Arts and Culture Books

A great book by Jack Hunter. Christopher Walken is a very gifted actor, and Hunter gives loads of insight into the many characters he has played throughout the years. You may even be inclined to view some of the movies, again after reading this book. It is obvious that Hunter recognizes talent when he sees it. Hunter goes beyond the typical type-casting, that many film critics are stuck on. This book has many nuggets of wisdom, and is laced with respect. Christopher Walkwn is very fortunate to have an insightful author, like Hunter, write about him. Thanks Chris for sharing your gift of acting. Thanks Jack for sharing your gift of writing. The pleasure has been mine from Indiana.

A great book by Jack Hunter. Christopher Walken is a very gifted actor, and Hunter gives loads of insight into the many characters he has played throughout the years. You may even be inclined to view some of the movies, again after reading this book. It is obvious that Hunter recognizes talent when he sees it. Hunter goes beyond the typical type-casting, that many film critics are stuck on. This book has many nuggets of wisdom, and is laced with respect. Christopher Walkwn is very fortunate to have an insightful author, like Hunter, write about him. Thanks Chris for sharing your gift of acting. Thanks Jack for sharing your gift of writing. The pleasure has been mine from Indiana.

This is a great source of information about Christopher Walken, his movies, and the themes that drive them - however - it does tend to overanalyze, and contains little information on Walken that you could not pick up yourself on the internet. It seems that Walken is not the chatty type. In his own words, he enjoys working and is not proud of all the 90+ features he has appeared in, but he does have his favorites. I have no idea after reading this book if one of these top ten are in fact the actors favorite - rather they are showcased as his best performances. This is a lot of speculation, as Walken has an incredible amount of work, including broadway shows to choose from. So if you are looking for that personal touch, it's not really there. You have to ask yourself though, is there really anything behind Walken as a person that would warrant a personal touch? From all appearences, he works, he goes home, he works some more. He has been married to the same woman for 30+ years, thinks he cooks really well, and aside from the really odd stab at screenwriting (he wants to do the John Holmes story - apparently he is fascinated with Holmes' life, and the attention paid to Holmes' member vs. the real man behind the porn - Okay Chris - you get the different award) he would appear to be reasonably stable (discounting the Natalie Wood thing, but even that is scandal of the most mundane variety.). Christopher Walken is a person who has lived his entire life on film (since the age of 3) and no doubt will die on film as is his wish. So perhaps there is no personal touch to be had and his films are the only window into his life, aside from the odd interview (such as his most recent wish - to host a cooking show). If you want to experience an exhaustive analysis of ten of what are his best well-known films by good reviewers that have never interacted personally with Walken himself - this is for you. If you want to read Walken on Walken, get the playboy interview.

I only rate this book with 4 stars because of its interesting subject - not for the editor Jack Hunter. Did Hunter actually read it? I was completely distracted from the material by the numerous spelling and grammatical errors. An actor like Christopher Walken deserves better treatment than this sloppily thrown together collection of essays. Though some of them were pretty interesting (Deer Hunter, Comfort of Strangers), I found myself wondering if Hunter actually watched all of the actor's major films. How could he include The Addiction and Suicide Kings in the Walken Top 10 but leave out the awesome performances in At Close Range and Biloxi Blues - both with gripping climax scenes that deserve essays of their own. A comparison of Walken in his stand-off with Sean Penn to Walken's flip-flop stand-off with Mathew Broderick (Walken is held at gunpoint by Penn/ Broderick held at gunpoint by Walken) sorely needed to be added to this collection. Will someone please re-write this book?!?!! Heck, give me a week; I could do better than this.

Cinema Au Naturel may only be 288 pages long but it packs a lot of good information into those pages. Author Mark Storey became a fan of those corny old nudist movies of decades past (primarily the `30s to the `60s) and researched the subject. The result is an entertaining and informative book on exploitation filmmaking second to none. Along the way he covers censorship, the Golden Age of exploitation (including nudist) films, and what the courts had to say on the subject.

Storey breaks down the subject of nudist exploitation films into the following periods: classic, late, and contemporary. He then looks to what the future will bring to the genre. At the end, Storey lists his "top twenty" nudist films and explains his choices. You may not agree but Storey certainly backs up his words.

Is Cinema Au Naturel worth the purchase price? Definitely, especially if you're interested in nudist history. Nudist films, along with magazines, whatever the motivation for producing them, served as most folks' introduction to the world of nudism/naturism. Some were good emissaries, some merely tawdry excuses to show female flesh on the screen, but they did provide that first glimpse into a different, often misunderstood, world for many. Marl Storey has gone a long way toward filling in some of the gaps in nudist history with Cinema Au Naturel.

If history, or nudism/naturism, or films are among your interests, you'll find that Storey's book, Cinema Au Naturel, scores on all three levels.

Dr. P. Rapoport's review of this book is excellent. I agree this really is an amazing work and is well worth picking up for someone who is interested in clothing-free expression. I have found it truly invaluable in helping to organize a local film festival with others about naked freedom. I would like to give a review from the viewpoint of a non-naturist/nudist who is active in clothing-free advocacy on public lands.

Mark Storey is, without a doubt, the most qualified person to take on this project. He discusses nudist/naturist film and video within the context of naturism and nudism, and he goes beyond. He brings up many of the important issues and addresses them extremely well. The book is quite comprehensive and well-researched. For these reasons, this will be a tough act to follow. I finished the book feeling fully satisfied with such a comprehensive work.

There are significant works though which may exist outside of the nudist/naturist context which deserve serious discussion, perhaps in the broader context of clothing-free expression. Also, I would like to see that future editions include a DVD with excerpts from significant works.

I would take issue with his choice of "top-twenty" nudist films. I would agree that all of those listed are historically significant in the history of the development of nudism/naturism, but in the general context of clothing-free expression in film there is more out there of significance, and some of the latter might be much better suited for introduction to clothing-free freedom for one who is looking for something inspiring. The distinction should be made, perhaps there should be two lists.

My own recommendations for those looking for films that have significance in clothing-free expression that are not included in this book would include (and these can be found at http://www.bodyfreedom.org/guide/film.html): Naked States, by Arlene Donnelly Nelson; Naked World (released after this book), by Arlene Donnelly Nelson; Being Human, by Lisa Seidenberg; Burning Man Festival, by Joe Winston; among others out there.

Bottom line, get the book and also check out the videos above! Happy reading and viewing! :)

This book fills a big gap by engagingly bringing together much fascinating material. Readers will probably find it absorbing indeed, even if they have an interest in only part of the subject.

Of course, it helps to be curious about nudity. Is there someone who isn't? (Okay, no one has to admit it.)

Throughout Cinema au Naturel, Storey offers pointed but polite observations on films, nudity, sex, censorship, American socio-cultural history, and much more. He encapsulates the history of nudist films mostly within the exploitation genre (which may not mean what it seems) and expands definitions and connections to make it all fit seamlessly together. Along the way are welcome discussions of the MPAA and the infamous Hays Production Code from the 1930s, the history and theory of nudism in America and elsewhere, and the people behind nudist books and films, like authors and producers Jan Gay, Doris Wishman, Craven Walker, and Edin Velez.

Supplementing all this are illustrations. These are no grainy video stills -- but posters, covers, and other art of considerable historical value. Later in the book are recent color photos of nudists in various settings being as normal as can be. At the end is a selection of the "top 20" nudist films. And Storey indicates where to find this material.

Because most readers will be unfamiliar with them, much of the book describes what goes on in and behind many nudist films, from the early examples close to the turn of the 20th century, to a few only recently released. With a sharp eye and even sharper mind, Storey analyzes as he goes, never obtrusively but always lucidly, often with doses of quiet humor.

He doesn't shy away from controversy, whether over a film such as Peter's Day in the Sun, or over numerous governmental edicts to Rescue the Declining Morals of America. One state board censored references to pregnancy in a film, claiming that "the movies are patronized by thousands of children who believe that babies are brought by the stork, and it would be criminal to undeceive them."

That was 80 years ago. What has changed in body-phobic, hide-and-peek, protection-by-repression America? This book is a subtle exploration of that question among others.

For many, it's admittedly hard to distinguish nudity from sex, exploitation from information, and nudist films from porn. Over the course of this thoroughly researched and finely written book, those challenging complexities become life-affirming as they reflect, interact, and change. Far from a book only about film, Cinema au Naturel is that rare item, a splendid sorting out of a whole lot of things that matter.

This reference work provides critical reviews and in-depth background information on a wide range of motion pictures and videos concerned with nudity. Storey has zealously researched the subject and supplies many leads in the endnotes and appended filmography. The volume itself is profusely illustrated with black & white and color photos. These include cinematic stills, publicity graphics, and portraits of performers, directors, writers, etc. The dating of the titles which the author evaluates span from the first decades of the last century to our own day. For the most part, the works reviewed derive from England, the U.S., Germany and France. Included are fictional narratives as well as documentaries, arising out of contexts as varied as exploitation movie-making and pro-nudist proselytism. Storey is himself a naturist. His writing style is incisive, quick-paced, and at times humorous. He teaches philosophy at Bellevue Community College (Washington State) and is on the editorial staff of The Naturist Society journal.

I'm as much a fan of comic book history as I am of comic books themselves. The history is absolutely fascinating as one delves into just how the business started and some of the real-life unusual characters who are largely responsible for comic books as we know them today. Ron Goulart's "Comic Book Culture: An Illustrated History" has just been released again by Collector's Press and it should be required reading for comic fans, especially younger fans who are not familiar with over eighty year history of the business.

Most people associate the start of the comic book era with the release of Action Comics #1 in 1938 that featured the introduction of Superman in a thirteen-page story. But the fact is that comic books had been around for many years before Superman came along. Heck, Action Comics was not even the first title put out by National Comics/National Periodical Publications, which would later become DC. National's first book was New Fun Comics in 1935, which would later change its name to More Fun Comics, and introduce characters such as The Spectre and Doctor Fate.

Comic Book Culture takes fans back to the earliest days of the bound comic, which originally just collected popular newspaper strips of the day and reprinted them. Detective Comics #1 actually preceded Action Comics #1 by over a year, making its debut in March 1937. Detective Comics was heavily influenced by detective pulp magazines of the 30's which were among the most popular pulps of the day. Another early National title that would thrive for years would be Adventure Comics, also debuting in 1935.

One of the great pioneers of the Golden Age of Comics was M.C. Gaines. Gaines headed up All-American Publications, the sister company to National. All-American would introduce such characters as the Golden Age Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman, as well as the Justice Society of America.

But before you think this book is all about DC and marvel, think again. I was pleasantly surprised at how much coverage was given to companies, titles, and characters long lost to the sands of time. There was Mystic Comics featuring The Destroyer and Dynamo Man, Mystery Men Comics featuring the Blue Beetle, Wonder World Comics featuring The Flame, Hit Comics featuring Hercules, and countless others.

Of course, the other major players of the Golden Age are covered in full with sections devoted to Captain Marvel and the whole Marvel family, and Timely Comics. Goulart also devotes sections to the "Old Masters" of the day such as Jack Kirby and Alex Schomburg, presenting dozens of examples of their cover art. And in the end, the biggest attraction of Comic Book Culture is the hundreds of cover reprints from the most famous to the most obscure of the Golden Age. You'll feel like a kid browsing in a toy store exclaiming, "Oh! I want that! And I want that one, too!" The covers are beautifully reprinted and one has to imagine that it was no small task finding covers that were still in good enough shape to reprint.

This is a gorgeous book, filled with long-forgotten nostalgia and brimming over with a wealth of information about comic's Golden Age.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Comic book collectors, researchers, and fans will appreciate this reflection on the rogues, heroes and creators of comics in Comic Book Culture, a visual celebration of the Golden Age of comic books from the 1930s to the 1940s. Goulart explains and traces the changes of the comic art form, using his extensive collection as a foundation for examples which are colorful and which celebrate the history of comics. The full-page comic book reproductions are striking and the history and commentary involving.

A beautifully presented coffee table book showcasing the earliest days of a true american art form - the comic book! The grouping of comic covers by theme and by artist work well and highlight some truly great pieces! Popular culture at it's finest!

As the author says in his the Introduction `Comic Book Culture' is basically a picture book and as such I'm pleased to have a copy. Goulart's history of comics Golden Age, roughly mid Thirties to the late Forties, is adequate though you can read more in his previous book `Over 50 Years of American Comic Books' but it is the four hundred covers reproduced that I think will interest readers more. Page after page of superheroes battling crime and or evil in dazzling 100 Magenta plus 100 Yellow, that's the printers term for the vibrant red that the comics biz could not do without. All these covers had to compete on the newsstand and the more 100Y+100M the better it seems, page 130 has the cover of The Human Torch (1943) leaping off the page, it couldn't get any brighter.

I have always been rather critical of Collector Press books, they always seem a bit over designed but this one is great, each of the sixteen chapters starts on a spread one page of which is a huge color blow-up of part of a picture, many of the spreads just have covers and captions on them and the designers have resisted the temptation to angle or overlap the covers. The typography, layouts and printing are excellent. There are two chapters devoted to some of the great comic artists of the period, Everett, Fine, Patenaude, Kirby, Schomburg, Ricca and Cole. The last chapter has a (very) brief look at what is called "Good girl art", presenting heroines in as provocative a way as possible and you can't get more provocative than Matt Baker's April 1948 cover of Phantom Lady, sales must have soared!

If you want to see more covers have a look at the two volume `The Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books' by Ernst and Mary Gerber, more than 21,000 beautifully printed on gloss paper (another two volumes covers 7,000 Marvel comics).

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Kurt Ganzl has written an excellent book about a musical that unfortunately flopped. Complete with background history on David Garnet's novel, pictures of the production, and complete libretto. A must-read for anyone into musical theatre. Sadly, it's out of print.

This book has oodles of photographs and information about the musical. It is very well researched, and includes information about David Garnett, the history of the time period of the musical, and of course Andrew Lloyd Webber's writing the musical.

If you've seen the Webber musical, this book will provide great memories. Rich photos and artwork, premium stock paper, all the lyrics and scenes. Great gift for fans of Webber! Contains pull-out poster.

Why is this book out of print? It's really quite good. It gives a great look at the hard work that is put into a show before, during, and after each performance. I got it after years of searching in a used bookstore. It's really worth the hunt if you want it. It comes complete with a nice poster and there's a picture of a young Michael Ball with a rat tail. How can you lose?

This review refers to the original volume that I have sitting by my TV. In these days with cable and satellite available many vintage TV shows are aired all of the time. A quick thumb through the book not only gives excellent overall view of the show but the cross reference of stars and other shows is suburb.

I have used this book since I "found" a copy on book stand in NYC back in the 80s. Worth the purchase price.I use it all the time. The 1992 version should be better.

Used in conjunction with the Prime Time Stars book, this makes an excellent cross-reference of TV programs and stars for the period covered. My hopes are that the authors write a update for both the television shows and stars. The format is excellent showing all aspects of the shows including dates televised, stars and their roles, and interesting facts about the production.

I purchased this book when it was first published over a dozen years ago and still refer to it several times a week. Not only is it comprehensive but Tim Brooks often gives short biographies of the stars, listing other shows and related areas for which a particular actor or actress might have been known. I'm sorry that it is currently out of print because I would like to have an updated version of the book.

Read this book some 20 years ago. Found it rare among this series in that -- A), it was at times critical of both Cooper and some of his films; and B), it was filled with both positive and negatives from critics at the time of each film's release. As I said, rare for this series. Recently went to purchase it for a friend, and found out it is unavavilable? Why!?!

I bought the"Films of Gary Cooper" some 30 years ago and still enjoy reading it. However, I find that Mr. Dickens underrated, at least in my eyes and more recent reviews, two of his finest films. Those are "Man of the West" and "They came to Cordura". Whereas, Mr. Dickens thought they should be relegated to that movie boneyard in the sky more recent consideration and mine too, consider them to be very good films.

Aside from this, I highly recommend this book. I would not part with my copy. It is, in most respects, a very good review of Gary Cooper's movies.

Read this book some 20 years ago. Found it rare among this series in that -- A), it was at times critical of both Cooper and some of his films; and B), it was filled with both positive and negatives from critics at the time of each film's release. As I said, rare for this series. Recently went to purchase it for a friend, and found out it is unavavilable? Why!?!

I bought this book in the fall of 1975 and after nearly 25 years, still find it hard to put down once I pick it up.

Writing a screenplay requires understanding specific formatting rules, especially if you intend to try and have that screenplay sold or produced. I have just ventured into writing screenplays and this book certainly helps answer a lot of basic questions of formatting. Beyond the basics, it also gives advanced and varied options to communicate ideas. The use of examples is very helpful. At the end, common errors are reviewed and corrected in various ways. It is a book that helps you use the format to most effectively communicate your ideas. Certainly good to have has a reference once you get acclimated to the structure.

This book is definitely the best screenwriting manual on the market, and anyone who dreams -- even in their wildest imagination -- that they might someday want to write a screenplay must have this book. It should also be part of the reference library for anybody who is currently in the script writing business.

I recommend this as a reference for anyone who wants to find answers quickly. I have several screenplay formatting books and this one is definitely one of my faves. I don't think that any one book is the be-all-and-end -all guide to writing screenplays, but this is a must have for you collection. It allows you to reference information without searching for hours and having to read all of the preceeding information.

I was in the process of writting a script and had lots of questions on the Hollywood format, almost all were answer by this excelent book.

Do not look in here for dramatical structure, this you need to look for somewere else.

This is one of the few books that I have laughed out loud until tears streamed down my face!!! When trying to share the funniest entries, I can't even read them without laughing again. From analyzing the famous "Yeti on the lou" Pertwee phrase to including a table of contents containing only the letters of the alphabet, this is humor and wit at its best. I have never found a funnier Doctor Who book and I am hard pressed to name a funnier novel in general. If you do not have this book you don't know what you're missing!!! A++++

This book is an incredible collection of phrases and Whoisms that have appeared throughout Doctor Who's many years on the air. The authors have managed to poke fun at the good Doctor while assuring the reader that they're really on our side. It's a lot like making fun of your family - only another family memeber can get away with it. If you're not family, watch out! From "AAH" to "ZORG AND ORG," it's all there - every last tasty fun morsel that makes Doctor Who a worldwide institution.

This text is the funniest book I have ever read... Poking fun at not only Doctor Who, but the fandom of Doctor Who, this book is a laugh-riot from the introductory debate over stories' names, to the final index page which lists simply the letters of the alphabet and the Dedication to Godzilla. My favorite parts: the description of Season Eighteen as an "amusing omission from The Doctors: Thirty Years of Time Travel" and the description of Lazar's Disease as a syndrome whose main symptom is removing one's clothing... Lyons & Howarth are to be commended for such a devistatingly funny work.

Hilarious & irreverent, the useless encyclopedia looks unflinchingly at the schitzophrenic british fan base, the shoddy "classic" episodes, the ludicrous "new adventures", and just about everything and anything "Who" and useless. Written by fans for fans.

Arts/Entertainment

An Insider's Tale
Book Review by Denise Cassino

Betty Jo Tucker is in love. She always has been. From early childhood, Betty Jo has been smitten with the silver screen. Her love started as an infatuation and grew into a mature study of film and renown as a world-class movie critic.

In her book, Confessions of a Movie Addict, Betty Jo takes us through those early childhood memories of movies, covering her eyes at the scary part, acting out the roles of her favorite stars. Then she landed herself some real jobs as a film critic which gave her a pass into all of the biggest movie events from premieres to the Academy Award Presentations.

This book takes us through many of the hilarious adventures of a movie critic, from embarrassing moments to dining with the stars. Betty Jo shares with her reader many of her best and most clever interviews, sometimes with animated characters! Betty Jo also includes a plethora of reviews on dozens of movies giving the reader a critical, but fun summation of everything from box office hits to cult sleepers. This is a real insider's tale of seeking, meeting and interviewing many of the hottest movie stars ever to flash across a marquee.

If you want to know what it's like to dish and dine with the Hollywood crowd, this book will do the trick. A great gift for any movie lover, Confessions will make you green with envy at Betty Jo's inside access to the stars.

Reviewed by Jill Cozzi,

Recently I received a press release announcing a Malcolm McDowell retrospective at the Walter Reade Theatre. I forwarded it to a friend, along with a message:

"Gee, do you think I should go to this, walk up to
Malcolm McDowell and say, 'I saw A CLOCKWORK
ORANGE at my college auditorium and three weeks later
was deflowered by a guy who looked an awful lot like
you did then?'"

Now, of course I would never do such a thing, because such an occasion would reduce me to a babbling idiot. But then, I'm not Betty Jo Tucker.

If I WERE Betty Jo Tucker, however, it wouldn't even be an issue, for she would just walk up, make her confession without batting an eye, and two hours later walk away with notes from a truly killer interview. That's just the way she is.

Tucker is arguably the most unique presence among the many film critics on the Web today. In a world dominated by snarky teenagers and twenty-something self-anointed cineastes, Betty Jo Tucker is a gleeful, unabashed movie-lover; not a film buff, but someone who loves the experience of filmgoing. At seventy-plus, she retains the same joy in moving pictures projected on a screen as she did that first time she walked into the "picture show" to see FRANKENSTEIN -- in its first run. A critic who came into the business late in life after raising two children, one divorce, one remarriage (to the same husband), and a distinguished academic career, she is an anomaly among Web critics in that she does NOT subscribe to the Alice Roosevelt credo of "If you can't say something nice, come sit by me."

In her new book CONFESSIONS OF A MOVIE ADDICT (Hats Off Books), Tucker shares her infectious joy in the moviegoing experience with the rest of us. It is truly "a life story with everything but the movies edited out." Written in a breezy tone, CONFESSIONS is truly a snark-free zone. Tucker, who has set herself up as the premier lobbyist for the Return of the Movie Musical has even managed to find the good in such crap-fests as the Britney Spears vehicle CROSSROADS. She doesn't love everything put on film, but you've got to love a critic who's eligible for Social Security but can still laugh her way through the likes of the surrealistically sophomoric CABIN BOY and who reacts to the ghastly THE PRINCESS DIARIES by remembering to call her granddaughters and tell them how terrific they are just as they are.

Where CONFESSIONS OF A MOVIE ADDICT falls short is in Tucker's underestimation of our interest in the journey of a woman through academia, homemaking, and into film criticism at an age when most of us have long since given up our dreams. This may be "a life story with everything but the movies edited out", but many of us would love to see what's left on the cutting-room floor.

Whether she be recalling a mishap at an X-rated film, admitting she laughed out loud during 'Cabin Boy', or taking an imaginary film festival trip, film critic Betty Jo Tucker's novel 'Confessions of a Movie Addict' will have you envisioning her tales of a life at the movies as if she were talking directly to you. Betty Jo's stories are vivid, enthralling, and quite often amusing. Not only does it provide one wonderfully detailed story after another, Betty Jo's book comes with several of her to-the-point film reviews, a collection of celebrity interviews, a photo gallery, an index of movie-related books and websites, and a checklist to see if you indeed are a movie addict. I have read 'Confessions of a Movie Addict', and as a critic myself, I can proudly assure you that Betty Jo Tucker is one of the finest critics out there and a person who flat-out loves the movies, from the good to the bad. 'CoaMA' is an excellent slice of cinema life.

As a recently retired college professor who can go to more movies now, I was delighted by this substantive insiders tale told with such happy and light-hearted grace, candor, and humor. The sophisticate and the novice, young and old, will find Betty Jo Tucker's "show-don't-tell" approach solid, informative, and entertaining. She charmed the socks off me! Betty Jo takes us into her fascination with this dimensional art form, with her life story deftly stitched into the background. "Because confession is good for the soul," she tells us, "I admit enjoying films mostly for their escapist entertainment qualities. But I also love to be enchanted by cinematic artistry, enlightened by a great story, and inspired by memorable performances." We grow together with this unpretentions, knowledgeable professional hooked on movies as she moves from going it alone, to being mentored by the best, including the famous "UK Critic" Ian Waldron-Mangani--who, she tells us, could have been her grandson. I found "Confessions" to be a great three-in-one deal: HerStory, terrific interviews, and crisp reviews. We meet some of the greatest names in film from the U.S.--directors David Lynch and M. Night Shyamalan, Oscar winners Anjelica Huston and Angelina Jolie, and the legendary Debbie Reynolds, along with top international figures, including British actor Sir Ian Mckellen, French actress Judith Godrech, Japanese filmmaker Masayuki Suo, and Oscar-winning Czech director Jan Sverak. Stellar interviews include those with Annette Bening, Willem Dafoe, Tony Shalhoub, and Aidan Quinn. Among her top reviews are "Chocolat," "Bridget Jone's Diary," "Mouline Rouge," "Planet of the Apes," "Legally Blond," and "Scary Movie." Along the way, she tells some delightful stories on herself: great gaffs--foot in the mouth, clear to the knee, as Josh Wise, one of my former students, once wrote. After enjoying "Confessions," you'll never read a review the way you used to!

"It cannot be said too often and it's never said enough that the mass news-media have low-to-no standards of accuracy, whether in relatively minor or peripheral areas of their reporting where their interests may not be obviously at stake (except in that it's in their interest not to go to the expense of bothering to check facts, and to conceal this) or in the larger matters where their prejudices are more apparent. And, as the media leaders know, since almost all news becomes "old" the moment it's broadcast, most victims of their misrepresentations are at a disadvantage not only because of a power mismatch, but because a protester looks like a fool to be challenging yesterday's papers. But the consequences of the media's irresponsibility and maliciousness are real to their victims. Guy Debord finally had to react. A rare and nice touch is where he mentions that he actually has no higher opinion of the consumers of the media than he does of the disseminators of it. Heh heh.

The tract is full of these sudden sharp insights into Debord. It's great as well for its evocation of the whole intense time and place (Paris art/life radicalism, 1957-84)."
Richard Hell

"It cannot be said too often and it's never said enough that the mass news-media have low-to-no standards of accuracy, whether in relatively minor or peripheral areas of their reporting where their interests may not be obviously at stake (except in that it's in their interest not to go to the expense of bothering to check facts, and to conceal this) or in the larger matters where their prejudices are more apparent. And, as the media leaders know, since almost all news becomes "old" the moment it's broadcast, most victims of their misrepresentations are at a disadvantage not only because of a power mismatch, but because a protester looks like a fool to be challenging yesterday's papers. But the consequences of the media's irresponsibility and maliciousness are real to their victims. Guy Debord finally had to react. A rare and nice touch is where he mentions that he actually has no higher opinion of the consumers of the media than he does of the disseminators of it. Heh heh.

The tract is full of these sudden sharp insights into Debord. It's great as well for its evocation of the whole intense time and place (Paris art/life radicalism, 1957-84)."
Richard Hell

The very name Guy Debord conjures with it a multitude of images, from Situationist radical to drunken intellectual, capitalist critic to avant-garde filmmaker. This multitude of images, which are themselves caught up in a mechanism of fantasy--for the one who speaks the name "Guy Debord" in turn conjures the very fabrication of that person-is the very subject of his Considerations on the Assassination of Gérard Lebovici. A recent and thoroughly welcomed translation and publication by TamTam Books (an independent publisher in Los Angeles whose growing catalogue is sure to entice and thrill the eager readers of idiosyncratic French literature) of this later writing of Debord's is a testament to both the ongoing "image" of Debord as cultural critic, as well as a strangely touching portrait of a man on the absolute fringe of the culture he in so many ways enables us to see.

The book is essentially an analysis of the surrounding media coverage on the mysterious death in 1984 of one of France's biggest film producers, Gérard Lebovici of whom Debord was close friends. The mysterious death--or assassination--of Lebovici subsequently is depicted in numerous French magazines and newspapers as being inextricably linked to the producers "association" with the "notorious" Debord. Equating the death with Debord was brought to such a high-pitched fervor as to render Debord a specter of death itself, as if any contact with such a fringe element would leave an indelible mark on one's being. As Le Journal du Dimanche announces: "Behind the most hidden face of Gérard Lebovici, there is always Guy Debord." There, Debord lurks, as a force of extreme criminality, a kind of black magic through which death could be administered without a trace.

In his Considerations Debord essentially sets the stage for a conversation between the media's rampant output of untruths about his person and himself, as holder of truth, for who would know himself better? Dissecting each article, highlighting and deconstructing paragraphs and sentences by a plethora of journalists, what Debord ultimately enacts is a further analysis of the Society of The Spectacle--by showing the machinery of media as a player in the output of the spectacle itself, which for Debord has no grounding in finding truth, or in representing facts, but rather functions as an implicit wielder of the spectacle itself. As Robert Greene eloquently points out in his introduction to the book, Debord's determination to actually remain aloof--a non-celebrity to a culture that desires and creates celebrities for its own amusement, as a perpetuation of the spectacular--ultimately marks Debord as "sinister", a culprit of uncertain powers. For obviously someone so aloof must have something to hide. Psychologizing Debord, the media in effect treat him as an object for its own play, replacing the actual death of an individual and the process of investigation with the heightened reportage of tabloid gossip. In this way, the media finds Debord everywhere, a lingering and ghostly figure looming over not only Lebovici but an entire network of terrorist organizations, mobs and secret societies--Debord as The Devil himself. Yet Debord counters: "The simple truth, however, perhaps more painful for the amateurs or the barons of the present social spectacle, is that in all my life I have never appeared anywhere." It's this "having never appeared" which Debord reluctantly overcomes in writing Considerations--to once again show that reality is a political arena in which language signifies more than itself. As one paper quoted from Debord's past writings: "In reality one never contests the existence of an organization without contesting all of the forms of language that belong to this organization."

Brandon LaBelle, Contemporary Summer 2002

"It cannot be said too often and it's never said enough that the mass news-media have low-to-no standards of accuracy, whether in relatively minor or peripheral areas of their reporting where their interests may not be obviously at stake (except in that it's in their interest not to go to the expense of bothering to check facts, and to conceal this) or in the larger matters where their prejudices are more apparent. And, as the media leaders know, since almost all news becomes "old" the moment it's broadcast, most victims of their misrepresentations are at a disadvantage not only because of a power mismatch, but because a protester looks like a fool to be challenging yesterday's papers. But the consequences of the media's irresponsibility and maliciousness are real to their victims. Guy Debord finally had to react. A rare and nice touch is where he mentions that he actually has no higher opinion of the consumers of the media than he does of the disseminators of it. Heh heh.

The tract is full of these sudden sharp insights into Debord. It's great as well for its evocation of the whole intense time and place (Paris art/life radicalism, 1957-84)."
Richard Hell