Arts and Culture Books
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Funny picturesReview Date: 2007-01-12
Kitschy funReview Date: 2007-01-11
So fun!Review Date: 2007-01-10
HilariousReview Date: 2007-01-09

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Great book on a fascinating subject, superbly researched, wonderfully assembled! A must for comedy fans and everyone else! Review Date: 2007-02-01
Although the basic career outlines of both Arbuckle and Keaton are virtually common knowledge to most comedy aficionados, Neibaur brings a bright new perspective and a wealth of fresh historical material regarding his subject(s). The fourteen two-reel comedies produced by the Comique Film Corporation between 1917 and 1919, starring veteran movie funster Fatty Arbuckle with cinematic novice Buster Keaton in support, are analyzed in the order of production and release, permitting the viewer to witness not only what McFarland describes as the "collaborative chemistry" between Fatty and Buster, but also the creative growth and evolution of the two men during this prolific and rewarding period in their careers.
Too often, the story of the Arbuckle-Keaton comedies is told from the perspective of Keaton's staunchest supporters, heralding Buster's development from featured player to star while minimizing the contributions of Arbuckle--which is not only unfair, given that Fatty was a major box-office attraction of the period, an accomplished director, and the sole raison d'etre for the films in the first place, but also historically inaccurate. While Neibaur acknowledges that Arbuckle initially preferred wild, unbridled slapstick catering to what he regarded as the "twelve-year-old mentality" of the average filmgoer, and that Keaton was convinced even this early in his career that the audience was capable of grasping more subtle and intelligent comedy concepts, the author shows how both men complemented one another and benefited from collaboration on an equal basis.
In the earliest of the fourteen comedies, Arbuckle was already demonstrating a firm grasp of filmmaking technique and consistent comedy characterization, but he was still doggedly adhering to the tried-and-true "gags for gags' sake" formula of his earlier Keystone films, frequently throwing plot and logic out the window in the pursuit of nonstop laughter. With the benefit of Keaton's input--which Neibaur meticulously traces and pinpoints from one film to the next--the final entries in the Arbuckle-Keaton series were, in Neibaur's words, "critically applauded for offering less in the way of knockabout slapstick and concentrating more on thoughtful gags stemming from character and situation."
At the same time, Keaton was receiving valuable on-the-job training in support of Arbuckle, in preparation for his own ultimate stardom. Though his comic timing and physical prowess are remarkable to behold in the earliest collaborations, it must be admitted that he is less a character than an outline of a character. Working in close quarters with a charismatic (and generous) performer like Arbuckle enabled Keaton to grow and mature as performer, matriculating from merely another vaudevillian with a clever bag of tricks to a wholly believable human being. Also, Neibaur notes that Keaton's legendary "great stone face" was the end product of extensive trial and error throughout the Arbuckle films, in which Buster experimented with a vast array of broad facial expressions before finally settling upon the minimalism that worked best for him. (The familiar story of how Keaton discovered in childhood that he got bigger laughs by not smiling on stage is repeated herein: However, the author clarifies that it was Buster's painstaking apprenticeship with Arbuckle that led him to conclude that he could continue getting big laughs by not smiling in the radically different medium of film).
The book offers an insightful critical assessment of each film, with special attention given the brilliant and remarkably sophisticated parody melodrama MOONSHINE. And though he rightly cherishes these films as being just as "alive" and entertaining today as they were when first released, Neibaur also does a fine job placing the fourteen comedies in their proper historical context, most often by quoting rare contemporary print reviews that haven't seen the light of day for nearly nine decades. Mention must also be made of the author's skillful assessment of the appalling racial humor in one of the lesser films, OUT WEST. Where some writers would issue a blanket condemnation of the Arbuckle-Keatons on the basis of this one offensive film, while others would bend over backward trying to apologize for the most egregious gags as merely "products of their time", Neibaur takes a refreshingly brand-new approach to one of the touchiest issues facing 21st-century film historians.
The chapter I enjoyed most focused on the handful of two-reelers made by Arbuckle during the period in which Keaton was absent from the studio, serving in the Army. Although only two of these films are currently extant--and those have only been rediscovered in the past decade--Neibaur is able to persuasively argue that films at hand not only prove that Arbuckle was putting the lessons learned in his collaborations with Keaton to good use, but also that "Arbuckle's own abilities were the reason for the success of these two reelers", and that they can now be seen as a "transition" in the comedian's comic vision.
The thumbnail descriptions of Arbuckle and Keaton's careers before and after their collaboration offer much that is new and fascinating, including interviews with coworkers Lionel Stander (who appeared Arbuckle's final Vitaphone talkie short, 1933's IN THE DOUGH) and Lorna Gray (Keaton's leading lady in his first Columbia two-reeler, 1939's PEST FROM THE WEST). Especially noteworthy is Neibaur's take on the spectacular scandal that destroyed Arbuckle's career: Not only does the author observe that the comedian's starring features remained popular in Europe even though they'd been banned in puritanical America, but he also provides a fair-and-balanced compendium of facts and opinions demonstrating that the "whole truth" concerning Arbuckle's involvement (or lack of same) in the death of Virginia Rappe is a matter that is still--and always will be--shrouded in mystery and muddied by wildly contradictory first-hand accounts.
Finally, Neibaur pays brief but affectionate tribute to a pair of often-underrated contributors to the popularity of the Arbuckle-Keaton comedies: Fatty's talented nephew Al St. John, who of course went on to a rewarding "second stardom" as a B-western comical sidekick, and pert leading lady Alice Lake, whose subsequent life and career is here treated in far more depth than I've ever seen previously.
In short--BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!
Instant ClassicReview Date: 2007-01-31
What is really refreshing about Neibaur's book is that he gives the vastly underrated Roscoe Arbuckle his WELL deserved due as a film comedy master, but never at the expense of the genius that is Buster Keaton.
If you are a Keaton and/or Arbuckle fan, your book collection is incomplete without this staple. It supersedes all previous work on the Comique years. And it's a good read!
David B. Pearson
"Arbucklemania"
Finally! An in-depth look at Arbuckle's moviesReview Date: 2007-01-11
James L. Neibaur's ARBUCKLE AND KEATON: THEIR 14 FILM COLLABORATIONS goes a long way in reassessing Arbuckle's undervalued reputation, and finally gives the rotund funster his well-deserved due. Though this volume deals specifically with the short comedies that Keaton served as an apprentice to Arbuckle, the master, it also examines Arbuckle's career in its entirety, offering a wealth of facts and informative, trenchant observations.
If you think you're already familiar with Arbuckle's work, this book will make you seek out these films once more and perhaps solidify and/or rethink your opinions. If you've never seen Arbuckle at his peak, then this book will serve as the perfect guide to some of the funniest silent comedies ever made. Either way, ARBUCKLE AND KEATON is a real treat, and is highly recommended.
Silent Film Comedy Has Another Worthy BookReview Date: 2007-01-05

ExcellentReview Date: 2007-09-10
He may not always be right but he makes it interestingReview Date: 2005-07-18
In a sense Greenberg was one of the critics who helped define ' modern art'. In this he equated modern art with the 'avant garde'. The avant garde artists were for him those for whom the subject of art had become art itself. The artists and poets he focused upon he understood as being without a kind of secure public that for a period of time in Western Art had supported the 'elite work' which is art. In this he saw Yeats, Rilke, Stevens as Rimbaud, Mallarme, and Valery poets whose real effort was in an effort to make a world of their own art- language and form.
We are now nearly half a century since Greenberg wrote these seminal essays. And it seems that while he may well have helped define a moment in the history of Art and even of Literature , Time and History have not stood still. And the question of a content in art and literature which comes from human life and experience, and too relates to our social reality is still with us, and has returned in greater strength. And this while it also possible to maintain that Greenberg's interpretative line really only partly defined the world of for instance a Stevens or a Yeats whose fictional and imaginative universes were too anchored in Key West and Sligo and other real spaces of our own dark beautiful and recalcitrant earth.
The best art criticism you will ever readReview Date: 2004-02-15
Clement is a cool catReview Date: 2000-07-02

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Punk is an art and Winston displays it as it is.Review Date: 1999-04-25
Punk is an art and Winston displays it as it is.Review Date: 1999-04-25
A delicious book for anyone who loves Winston!!!Review Date: 1999-03-07
98 pages and worth every pennyReview Date: 2000-10-30

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One of the Best Celebrations of Any Comic Book ArtistReview Date: 2008-05-03
Published by Image Comics - which has produced a number of excellent "art of..." books over the past few years - The Art of Brian Bolland is a retrospective of Bolland's career thus far, starting with his childhood drawings and continuing to the present day. There is a lot of text in this book discussing Bolland's career but, unlike so many "art of..." books, Bolland himself actually wrote the text, and he is amazingly honest and quite droll in his writing.
While this book is certainly on the expensive side, it is well worth it - at more than 360 pages, it seems to stretch on forever (in a good way) and showcases just how talented Bolland truly is. A good number of the pieces center on his Judge Dredd and DC Comics (largely Wonder Woman) work; also, most of the work pictured is in black and white. The book itself is exceptionally well-produced: sturdy and hefty, it is printed on nice, glossy paper and all of the images are reproduced with exceptional clarity. Any fan of Bolland or of comic book art in general, should pick this book up. Highly recommended.
This is great stuffReview Date: 2006-12-12
Great Showcase of Bolland's WorkReview Date: 2007-02-12
Highly recommended.
An outstanding tribute to a great illustrator's work!Review Date: 2007-01-10


A Pathbreaking BookReview Date: 2000-07-05
Still the best book on social movementsReview Date: 2005-09-21
My students are also very high on the book. It is a must read for all students of social movements.
Will be considered a classic by future generationReview Date: 2003-01-16
If I had to teach a course on social movements, I would probably chose two books for my students to read. The first one would be "Power in Movement" from Tarrow and the second one would be "The Art of Moral Protest". Many excellent books have been written on social movements but very few complement each other as well as these two books. They present the two current main branches of social movement studies.
If I had to find a few problems with the book it would be related to the reference system adopted. By placing all references and notes at the end of the book, the more interested reader easily get lost. It might sound silly at first, but since the book is quite thick it becomes quite annoying with time... especially when you are thrilled by the reading but still want to get that extra detail hidden at the end of the book.
The best recent book on social movements!Review Date: 2001-06-05

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Enthusiastically recommended to aspiring screen writers everywhereReview Date: 2008-05-03
A Good BookReview Date: 2008-03-11
What makes a good plot - here's the book with the answersReview Date: 2008-02-24
Answer this question - what's the difference between conflict and complication? Which one keeps the plot moving?
Table of contents:
1 - The Three Requirements of Drama
2 - Plot: Event and Emotion
3 - The Role of Conflict
4 - The Principles of Action
5 - The Tools of Plotting
6 - The Sequence of Story
7 - The Real Art of Plotting
8 - Common Problems in Plot Construction
9 - Tools for Analysis
Great book. Highly recommended.
Great asset to any writer's libraryReview Date: 2008-01-23

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great art insideReview Date: 2008-01-13
Beautiful record of Robots evolutionReview Date: 2005-03-14
My biggest problem with "Art of" books is when they show too much finished film imagery. Why would I buy a book with the same images from the movie? I want to know where the film came from, not where it ended up. Art of Robots shines in this respect. In only a few places will you find actual images of the finished CG renders. The rest are raw, traditional works of art that give valuable clues into the films development. I especially like the pages that show a painted character and the photographs used to reference their color and texture for the film. Great information on the film-making process at Blue Sky.
Despite the obvious shortcomings in the film's story, this book stands on its own as one of the better "Art of" books I have seen. A real honor for all the artists who poured their talent into this film.
Fabulous BookReview Date: 2005-10-09

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Loved It!Review Date: 2000-07-22
Good Storytelling a MustReview Date: 2000-07-22
Unintentionally HillariousReview Date: 1998-12-13
An excellent reference for the new or intermediate writer.Review Date: 1998-02-19

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Great Nostalgic FunReview Date: 2006-03-14
Up, up and away.Review Date: 2003-09-22
Page eleven shows the first airline poster, the 1914 St Petersburg to Tampa route, in a tiny Benoist flying boat, that amazingly only carried one passenger. The venture lasted three months. Of the 170 posters shown there's plenty of choice to nominate your favorites, I like the ones that feature cut-aways of the aircraft and also the beautiful stylised airbrush rendering of New York that TWA used for their Transcontinental Boeing 307 poster from 1940, on page fifty-eight.
Presented in a book these posters create their own interest but I don't think many of them would have won any design awards. The typography and graphics, mostly paintings, just reflect what the airlines marketing department wanted. However ignore the type and look at the artwork and you'll see some wonderful illustrations from Cassandre, Jean Carlu, McKnight Kauffer, David Klein and Stan Galli and one from ace cartoonist Jack Davis, for Icelandic Air.
This is a large size all-color book but I was disappointed by the bland presentation, all the posters are butted into a light grey top-to-bottom panel on each page and even more annoying, on many pages, someone had the silly idea of adding small black and white photos of the planes that appear in the posters. This addition makes the depth of many posters smaller than they need be and the little photo, frequently showing plenty of detail, is just wasted. Fortunately this design treatment does not apply to every page.
If you are interested in the graphics of the airline business have a look at the beautifully designed 'En Route' by Lynn Johnson and Michael O'Leary, this concentrates on airline luggage label art and shows some super examples from airlines featured in 'The Art of the Airways'.
***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
Superb BookReview Date: 2005-01-09
Mr. Szurovy has had a life long love affair with airplanes, and it shows in this book. We highly recommend it for those who love airplanes, and those who want a great book of romantic and exotic posters from airline companies of yesteryear.
A lovely bookReview Date: 2003-09-30
The book has posters from around the world, even from Australia's Qantas (which the author mis-spells as Quantas), but not alas from a New Zealand airline (but don't worry, the book "The Aircraft of Air New Zealand and affiliates since 1940" puts that right). All posters in this book are superbly reproduced, with an adequate commentary and the page design is very nice. Good stuff!
Related Subjects: Music Performing Arts Visual Arts Entertainment
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