The Vatican to Vegas: The History of Special Effects Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Vatican to Vegas: The History of Special Effects? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Vatican to Vegas: The History of Special Effects. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Vatican to Vegas: The History of Special Effects ReviewNot only students and scholars of the history of art, architecture, film, animation, western culture can rejoice at the publication of Norman Klein's epic and illuminating history of special effects illusionism, from the 17th century to the present. This book also promises delight to the common reader interested and engaged with the peculiar culture our times. As spectacle morphs to ever stranger forms, Klein offers an invaluable set of tools for analyzing, understanding, critiquing and surviving its massive leveling wash.
Klein's thesis, that large-scale special effects consistently function within a dialectic of political power and powerlessness, not only newly opens important influential fields for his spectacular research and interdisciplinary penetrations, but delights, in a rich and novelistic narrative,sparkling with brilliant characters (Ben Jonson, Mary Shelley, Edgar A. Poe, Charles Babbage, Jules Verne, George W. Bush) and bubbling over with cascading, interconnected information. The writer also lays bare his own private history, how special effects intervened in his Coney Island Youth and his Los Angeles adulthood, as a useful, literary casestudy. Special Effects emerges not simply as a hegemonic tool of repression but as a perplexing and evolving field of invention, influence and ambitious expression still as liable to charm as depress.
In particular, Klein's research on the history of technology was of particular use and interest to me. But the book serves happily, with its brilliantly organized index and "search engine" as a hand-book of effects history and theory in all disciplines. Klein crosses boudaries between history, theory, sociology and literature, offering important new realizations without ever overlooking, or short-shrifting the achievements of scholars dedicated to those particular fields. Vatican to Vegas, indeed, offers a brilliant example of the promise that interdisciplinary engagement offers writers of the future. I haven't read Klein before, but I'm telling you, I'll start now.
I won't start praising the pictures, though they're fascinating.
Buy this book and nail it to your desk or bedside table. In our current "Electronic Baroque" (a key Kleinian term), it grows more and more relevant every day.The Vatican to Vegas: The History of Special Effects Overview

Want to learn more information about The Vatican to Vegas: The History of Special Effects?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record ReviewThis book is a labour of love from two men who wish to share with the world the vocal genius of Perry Como. Michael Feinstein says in his foreword that the name of Como is all but forgotten. How true that is. Perhaps the Como family not willing to take part in this book is partly to blame for that.
This book states clearly that the authors wish to study the professional life of the singer and to honour his lifetime of privacy. We have for the first time ever a complete discography, complete TV appearances, complete live appearances of the whole of Como's career. Articles, stories, broadcast interviews are all assembled together in one place for the first time. No hidden secrets have been revealed or discovered - perhaps it is true about Como "What you see is what you get".
As someone who has collected Como since 1957 this book is a pure joy to read - a great tribute to a most under-rated singer. Yes, he made too many novelty records and that is perhaps why he is always ignored when comparing great 20th crooners - but he is up there will Crosby and Sinatra - investigate those CD's that do not just carry the 50's novelty hits and you will experience a great vocal talent.
A great achivement by two writers who have no other goal than to promote the talent of a great singer. A fine book - highly recommended.The Definitive Perry Como CollectionPerry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record Overview

Want to learn more information about Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Our Movie Heritage Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Our Movie Heritage? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Our Movie Heritage. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Our Movie Heritage ReviewOur Movie Heritage is one of the best books I've ever read and I can't say enough good things about it. If you have any intrest in movies, this book is a must. Our Movie Heritage contains many beautiful pictures and is very well written. It was so wonderful and informative, I couldn't put it down. The facts about preservation are so alarming and worrying, it makes you feel like you should give all your money to the cause. If the authors read this sort of thing, I just want to say thank you. You have changed my life. I'm in high school and after reading this book, I know what career I'm going into, film preservation. So thank you, and everyone needs to buy this book, its worth the price and much much more.Our Movie Heritage Overview

Want to learn more information about Our Movie Heritage?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Rollin' and Tumblin' : The Postwar Blues Guitarists Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Rollin' and Tumblin' : The Postwar Blues Guitarists? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Rollin' and Tumblin' : The Postwar Blues Guitarists. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Rollin' and Tumblin' : The Postwar Blues Guitarists ReviewBy "postwar blues", we mean the upbeat, amplified, often aggressive material that many popologists see simply as the roots of rock'n'roll. But for blues fans, the muscular power and driving passion of the bluesmen is enough by itself, and this collection of articles and interviews profiling many of the genre's greatest players, is manna from heaven for the folks who could care less what happened after Elvis shook his little heinie on the Ed Sullivan show. This is a classicist's view of the blues -- standardbearers such as Otis Rush, Muddy Waters and BB King get multiple entries, wild West Coast and Texas bluesmen like T-Bone Walker and Clarence Gatemouth Brown also get their propers, and while the main emphasis is on the dudes who plugged in, acoustic players such as Fred McDowell also get a nod or two. The book draws on a variety of writers, and reflects a variety of interviewing and narrative styles -- most of the material originally appeared in "Guitar Player" magazine, but while some technical points are investigated, the book is an even better source of information about the players themselves -- their personalities, their stories, their world view. A true blues fan should enjoy this book quite a bit!Rollin' and Tumblin' : The Postwar Blues Guitarists Overview

Want to learn more information about Rollin' and Tumblin' : The Postwar Blues Guitarists?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Production Design and Art Direction (Screencraft Series) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Production Design and Art Direction (Screencraft Series)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Production Design and Art Direction (Screencraft Series). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Production Design and Art Direction (Screencraft Series) ReviewTexts on Production Design are just plain fun to read. When I received this text I looked with great anticipation at the big white space and contemporary layout on the cover. Turning that first page, and the second page, and third to see more, and more, white space, accompanied by extremely small print and small reproductions of rare conceptual drawings, storyboards, photos and architectual drawings from films designed by 16 masters of their craft, was a disappointment.
Compared to books like "Hollywood: Legend and Reality" Edited by Michael Webb, from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, which also had rarely seen drawings and photos, the visual layout and design lacked impact and clarity. Print within the storyboards, often important clues to how the scene was shot, is hard to read.
Ettedgui's beautiful book is an illustrated interview book, but the interviews prove anecdotal more than educational.
Compared to the Text: "Film Design", compiled by Terence St. John Marner, part of The London Film School Series, 1974, the explanation of how production design was technically done on individual films was meager.
In "By Design, Interviews with Film Production Designers", LoBrutto knows what questions to ask in interviews with 20 masters of their craft to relay meaningful information about how the film industry, as well as these designers, work. Ettedgui's work cannot compare in content to LoBrutto's.
As an independent reviewer, I review books on the filmmaking craft for what they can help you learn about the craft on your own. This is a beautiful book. If your eyesight is 20/20 or better you might not even mind the small print, but once past the intial oh-oh, ah-ah of the size, design and layout of this large text, the content rates not much more than 3 Stars.
Pamela Jean Curry, Film Director in Training at Film Studio Faux,Parody of Motion Picture Film Studio Training.Production Design and Art Direction (Screencraft Series) Overview

Want to learn more information about Production Design and Art Direction (Screencraft Series)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

The Night of the Hunter (BFI Film Classics) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy The Night of the Hunter (BFI Film Classics)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Night of the Hunter (BFI Film Classics). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Night of the Hunter (BFI Film Classics) ReviewA fascinating book about an equally fascinating and very under-rated movie. I don't remember where or when I first saw "The Night of the Hunter," but I do remember being scared, horrified and thrilled all at the same time. As was usually the case when he played a villan, Robert Mitchum was terrifying as he roamed off in the distance as a silhouette on horseback (which, by the way was actually a stand-in midget riding a donkey -- now THAT's creepy!). And the rest of the cast, including the great Lillian Gish and the incomparable Shelley Winters, as well as the two child actors, is absolutly steller; not to mention that this movie was Charles Laughton's one and only (unfortuately) foray into directing. My reason for spending so much time praising the movie is that this book deserves equal praise for bringing the movie back so vividly to the reader. Again, it's a fascinating read -- and in some ways, almost as spooky as the movie. All of the books in the BFI Film Classics series that I've read are wonderful, and this is one of the best. Go get it!The Night of the Hunter (BFI Film Classics) Overview

Want to learn more information about The Night of the Hunter (BFI Film Classics)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...

Disney: The Mouse Betrayed Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy Disney: The Mouse Betrayed? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Disney: The Mouse Betrayed. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Disney: The Mouse Betrayed ReviewIf anything can be honestly said about the Disney Corporation, the truth would be that it is not the company founded by Walt Disney. Michael Eisner has definitely looked at Disney as more as a profit machine than as a family entertainment entity, and in many cases I agree with the authors that Disney has gone to far in the issues of crime and safety, although I have to disagree with the homophobic and righteous stand taken by the authors concering morality.
The Schweizers beg the question "Whose morality?" at one point in the book, and I would ask the same question of the authors. I think that if Walt were alive today, he would not agree with the albums produced or sexual inferences being condoned under the Disney umbrella, but I don't think he would disgree because of "moral issues". Interpretation of morality is in the eyes of the viewer, and it appears the authors would hate any company for what they perceive as anti-fundalmentalist ethics, so the criticism of Disney in this regard is actually part of an ulterior motive which is one of Christian and conservative ethics. Walt himself did not ascribe to any religion and viewed the Christian question as a moral dilemma. I cannot disagree that Walt would have hated the direction of his company now, but that is simply because he valued family entertainment and not adult entertainment.
The cases surrounding sex crimes, safety, and fatalities on property are true, and Disney prefers to govern these on their own rather than become a public spectacle. This portion I believe the authors covered very well and provide aquequate documentation to support their claims. I believe that Eisner has become more interested in profits and short term gains to please finicky shareholders and is merely interested in prevention and safety as long as it does not cost much.
All in all this is a good book. As long as one looks past the obvious conservative and puritanical overtones and sees the facts for what they are, one will see Disney is not at all what it appears to be.Disney: The Mouse Betrayed Overview

Want to learn more information about Disney: The Mouse Betrayed?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now

Read More...