir is 419 pages long and is written in such a way that the reader never gets bored. The reader may, however, get exhausted because the vehicle Quinn uses to tie his life experiences together is one of his day-long bicycle rides around the steep hills of his Italian Villa. He is constantly climbing another hill or avoiding a swerving truck coming around the next mountain bend. During this physically tiring day of bike riding he reminisces about his long life, his many crazy experiences, the people he has met and many of the women he has loved or bedded. He is old enough to be trying to make sense of his rich life experiences and to understand his purpose in life. As an artist he feels that he must constantly be creating or he will die.
Quinn turns out to be a deep thinker in addition to a talented actor, painter, sculptor and writer. It's useless for me to even attempt to convey some of the wise sage advice and observations that Anthony expresses so eloquently. So I won't try. His book is peppered with fascinating characters he has met. Frederico Fellini who directed him to an academy award nomination in "La Strada" gave him some memorable advice about giving interviews to journalists. "Why do you tell these people the truth?"
"Me, I never tell the truth to a journalist. I always lie. It is like an exercise to me, because when I lie I have to use my imagination...you will read it in the papers the next day."
After reading that summary of Fellini's advice to Quinn I wondered if Anthony might not have taken it too much to heart. I especially wondered when I read the last few lines of the book when Quinn wrote: "I wish to go out in style. There will be no pine box sunk six feet under ground, no urn to be placed on a mantle and forgotten. No...There will be my dozen children, carrying me up a hill in Chihuahua and leaving me to rot in the hot sun. I can picture the scene, transposed over the fertile ground of my youth. (I have the specific hill mapped for my executors.) I will be laid to rest at the top of the rise, a feast for the vultures. My children will go back to the rest of their lives and the birds will pick at what is left of me. They will lift me up, piecemeal, and defecate me out all over the countryside, returning me to the earth from which I had sprung, leaving me forever a part of all Mexico.
"And the dance goes on."
Now the book doesn't tell you if that is what Quinn's executors really did concerning his funeral arrangements. If you are like me, you will head straight to the Internet to find out where and how Quinn's funeral was actually carried out. The reader may be surprised.
The reader definitely won't be bored with this book. Anthony Quinn was a man peddling madly on his bicycle to find the truth of life. He was always in search of the answers to the age-old questions: "Who Are We, Why Are We Here, Where Are We Going?" Remember than Quinn won an Oscar for his role as Gauguin in "Lust for Life." During the filming of that motion picture he felt that Gauguin's ghost had actually taken over his body and soul in order to properly portray his life for the silver screen.
Quinn always leaves the reader of his autobiography wanting to know more. This is one of the most enjoyable autobiographies this reviewer has ever had the multiple pleasures of reading.