Movies Books

I had no idea the spectrum of videos available until I read this book. It's also the perfect book if you want to get a video to watch with your lover and tells you how to introduce the idea to them. Plus it tells you who the good filmmakers are. Comprehensive and highly recommended.

I always thought I would watch adult movies if only there were any good ones! I was never very excited about adult movies but I am a fan of the author, and the video guide is not only her best book to date but made me want to go out and rent some of these movies. As a woman I am used to being insulted by adult movies, but the guide is written by an intelligent woman and she's pointed the way for me to find hot movies, and her recommendations have been right on the mark. She gives the reader a guide with which they can make informed decisions about what they do and do not want to watch. How refreshing.

This is a great book! My girlfriend and I love it, and she's now happily put herself in charge of renting our videos. Violet Blue's tone is warm, funny, and excited about sex and adult videos, and she takes no prisoners in her hilarious video reviews. There are hundreds of films in this book and she explains how to find the good stuff. My girlfriend liked where Blue explained how to avoid seeing things that are offensive and we cracked each other up reading the "porn glossary" out loud to each other. It's nice to see a guide that takes us readers and porn watchers seriously. It's a great book for us couples. Don't read it alone! Thank you Violet Blue!

This is the ultimate consumer guide to porn and it's perfect for women and couples. The female perspecitve is utmost here and it shows you how to steer clear of low quality and female degredation while still finding really hot porn. This is an encyclopedia of modern adult film and nothing has been left out. History, backstories, profiles on interesting people in the business, lots of women-made erotic films and even softcore and mainstream titles are covered here. Nice sections on finding and selecting porn to suit individual's tastes. This book is a welcome relief and is intelligent, funny and free of the usual judgement and stigma in other porn writing. Blue treates porn like an independent film genre, and it's about time.

As someone who has been recommending intimate videos to my girlfriends for years, I was anxious to see what I might learn from Violet Blue's, `The Ultimate Guide to Adult Videos.' As it turns out - if you're an experienced porn watcher - not much! (More on why not later.) But if you're a newbie, this book actually has a lot to offer!

For those of you who might be hesitant to watch porn, this book offers many reassurances, such as - people who watch porn are NOT compulsive masturbators, or - porn watchers DO enjoy regular sex with their partners, and, most significantly - watching porn will NOT affect your ability to have a meaningful relationship but, in fact, it might do just the opposite! (Hear, hear!)

On the positive side, the book also provides many GOOD reasons for watching porn, such as - to satisfy one's curiosity (and to expand one's horizons), as education, as entertainment before (or during) sex, or quite simply - to get off! On this last point, Violet offers a lot of encouragement particularly to women - to allow themselves to masturbate while watching porn - which, for men, is only second nature (like breathing)! Lastly, for couples, this tome does review the sensitive issue of how to view porn with a partner - especially when one partner is reluctant. (Luckily, my husband has never had this problem!)

Violet also reassures us - that it's not always necessary to attempt (in one's own bed) everything we might see in porn - and that it's ok for certain types of action to remain in the realm of `fantasy.' In fact, one of porn's strongest roles - is to dimensionalize (add realism) to our sexual fantasies. So even if your boyfriend watches some of the raunchiest porn imaginable - that doesn't require you to try it (or even admit to liking it, even if you do) - so long as he's able to separate fantasy from reality (which most men are surprisingly able to do.)

Probably the most useful sections of the book deals with the types of porn available, such as - feature films, educational videos, all-sex videos (all sex, no plot), to name just a few - as well as my favorite, girl/girl -- which is sometimes called lesbian videos, even though most of the performers are not true lesbians. So if you're unsure of what to watch, this book can add structure to the sometimes bewildering array of porn that's available.

On the downside, this book was published in 2003 -- just a few years ago - but a long time, unfortunately, in porn years! As a result, most of the movie titles it recommends - which make up about 2/3rds of the book - may be difficult, if not impossible, to find today (unless one looks in the classics or marked-down sections). Fortunately, some of the directors, studios, and series listed -- may still be around in some later incarnation.

There's also very little mention of one of the hottest new genres - gonzo -- in which the director interacts (verbally) with the actors -- which saves cost, since there's no script and no rehearsing - but results in some of the hottest, most spontaneous action you'll ever see on screen.

For the experienced porn watcher, this book also seriously dates itself by pointing out that the most prevalent and brazen type of (male) climax available at the time - were facials (an ejaculation served across a woman's face) - which are as useless and degrading back then as they are today! (Ladies, honestly, how often have you asked your lover to do this for you? If you're like me - how about NEVER!) Let's get real!

Fortunately, achieving a climax within a woman's body (on screen) is much more accepted and commonplace in porn today - which makes the action more realistic, more romantic - and much more emotionally satisfying to watch! (It's about time!)

As another nit, the book sadly has only a brief chapter on lesbian and girl/girl videos, which is a shame. And it mixes them with bi-videos (where the men do it with both men and women) which have an entirely different audience and a much more limited appeal.

Luckily, the author, Violet Blue, has a new book coming out, `The Smart Girls Guide to Porn,' which sounds well targeted - since its women who will probably seek out this type of info, especially in a book!

As a happily married (bisexual) female, here are my suggestions for what I'd like to see included in her new book - which this present edition was sorely lacking:

There are now genres of porn - which explore the lovingness of every orifice (such as oral and anal) - and the creative after-climax uses for a man's output (such as swallowing, swapping, and cream pies which is the oozing of ejaculant out of the orifice where it was deposited, plus other combinations of the above).

The natural eroticism of girl/girl should be more strongly highlighted - especially for women. In my own experiences, I've yet to meet a girl who doesn't like to watch two cute babes making love to each other. And I've also found that a woman's enjoyment of porn will increase tremendously - after she discovers girl/girl, which only makes sense since porn is about women - and women have always had an appreciation for the beauty of the fairer sex. (Said differently, it's harder to believe that porn exploits women, and to restrict one's own enjoyment - when pretty girls can now be an object of desire - for both men and women!)

Needless to say, a section of the book should be added to reassure MEN - that watching girl/girl videos will NOT turn their girlfriends or wives into lesbians! (Take it from me -- they won't!) Unfortunately, the most common reason I've found to explain why some women DON'T watch girl-only videos - is because their men don't (yet) approve. Fortunately, that attitude is quickly changing.

I didn't say this earlier, but back in 2003 - it was also taboo to mix boy/girl and girl/girl action - in the same scene. The thinking was (and still is) that guys will be turned off. But one of my favorite type of videos today is girl/girl/boy threesomes, where the girls are free to make love to each other early on (usually in the segment's opening) - and later all throughout the scene - even after their guy has joined in, which is pretty heady stuff!

As further expansion, the nastiest and most romantic of these girl/girl/boy threesome titles are probably more easily recognized under the `swapping' genre where the girls do just that orally with their lover's output - which, for me, is a great heterosexual reassurance - which allows the intimacy of the girl/girl action to go even higher! (As a watch-out, these videos are probably better suited to the more advanced porn watcher - but they are items which I suggest quite often - to my girlfriends who really enjoy porn!)

In conclusion, Violet Blue's `Ultimate Guide to Adult Videos' offers some timeless advice to overcome one's hesitation when it comes to watching porn. The plethora of videos it recommends, though - are hopelessly out-of-date! Fortunately, porn just keeps getting better and better - for both men and women! Enjoy.

As an avid horror fan, I must say Vincent Price is the long-standing king of horror. When I think of horror movies, he immediately comes to mind. Finally, a book that specializes in the work of a true master who truly loved his work. Having recently purchased this, I look forward to mulling through its contents and watching the many films of "The Master of the Macabre." Long live Vincent Price!!!

True fans of Vincent Price don't really care whether or not we're watching something badly made like SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN or some auteur-approved masterpiece like TOMB OF LIGEIA. As long as Vincent Price is in it, hamming it up and acting all others right off the screen we are in hog heaven. It's a strange, fervid fraternity and way back when someone started calling us The Price Club and the name just stuck.

Denis Meikle has given us a book that clears up some of the myths surrounding Price's career, but he seems determined to create a new one, based somewhat on Victoria's great book. His thesis is that the McCarthy hearings and the "graylist" of which Price was the victim made him scared that he would never work again, so that afterwards, from the mid 1950s on, he consented to appear in any piece of schlock if the "price was right." Again and again he evinces this theory to explain, for example, why VP appeared as "Egghead" on TV's BATMAN. Price himself often stated that he wanted money to but more modern art with, but Meikle discounts this simple explanation.

I am the proud owner of a signed copy of Price's awesome book THE ART IN MY LIFE and I think that he indeed loved art and that he wasn't just "running scared" from the HUAC police.

But everyone deserves a forum for their views and Meikle makes a good case for his.

When I was a kid way, way back in the late sixties to the early
seventies I never failed to catch a great Price film on the late night Creature Features. This book is hard to put down.
Dennis Meikle does'nt white wash the Master of Menace, nor present him in any unfavorable light. All of Price's successes
and failings are told here in a very respectful manner. As a
matter of fact there were some parts of Price's life I did'nt want to know. This is the story of a great actor the likes of whom we will never ever see again. Well illustrated. A really
excellent book.

I just finished reading this excellent book on Vincent Price. It concentrates just on his work in the horror film genre which is primarly what he is remembered for. Denis Meikle follows Vincent's career chronologically film by film, giving details of the production as well as what was going on in Price's life at the time. While this is not an exhaustive work on this wonderful actor, it makes a great companion piece to his daughter's book "Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography" which covers his personal life and Lucy Chase Williams' excellent "The Complete Films of Vincent Price" which covers all his film output. All together, these tell the story of one of the last true renaissance men. Recommended.

Vincent Price came into horror films by way of the studio system. His body of work is amazing, and he showed a fine sense of comedic timing in His Kind of Woman, with Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell, playing an OTT hammy actor. Later this tough for droll comedy would show in two gems - The Raven and The Comedy of Terrors. However, he really gathered attention in 1952 with House of Wax. After that wonderful performance, it was non stop fun all the way.

Many of his films were for William Castle or Roger Corman, and often considered Drive-In fodder - such as The Fly, The Bat, House on Haunted Hill. It was the series of Poe movies that firmly linked the word horror to Price - and I think it was a term he enjoyed completely. At the time the Corman-Price-Poe series of movies - The Pit and The Pendulum (with Scream Queen Barbara Steele), House of Usher, Tomb of Ligeia, Masque of the Red Death, Haunted Palace (which was really Lovecraft not Poe, but what the hey...) were often dismissed. But looking back, you will see finely crafted horror films that are still a pleasure to what now, with many of Price's wonderful performances.

Even later, he continued to seek out this same spotlight with the campy Theatre of Blood and the Dr. Phibes duo of films or the more serious Cry of the Banshee and Conqueror Worm (one of his most underrated performances).

He scared us with a gentle boo, mesmerising with that voice, thrilled us with the wondrous menacing laugh, enchanted us with his devilish twinkle in his eye...he entertained us cooking fish in his dishwasher on Johnny Carson.

His legacy lives and this is wonderful tribute to the master! Loaded with pictures, it is a must for Price fans.

Probably the only work available that pairs a film scholar/interviewer with the masters of the screen. Obviously a must for any film enthusiast.

VOICES FROM THE SET is a MUST READ for all film historians, film students and cinephiles. Macklin gains amazing insight into the working lives of such screen legends as The Duke, Altman, Beatty and Peckinpah, all captured in rare form. This is an excellent read.

When teaching film and television in Los Angeles, I had the luxury of having top industry professionals visit my classes. This is simply not possible at universities distant from the major centers of production. However, with Tony Macklin's unique and special tome, I can have many of the all-time greats "visit" my class anywhere. VOICES FROM THE SET will be required reading for all future "Masters of American Cinema" courses I teach-- anywhere...ever.

Voices From the Set is Tony Macklin's collection of interviews from the magazine he edited, the Film Heritage series. Exploring an underappreciated era in film, the early to mid 1970s, Macklin gathered interviews with directors, actors, producers, writers, even film critics who blazened a trail for independent cinema between the twilight years of the studio system and the birth of the blockbuster. The book is meant to be savored one interview at a time, and should give you a great list of films to rent if you're not familiar with them. In his introduction, Macklin calls this particular group of interviews "precious cameos that gain more value as time passes." His discussions include several maverick filmmakers still influential today, such as Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Sam Peckinpah and Warren Beatty. Voices also captures the essence of legendary directors and actors Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, Charlton Heston and Macklin's favorite, John Wayne. Macklin artfully probes below the surface and discusses the artists' feelings and visions, not just dry facts and dates. In the Scorsese interview, Macklin asks him for his opinion on "the new Hollywood" during the early to mid '70s. Scorsese talks at length about this group of influential filmmakers graduating from universities, himself numbering amoung them. He succinctly sums up the era and the reason for reading this book: "They [the old Hollywood] took it as a job...we come in from a whole different level...The old day is dying out, and there is a new Hollywood..."

Tony Macklin's collection of interviews, Voices from the Set, provides us remarkable reflections by some of Hollywood's greats--reflections of a Hollywood balanced at the crossroads of its artistic Golden Age and the modern-day blockbuster. Macklin's interviews with such influential film greats as Hitchcock, Altman, Scorsese, Heston, Hawks, Peckinpah, Wayne, and Beatty give us a fresh look at many of old Hollywood's most powerful, while providing us a peek at some of new Hollywood's up-and-comers.

Macklin, in skillfully eliciting responses that are compelling, honest, and human, allows us to witness a side of Hollywood that is rarely seen. Voices from the Set's subjects are willing to talk to Macklin, and Macklin is willing to give us the full transcripts of his interviews. No sound bite answers here. Macklin asks the tough, thought-provoking questions and we are rewarded with direct, insightful answers.

Both fans and students of film will not be disappointed in this book. Virtually every interview in Voices will sing to you.

Buber is one of the great original thinkers of modern Judaism. He reads here six Hasidic tales and infuses them with his own fundamental perceptions as to the nature of the religious life. He writes with grace and power. And there is in his interpretations and retellings a sense of the holy and the inspired.

Martin Buber has a way of speaking to my heart. He speaks as a human who has always struggled with the cynicism and skeptical spirituality of our age. Yet he has retained a strong faith in God, and a strong faith in God's real presence in our struggling human everyday life. We may not always feel His presence...but in Buber's words we hear another's testimony that God is with us even when He seems absent. In these short parables, Buber introduces us to other humans...ordinary men...who likewise have struggled to walk with God. Their walk is grounded in the existential. But unlike other ways such as Zen, their walk gradually reveals the real presence of God who has been walking with us since day one. It is as if in our faithful walk God gradually becomes trulu felt as walking beside us...and in our hearts.

41 pages of wisdom from the standpoint of Hasidism (from "hasidut": allegiance, piety)--but Hasidism seen through the heart of Martin Buber.

This too-brief book really asks only one question: why are we here?

Buber responds with thoughts, anecdotes, and reflections, all of it extraordinarily condensed and yet marvelously lucid.

Here are two quotations:

"Our treasure is hidden beneath the hearth of our own home."

"Man was created for the purpose of unifying the two worlds. He contributes towards this unity by holy living, in relationship to the world in which he has been set, at the place on which he stands."

This book is comprised of several short essays that are each about ten pages or so in length. It is difficult to explain exactly what the book talks about. But it basically is a series of discussions about what our lives mean in relation to G-d. Why we are here on this planet, how you can think of your life and the lives of others, and lessons from other great Jewish thinkers about these same topics. I read this book, which is tiny and small, maybe 80 or so pages, and it changed my life. It opened for me a new way to explore my Jewish identity that was discrete from the mechanics of the religious observances. I am now very interested in Jewish philosophy and epistemology and want to read further. I would highly, highly recommend this book to anyone, Jewish or not.

...Martin Buber encompasses the whole world in the span of 50 pages. He relates new interpretations of a handful of old myths and stories, making each one reflect the individual's personal journey towards enlightenment. Poignant and marvellously efficient and concise in his style and vocabulary, Buber has created a book which is accessible to small children, but which will resonate with anyone even slightly interested in spirituality. It can be read in an hour, and is a book to which I return again and again for guidance and inspiration. Truly, a miracle of a book.

An excellent way to savor the brilliance of the television show. Witty, insightful, intelligent dialogue...pristine story structure.

It begins with the idea, the vision, then the words go down on paper. Without the words, all an actor can do is stand there and emote, maybe. Without the words, all the crew can do is sit around and play with their equipment and watch the money fly away. Without the words, the studio has nothing to offer. It's the words first. Always.

This is an easy review, a simple review.
Buy this book to see how the words made the show.
Buy this book to see how a television script looks.
Buy this book to read excellent television scripts that became excellent television in the hands of a cast and crew of talented people.
Buy this book to get a taste of the wider political times out of which the series came and to which the series spoke volumes. It is all here in the words.

This is as good as a Master's Class in writing screen plays. Style, form, manuscript format, plot, character, how the background of the set can become a character itself, how the sum of the parts can definitely become greater than the whole. Great companion to the DVDs. Read the script first then watch the show. Then watch the episodes with the script at hand to see what went up on the screen. Annotate your copy, make notes, study and there's your class.

Tuition? $13.57 plus shipping (or not - could be free.)

Other ideas: The West Wing Script Book


Enjoy. It's the Words first.

Excellent service. No complaints. Product looks great! Exactly what I expected.

"The West Wing Seasons 3 & 4" is a must for fans of this show. With eight scripts accumulated from the third and fourth seasons, not to mention black and white photos from the set, the biggest fan of the show will be in paradise. If the pace of the show is too fast for you, reading it at your own speed will clarify what went on in the episode. If you own "The West Wing Script Book" then you must get this with it. I recommend.

If you've read the first TWW script book (also very good), you know that this one has a very high reputation to uphold, one it delivers on wonderfully. It features:

Isaac and Ishmael - The post September 11th episode (Sorkin very
clearly explains also why he felt it had to be done)

Bartlet For America - Leo's hearing related to the MS

Posse Comitatus - Bartlet mulls over killing Sharref

20 Hours in America I and II - Toby, Josh and Donna get lost in Indiana and mull over what makes a president.

Holy Night - Toby is visited by his father, former employee of Murder Inc.

Commencement - The first daughter is kidnapped right after graduation

25- After Commencement, Bartlet relinquishes power (Sorkin's last episode)
---
Volumes could be written on the elequence of Aaron Sorkin, and these episodes serve as 8 prime examples. The book includes many scenes cut or shortened in the aired episodes, allowing even more Sorkin goodness then you knew existed. In the introductions, Sorkin talks frankly about his drug arrest, the Isaac and Ishmael contreversy and Rob Lowe's departure from the show. The intros are full of the same sardonic self-deprecating, even sometimes serious words we've come to expect from Aaron Sorkin. A definate must have for the West Wing fan, the budding scriptwriter, the writing fan, and just the public at large.

I have always been a fan of Orson Welles on radio and television. Having collected a ton of radio broadcasts on CD and audio cassette and having watched most of his movies, I appreciate the genius of his work. I picked up a copy of this book recently and am amazed at the amount of research put into it. An aspect of Welles rarely discussed is his magic career. At the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention this September in Aberdeen, Maryland, I plan to attend the presentation about Orson Welles and his magic career so I can watch rare footage and films with Welles, and get an even deeper insight to his trickery. Book comes recommended.

This book's title aptly describes its critical task in taking issue with the misleading images perpetuated by certain critics and journalists concerning the significance of Orson Welles as a major cinematic talent who developed, rather than declined, after making CITIZEN KANE. The author had the benfit several years of contact with the director before he died as well as the opportunity to appear before the camera in the still unreleased THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND.

McBride has been engaged in Welles's scholarship since his early 1970s monograph dealing with the director and is in a good position to promote the case that Welles was more of what we would describe as an independent film director rather than a Hollywood figure. This book covers similar territory to the first two volumes of Simon Callow's biographical project but has the advantage of extending beyond the final chapter of HELLO AMERICANS to document Welles work in Europe and his return to Hollywood up to his eventual death. It is also a much more balanced work than either of Callow's two volumes by avoiding tendencies towards cheap character assassination (mercifully limited in Callow's second volume but still present in certain instances) to document a person who was both a genius and a difficult person.

The key argument of this book is that the director was more sinned against than anything else. His Hollywood career was deliberately sabotaged by studion executives and he was under surveillance by the FBI for some 15 years. Despite that, Welles never gave in but directed several fascinating films and worked on others that still remain to be completed up to the very moment of his life. Welles was a fascinating character, a product of the New Deal Cultural Front, and a cinematic innovator in many ways. He left a legacy of completed American and European films as well as other works that challenged the boundaries of mainstream cinema. McBride delivers this argument in an eloquent manner and documents his sources meticulously.

This is one of the best biographies that has appeared so far on the subject. It aims to reveal the truth concerning Welles's real creative challenge to the establishment which several notorious treatments have attempted to deny. McBride writes in a very engaging manner and makes a strong case for the reassessment of the legacy of Orson Welles as one of America's major talents of the twentieth century. It is a really important work demanding wide readership and respect for its very valuable achievement.

The University of Kentucky Press also deserves congratulations for publishing this work along with the recent books on Cecil B. De Mille, Thomas Dixon and Peter Lorre which are all instrumental in rewriting film history and refuting so-called standard interpretations.

Everyone knows that Orson Welles made _Citizen Kane_, possibly the most audacious and most analyzed movie to come out of Hollywood. And then what happened? He had been called a "boy genius", having made the movie (co-written, directed, and starred) when he was but twenty-five years old, but within a decade the term was used with sarcasm, and Walter Kerr wrote that Welles had become "an international joke, and possibly the youngest living has-been." Welles had been knocked down, and in the view of many, he never got up. Certainly, he never made anything like a _Kane_ again, but that isn't really fair: no one has. It is true that he never produced the sorts of films that were Hollywood-popular, but he did not at all disappear. Joseph McBride, a film historian who knew Welles, has answered the title question in his book _What Ever Happened to Orson Welles? A Portrait of an Independent Career_ (The University Press of Kentucky). The answer, quite simply, is that Welles worked and worked for decades in film, writing scripts, making movies, and (perhaps because few would bankroll him) doing things his own way. It's a sad story, in many ways. No one could doubt Welles's genius, and there are so many "if only" episodes in this book that it is often a depressing account. But Welles was not a tragic figure; he reflected years later that he might have made a mistake in staying in films (rather than, say, returning to the theater in which he had previously made his mark). But he would not have had it any other way: "I'm just in love with making movies," he said, and indeed, it was only death that stopped him.

McBride necessarily describes the problems that beset Welles immediately after _Kane_, when Welles could no longer get anything close to the full control of a film which he had practiced on his first movie. Still wanting to make movies, he left Hollywood to continue in Europe. McBride makes the case that contributing to Welles's decision for self-exile was his fear that he would be called to testify in the Communist witch-hunts. Welles loved shooting films and he especially loved editing them (as anyone who has seen _Kane_ can tell). There are plenty of pictures Welles worked on whose footage has been lost, but many others have the footage saved by fans or by creditors, and they frequently propose bringing out a finished version, hiring someone to pull the scenes together into a finished movie even so long after Welles's death in 1985. One producer mentioned she'd like to see a particular film screened not as an unfinished work by Welles, but as a film the way he might have finished it; but she says, "Finished by whom? Who can you substitute for Orson Welles?"

McBride does not go deeply into Welles's inability to finish things. Certainly it was attributable in a large part to Welles's way of skin-of-his-teeth filmmaking, whether or not it was some deep-set psychological disability. Welles could have written a magnificent autobiography, but when he got advances for such a work, he always returned them to the publishers. McBride writes, "Welles was deeply ambivalent about reminiscing, perhaps because he would have had to address issues he usually found too painful or delicate, such as his sexuality, his family life and some of his more traumatic experiences in Hollywood." Some of the stories of incompletion here, however, are extraordinary. His finished negative of _The Merchant of Venice_ was simply stolen from Welles's production office in Rome. The Iranians held funding for his meditation on filmmaking in the sixties, _The Other Side of the Wind_, and then the Shah was overthrown. "It's hard to imagine a movie career more littered with sensational catastrophes than mine," Welles admitted. He seldom admitted that he was the source of the less sensational catastrophes; a cameraman who worked with Welles late in his career said that Don Quixote was never completed because Welles "moved around too much, stuff got lost." For sensational and unsensational reasons, the losses recounted here are staggering. Nonetheless, McBride shows that they cannot be blamed, as some critics say, on Welles's being lazy or dilatory. The decades were filled with work for him, and he was pounding out a manuscript for a brand-new project on the night he died. As an independent filmmaker, Welles may have never fully lived up to his potential, but with a record of films that includes _Touch of Evil_ or the supremely weird _Lady from Shanghai_, his pattern of incompletion must be a minor sin. Much of McBride's personal account comes from his being an actor in _The Other Side of the Wind_ (of course, never finished) as were such droppable names as John Huston and Dennis Hopper. McBride's story won't re-make Welles's post-1950 career, but it isn't just a story of loss and lost opportunities; it is one of real movie history and at least some genuine artistic success.

Mention the name Orson Welles and his most famous involvement - with the radio scare 'War of the Worlds' - immediately comes to mind; but for a deeper understanding of Welles' life and career you need What Ever Happened to Orson Welles?: A Portrait of an Independent Career. His later projects were largely self-financed and erratically distributed, but film critic and biographer Joseph McBride has a personal familiarity with Welles from previous projects worked on with him and here shows how the Hollywood studio system forced Welles out of the industry. Its value thus is twofold: as a biography for Welles fans, and as a history of film industry operations and politics.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

While I might be biased because a many parts of this book included stories about my father, Gary Graver, this is not something you want to miss out on if you have any interest in Orson Welles or the inner workings of the Hollywood movie industry. I knew Orson when I was a young boy and teenager during the time my father worked with him, but my memories are nothing compared to the vivid details and thoroughness of Joe's writings.

This book taught me a lot about a man whom I admired and feared. He was rather scary from the perspective of a ten year old, but he often took time to have me sit with him while he taught me card tricks. I am so grateful that these stories are now available for everyone to read. Thank you Joe for your commitment in documenting what no one else ever has and sharing these wonderful stories.

Ed Watz' thoroughly researched and well-written book on the films of Wheeler and Woolsey deserves the highest praise. He approaches their career by examining their work on a film-by-film basis, providing very complete cast and credit information, production history, as well as biographical information on the two comedians. The book also includes a nice forward by their frequent co-star Dorothy Lee, who worked with the team since the 20s. Lee, who died in 1999, shares many memories of working with the comedians, and gives valuable insight into the making of these films.

Highly recommended for students and fans of stage and screen comedy.

This "sleeper" book, which I picked up because of my curiosity about the subjects (they are appearing regularly on the Turner Classic Movies station) is a revelation. Positively one of the best researched and entertaining books about a comedy team from the movies' golden age, the 1930s. To watch Wheeler & Woolsey is to understand what vaudeville-type comedy is (was) all about. Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey have been overlooked in favor of teams like the Marx Bros. or the 3 Stooges. This book corrects that oversight. It is also a highly readable accounts of Hollywood politics behind the scenes at some of the major studios. If you're a fan of vintage movie comedy, get this book.

Wheeler and Woolsey were second to Laurel and Hardy in the heart's of movie going audiences of the 1930's. Since then, however, their star has faded and their acomplishments have been relegated to footnote status in the history of the golden age of comedy. Thanks to Edward Watz, Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey are alive and kicking again in a definitive history of the lovable pair and their films. Exhaustingly researched and lovingly executed, the book chronicles the career ups and downs of the most unjustifiably forgotten comedians in the history of show business. Personal biographies are included, as well as detailed accounts of all of their features and short subjects. Long time leading lady Dorothy Lee lends her first hand account of the way things happend with a refreshingly candid foreward. She also shares her memories of each of the films that she participated in with a fascinating view that only an insider could relate. The later years are chronicled in the final chapter, featuring accounts of Bert Wheeler's career after the untimely death of his partner. All in all, this book ranks along side the superlative Laurel and Hardy, The Magic Behind The Movies, and Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, as one of the most enjoyable and informative demonstration's of film history as can be expected. If you love film comedy, you should not be without this book.

I love this book! To my knowledge, the only book around about Wheeler and Whoolsey. It made me eager to see more of their films. The author did a great job of research, which couldn't have been easy considering how long ago these comedians were active.

Ed Watz's book 'Wheeler & Woolsey' is a superb film history of a great and sadly forgotten movie comedy team. This volume evokes the golden days of both Vaudeville and Hollywood, as we follow the rise and sad fall of Wheeler & Woolsey. Mr. Watz also sets straight the historical record in that the boys were second only to the great Laurel & Hardy in the 1930's and certainly ahead of their rivals the Marx Bros., the Ritz Bros., and the Three Stooges! Readers of this book will want to go out and see the films of Wheeler & Woolsey. Watz's book is a lost treasure.

The Marx Brothers movies are some of the best demonstrations of verbal slapstick ever written and delivered. In this book, some of the best frames from their movies, Cocoanuts, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, Duck Soup, A Night at the Opera, A Day At the Races, At the Circus, Go West and The Big Store are presented. The dialogue associated with the still is included and from it, you can get some of the feel for the verbal bantering that takes place between the characters. While it is impossible for any combination of stills and text to truly capture the action in a Marx Brothers movie, this book comes as close as possible. Reading this book will make you want to rent their movies and watch them once again.

While this book was very useful before you could buy the movies on VHS or DVD, the need for it is somewhere reduced in the 21st century. It is, in essence, a collection of still frames from assorted Marx Brother's movies with some of the dialogue printed beneath the frames.

It is very funny reading and spares you the need to see some of the later films. On the other hand, why not just buy "Duck Soup" and enjoy it first hand?

I Purchased this Book way back in 1972, and I Still love to Grab a quick Laugh from it. The Contents here are Great Quotes & Bits from the Films of the Four, then Three {after Zeppo leaves} Marx Brothers, that use Photo-Stills taken from the scenes of the Movies they are from.

Most Material used is from the Earliest Movies: "Coconuts" thru "A Night at the Opera", as the Last Films the Brothers made, have less Quality material in the Writing Department. It is NOT a Biography of their Films or personal histories... BUT if you Enjoy the Great humor of The Brothers, this one is a MUST READ, You are indeed LUCKY that this is still Available. FIVE STARS

If you enjoy the Marx Brothers you will love this book. It is a collection of the classic scenes from many of their movies. It has the dialog and pictures from the tooty fruity ice cream in "A Day at the Races" to the room packing scene in "A Night at the Opera". It is 288 pages of their greatest scenes.

I first got this book in high school (early 70's). It turned me on to a life-long love of the Marx Brothers. I even used it for scripts for a student film.

If you want to get a true feel of the wit, timing and marvelous play on words of the Marxes, this is most definitely the place. It is a pity that this book is now out of print. I would give my eye teeth for a copy.

My Nephew loves the Wiggles and this was a good book for his book collection.

My daughter is 16 months old and loves being read to from this book. She also likes to flip through the pages and try to name the characters and the animals!! I wish there were more Wiggles books like this (she doesn't like the cartoon Wiggles books)!!

We love the Wiggles, so this book is great because it has real pictures of the wiggles, along with some really neat pictures. I enjoy this book because I make up funny stories which my daughter enjoys and it's easy to take "ON THE GO". I'd recommend this book for Wiggles fans.

My two year old son really likes this book. The Wiggles spend the day at the zoo, so they show different animals and everything rhymes. It's far from the greatest story ever told, but does the trick in amusing my young child. This is also short and sweet, so it's a good bedtime book since I usually have to read it about 5 times, per his request. The photos are nice, and we even take it in the car since he likes to just look at the pictures. It's definitely better than the Wiggles books where they are drawn as cartoons. I can barely figure out which is which, and only do from the color of their shirts. I recommend this book highly for any little Wiggles fans, especially the ones that like animals too!

What I love about this new book is that the Wiggles take turns again describing to me about all these interesting animals they say in a rhyme. The Wiggles' Friends use their own rhyming sentences, too.

(The Wiggles: Let's Go To The Zoo) reminds me a little bit of "Zoological Gardens" from (Hoop-Dee-Doo, It's a Wiggly Party).

A Woman's View, by Jeanne Basinger, was rightfully the most interesting history based book I have ever read. Although it can be lengthy at times, it touches on subjects in which I had barely any knowledge of, and shows how it was reflecting the time period of the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's. Seeing as though this was about women right after the women's rights movement in the 20's, this book shows how Hollywood used female movie stars to incorporate the countries opinions on them. With that, I thought the introduction chapter on the genre of these types of movies was absolutely spectacular. It really made me have so much respect for women during these time periods. They had such class and such morals, which, sad to say, is starting to slowly fade away, or can at least be argued that it is.
A few of the sections of this book that I thought was the most interesting, were the ones about twin women in movies and the fashion and glamour of women. Before reading this book, I never really thought into the idea that being a woman in Hollywood, and acting a certain role represented something as a whole. These actresses were not just playing the part of their assigned character; they were representing women as a whole. With their fashion, their speech, and their actions, I found it truly inspiring to know that they were stepping out of their comfort zone and taking risks with the roles that they chose to act out.
One chapter, entitled Duality, included how Hollywood used twins in their movies to represent one specific point in these movies. This chapter, being one of the more detailed ones, showed how twins portrayed particularly two things: the good and the bad. The good twin, usually dressed in fashionably acceptable clothes and appropriate styles, was usually criticized by her twin, which represented evil, or the bad. I thought it was very much a shock to me how many of the so called "bad" twins in these Hollywood movies were constantly pretending to be their twin to confuse their family, friends, or even their husbands! Many of them did this only to find some sort of revenge on their twin for whatever reason they could think of. In my mind, I would have never thought of this as being presented in movies during these time periods, but I also have to remember that this was also a time when women were really standing up for what they believed in and stepping out of the ordinary molds they had always been put into.
What was so fascinating about this book was how Basinger found a way to represent women in film in such a respectable way, and not so much trashy as some may have viewed it at the time. Women like Loretta Young, Kay Francis, and Greta Garbo are true heroines when it comes to paving the way for all future actresses, and also for open our countries eyes to the lives of women, and really shows that they were becoming less and less like housewives and more like the hardworking entrepreneurs that they really were and always will be.

This book articulates for me why I have always loved this genre of film. The author highlights the work of many fine actresses of the period whose work is overlooked in many film books. Although the ideas they espoused may be dated, the desire of women to see the concerns of their private lives played out on screen still exists. I believe that the next century may bring a resurgurce of this type of film.

This is one of the most enjoyable "film studies" I have ever come across, essentially about "soap opera" 'women's pictures' of the 1930's and 1940's but expanding into the 1920's and 1950's a bit and touching on other types of films and the great women stars from this time period. From Kay Francis (who is the cover girl and Basinger's main muse for this tome) to Rita Hayworth, this is a wonderful book for any one obssessed with films from the era, it's like finding a new best friend to talk about these classic films. Basinger writes informatively yet in plain academic-free language making the book a pleasuer to read - and she knows when to crack wise and when to be serious, no mean feat. It's a skill a lot of "movie historians" don't have.

If you love movies you must read Ms. Basinger's marvelous study of "women's pictures" which encompasses the stars that acted in them, the directors that guided them, the writers that gave them life and the studios that distributed them. Hollywood history, women's history, art history all rolled into one readable and thought provoking volume. This one is right up there with Louise Brooks by Barry Paris as one of the best books on film and those who created it.

Jeanine Basinger is to be congratulated for shedding light on a too-little studied aspect of Hollywood history. She puts the movies and the stars she discusses in the context of how movie-going women perceived them at the time. In doing so, she concentrates not on the "greatest" stars, but rather on secondary figures like Kay Francis, Ann Dvorak, and Loretta Young, women who had (sometimes surprisingly) immense popular appeal while they were making movies but whose careers either faded, made the transition to character rather than leading-lady status, or moved to television. She reminds us that the "woman's picture" was far more than the drama of suffering and renunciation (like "Now, Voyager", "Back Street", or "Autumn Leaves") we most commonly think of today. She broadens her definition to include virtually any film that either focused on a woman as its central character or concerned itself with traditionally "women's" concerns.

What she makes clear is that, despite the pronounced limitations of the world view of the woman's picture, it represented a varied and vigorous film culture in which (as she writes) "on the screen ... the woman will decide. She is important. She matters. She is the Center of the Universe."

"A Woman's View" is that rare thing -- a scholarly examination of mostly obscure figures and works that is at the same time an excellent and entertaining read.