- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Nation Books; First Trade Paper Edition edition (Oct 22 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1560255455
- ISBN-13: 978-1560255451
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.4 x 2.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#307,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #94 in Books > Entertainment > Movies > Industry
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Best known for his popular book on 1970’s cinema, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Biskind has strung together a compendium of his magazine articles, dating from his tenure as editor-in-chief at American Film up to his current post as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. While Biskind at his best provides uniquely bracing film critique, far too much of this volume is of little merit to today’s readers. The strongest pieces are Biskind’s profiles of master agent Sue Mengers, "a female Billy Wilder," and Charlie Feldman, an unknown figure today who in his time combined his talents to be both a legendary Hollywood producer and agent. It’s hard to reconcile these humane, illuminating profiles with Biskind’s review of an old Clint Eastwood film, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, which appears to be obsessed with the film’s latent homosexuality. There’s also a dated analysis of George Lucas’s Star Wars films that not only does not consider the latest additions to the series but includes such overblown analysis as "The Jabba episode culminates in an explicit vagina dentata fantasy as Luke and his pals have to walk a phallic gangplank…" Because Biskind is, as billed, an incisive writer, readers will wish he bothered to update such statements as, "Vietnam was the first television war, and … it may be the last." Here’s hoping next time around, Biskind will give his loyal readers something new to chew on.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Of late the author of books on the movie industry, Biskind began his career in the 1960s, writing about the intersection of politics and cinema for small leftist journals. Hollywood's move away from substance in the 1980s and, presumably, the need to make a living led him to profiling celebrities for glossies like Vanity Fair and premiere. His early work is represented in this collection by thoughtful essays on topics including anticommunism in director Elia Kazan's work, the espousal of anti-individualism in '50s sf movies, and the portrayal of blue-collar America in '70s films. Later entries, sketching such powerful Hollywood figures as directors Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese, producer Don Simpson, and agents Charlie Feldman and Sue Mengers, are less distinctive but highly engaging. If these pieces collectively lack the impact of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (1998) and Down and Dirty Pictures (2004), which many consider definitive on '70s New American Cinema and '90s indie powerhouse Miramax, respectively, they constitute a less straightforward depiction of the now three-decades-long decline of American cinema. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
The Kazan revival has begun. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The Kazan revival has begun. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
It's okay to step out of the cupboard on this one. They aren't scary, Dec 23 2008
By Mitchell J. Hall - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Gods and Monsters: Thirty Years Of Writing on Film and Culture From One Of America's Most Incisive Writers (Paperback)
This book is okay and this is going by the immense standards that this writer has set. Raging bulls and Down and Dirty pictures are some of the most entertaining books I've ever read. Great reads. Yet this one is a little patchy and can easily be passed over.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
disappointed, Dec 8 2009
By Tina R - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Gods and Monsters: Thirty Years Of Writing on Film and Culture From One Of America's Most Incisive Writers (Paperback)
I was really disappointed with this book. The writing was awful, very disjointed, and egocentric, not really interesting. I had thought it would be great....a subject I am intersested in, etc. But I couldn't finish it...
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
For serious film buffs & film scholars...& film makers..., Sep 30 2009
By Jfloyd Waggaman "wggmn3" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Gods and Monsters: Thirty Years Of Writing on Film and Culture From One Of America's Most Incisive Writers (Paperback)
For anyone seriously interested particularly in American movies & the history of American films...or the history of film (period)...Whether a film buff or film scholar...or film maker...a "must have" in the library of anyone interested in the movies...
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Entertainment > Movies > History & Criticism
- Books > Entertainment > Movies > Industry
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
