Video Books

Reference books generally have a reputation of being full of facts, yet dry in prose. While a bio-bibliography may not be traditionally called "entertainment," this ambitious effort successfully breaches the limitations of such reference books. It is a thought-provoking history of the great Béla Lugosi (1882 - 1956). His career was as varied and tragic, both publicly and privately, as John Barrymore's. His legend remains secure, thanks to "Dracula" (Universal, 1931). The life surrounding the legend has been colorfully illuminated thanks to Gary Don Rhodes. His phenomenal research charts Lugosi's long voyage of fame and infamy, revealing details never before printed. His documentation is truly an achievement and a labor of blood, sweat and love.

Lugosi was a lover of style, sports, good living and women. Rhodes provides exhaustive examples of his exploits, both publicized and private. The wealth of photos alone display Lugosi out of his cape as a sociable creature, playful, enthusiastic, an avid reader and a cigar aficionado. A ladies' man, he was married five times. All five marriages are covered in detail - after all, there is curiosity about the love life of a vampire! There is documentation of his stage, screen and even court appearances; critical analysis of his career; and quotes and articles about or by Lugosi. The light side and the dark side are equally exposed. He was a man of strengths and weaknesses - perhaps the most notable and depressing of the latter was his long-term drug addiction. All of these elements are integrated to present a fascinating portrait of a complex artist. Those who are obsessed by the great Hungarian actor will find a sumptuous feast to satisfy their hunger. Even the mildly intrigued will be drawn into this unique individual's world. Lugosi never lost his dignity nor his offbeat sense of humor. His proud Magyar heart kept his spirit intact despite efforts to break it. Rhodes' book unflinchingly sees all and tells all - with intelligence, compassion and devotion.
- Copyright, 1997, Diane MacIntyre, "The Silents Majority" (http://www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms/)

But is managable a better thing? Scott and Larry are great screenwriters, and crafted a great screenplay here. However, Milos Forman (the director) took the movie and made it into something not as personal as it could have been. Oh well.

But this is why shooting scripts that are actually the original script before any shooting ever took place are important (you hearing this American Beauty?). To show us how a screenplay can change when it goes from paper to celluloid.

Read this screenplay to see what the movie could have been like :)

The other flaw as I see is the focus on Chomsky's background and personal life, which are superfluous to the film's main message and inconsistent with Chomsky's own feelings about celebrity.

As you can imagine, the film is rather one-sided in favor of Chomsky's views. Once you've seen this, it's absolutely imperative to read "Necessary Illusions", "Manufacturing Consent", and even some of Chomsky's other books- "The Washington Connection" and "Rouge States" are recommended. Also of note is that Chomsky may be Godfather of media criticism, but others including Nancy Snow and Michael Parenti have written well on the subject.

Will Straw,
Canadian Journal of Communication

Noam Chomsky followers and all free thinkers who have seen the film (and those who have not) owe it to themselves to get a copy of this provocative book and discover the incredible depth and lucidity of Chomsky's thought and ideas which address the most important moral, ethical, political and social issues of our time.

The book contains a complete transcript of the film, with 300 stills illustrating the text, as well as copious excerpts from Chomsky's writings, interviews and other sources. The side-bar rich format of the book is well designed in that it allows one to follow the sometimes fast pace of the documentary's narrative while providing well chosen excerpts from Chomsky's writings that enrich and elucidate the topics presented in the film.

Like the film, this book will hold your attention, and you will find yourself returning again and again to explore the political life and times of the controversial author, linguist, and radical philosopher Noam Chomsky. I would highly recommend this book both to the seasoned reader of Chomsky's work and as a very approachable introduction for the first time reader to this authors intellectually potent thought.

The book includes their practical experience about a child actor's world; headshots and agents, acting coaches, auditions and contracts. The story is told through candid, mother and daughter diary entries and follows the excitement and anxiety of these two as they learn together about show business and the business of growing up.

BTW, D/L the vers 1.1 patch for the game itself from microprose

For anyone who likes old movies a must.