Book Description
The definitive biography of Leni Riefenstahl, the woman best known as “Hitler’s filmmaker,” one of the most fascinating and controversial personalities of the twentieth century. It is the story of huge talent and huger ambition, one that probes the sometimes blurred borders dividing art and beauty from truth and humanity.
Two of Riefenstahl’s films, Olympia and Triumph of the Will, are universally regarded as the greatest and most innovative documentaries ever made, but they are also insidious glorifications of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. Now, in this masterful new biography, Steven Bach reveals the truths and lies behind this gifted woman’s lifelong self-vindication as an apolitical artist who claimed she knew nothing of the Holocaust and denied her complicity with the criminal regime she both used and sanctified.
The facts and her actions, many unknown until now, bear chilling witness: her passionate enthusiasm for Hitler from her first reading of Mein Kampf; her involvements with Nazi leaders Joseph Goebbels, Martin Bormann, Albert Speer, and Julius Streicher, who advanced her career, and with Hitler, who personally helped finance it; her role as silent eyewitness to wartime atrocities against Jews; and her use of slave labor in the form of concentration camp Gypsies destined for Auschwitz. We see her after the war trying to sell footage to Hollywood under an alias, manipulating a sham “discovery” of the Nuba tribes of Sudan into a career comeback, fighting to disinherit her closest living relatives, and—to the end—unable to express remorse for the millions murdered by the Nazi regime made mythic by her work.
Relying on new sources—including interviews with her colleagues and intimate friends, as well as on previously unknown recordings of Riefenstahl herself—Bach gives us an exceptional work of historical investigation that untangles the past and is also an objective but unsparing appraisal of a woman of spectacular gifts corrupted by ruthless personal ambition.
Customer Reviews:
Good Intro to Leni .......2007-08-29
After reading Jurgen Trimborn's admirable but somewhat inaccessible biography of Riefenstahl, I sought out this book in hopes that it would be friendlier to a Riefenstahl novice such as me. It certainly is an easier read and a much better starting place.
Steven Bach, of Final Cut fame, writes from the standpoint of a motion picture enthusiast. He also has a POV where Riefenstahl's Nazi associations are concerned and he doesn't hide it. For Bach Riefenstahl is the living version of Klaus Mann's Mephisto, a careerist willing to do anything and associate with anyone to advance her "art." He also makes the case (clearly building on Trimborn's work, among others) that Riefenstahl not only had no problem with anything Hitler did or said, she likely agreed with most if not all of it.
Bach's style is that of a gossipy Hollywood bio, which is fine by me, but he's no fan magazine hack. He knows the power of the snide observation and, best of all, how damning Leni's own words were. At times Riefenstahl comes across as downright delusional about her artistic abilities and men's lust for her. To hear her tell it no man so much as entered the same zipcode as Leni Riefenstahl without falling madly in love with her.
Some may have disagreements about Bach's assessment of Riefenstahl's artistic contributions. I've only seen clips of her work so my own opinion is somewhat limited. Bach does make a good case the Riefenstahl either stole the ideas of others or took credit for their work. Bach doesn't buy the argument that the art is more important than the character or actions of the artist. He also doesn't buy that Riefenstahl was much of an artist.
This is no love letter to Leni. It is an entertaining read. Gossipy, slightly bitchy (as one reviewer here has aptly noted), and full of telling details and quotes, this is a easy entry into the myths and controversy that make up Leni Riefenstahl.
Brilliant But Petty and Cruel -- Oh, Wait, That's The Author! .......2007-08-26
Not since Albert Goldman's ELVIS has a dense, full length biography of a sexy, glamorous larger than life legend been written with such sadistic relish, such delicious malicious bitchery and pure venomous guile.
There's no question that Leni Riefenstahl, the stunningly beautiful German woman who made hypnotic propaganda films for the Nazis, was guilty of moral cowardice and hypocrisy, if not during the war, then certainly afterwards. She persisted to the end of her life in wanting to have it both ways -- saying in effect "I didn't know," and at the same time "I was too scared to stop Hitler -- too scared that I would be next." She claimed to have legions of Jewish friends before the war, but she never tried to help them when things got bad, even though she had lots of Nazi influence and power. And she always seemed weirdly out of touch with the human results of Hitler's evil deeds.
The problem is, Steve Bach doesn't know when to quit. He sneers at Leni Riefenstahl not just for the big things -- not strangling Hitler with her bare hands, the way he seems to imagine he would have done -- but for the little things too. The book is full of catty little remarks like, "Leni was always conscious of her hypnotic effect on men" or "Leni didn't mind having handsome, powerful men buy her presents" or "Leni's fearless mountain climbing only made her feminine allure more overpowering to the distinguished male cinema artists who indulged her every creative whim."
It's hard to tell whether Bach hates Leni for being heartless and callous or for being beautiful, talented -- and very knowingly seductive.
There is a much more serious issue here than the hissy ALL ABOUT EVE style bitchery of a jaded Hollywood insider. Bach insists on judging a German film maker by a far more rigorous standard than he would ever apply to the film industry in Hollywood today -- or seventy years ago, for that matter. When Leni goes to Hollywood he brags that the left-leaning Hollywood of 1938 treated the lovely German visitor with scorn -- but how did they treat Margaret Mitchell when she came to town the very next year? Bach has nothing to say about why those same "leftists" failed to prevent the making of a racist epic like GONE WITH THE WIND.
If Leni Riefenstahl shares any part of the guilt for Auschwitz -- and I agree that she does -- then David O. Selznick is equally responsible for the murder of Emmitt Till, the bombings in Birmingham, and all the other hate crimes perpetrated in the Jim Crow south. Bach is in a big hurry to compare Leni to the Stalinist film maker Eisenstein -- arguing in a feeble and half-hearted way that Eisenstein "probably" rebelled at what he was doing. But why not compare Leni Riefenstahl to D.W. Griffiths, or Margaret Mitchell, or David Selznick? All of them dealt in racial hate. They looked the other way while helpless people were tortured and murdered, too. But mentioning America's poisonous history of racial hate would reflect badly on Bach's own milieu. Bach's beloved Hollywood elite never questioned the racial status quo in the Jim Crow south -- at least, not until long after blacks had begun risking their lives to bring the horror of their situation to national attention.
What's really going on here is not genuine, humanistic outrage, but elitist hypocrisy. Bach hates Leni Riefenstahl because he knows that, for all their tiresome liberal cant, just about everyone in Hollywood (and the book world, and the world of leftist Manhattan politics) has the same rat-like survival instincts that Leni had. None of the liberals who demonstrate their courage by hating her guts now ever had to look Hitler in the eye. But they know who would have blinked first. And they know themselves too well to ever show mercy to someone just like them.
Double standard.......2007-08-22
Most of the facts and "facts" in this book cannot be disputed. Only one comment - there were many other people who "cooperated" with the Nazis, but who escape any oprobrium, Richard Strauss name comes to mind. In 1938 he composed "Festliches Praeludium" for the occassion of NSDAP Parteitag, he was the president of Reichsmusikkammer, directly working for Goebbels, he never lifted a finger to help his Jewish friends, etc. etc. Maybe Richard Strauss could be another topic for Steven Bach to delve into.
Good book but, a little too long.......2007-08-11
This was a very good book but, I think Bach gives us too much detail on Leni's life after WWII. I thought the book could have ended much sooner than it did. After all, did we really have to hear about Leni's search for a particular tribe in Africa? It would have suited me fine to hear about her various means of defending herself from various charges as a result of her association with Hitler and the Nazis. I don't see what benefit the inclusion of the African tribe info was to the reader. Still an interesting read.
Leni survives all.......2007-06-14
The author tries and fails to give an evenhanded account of this much reviled woman's life. All this proves once again that the winners write the history. In the meantime he does portray a fascinating and beautiful woman as the opportunist she was without detracting from her worth as a great artist. All in all the best effort so far reflecting an eventful life.
Average customer rating:
- --Interesting glimpse of old Hollywood--
- Mr. Dunne, I adore you!
- Dominick Dunne is fascinating
- Beautiful collection of photos
- THE WAY WE LIVED THEN
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The Way We Lived Then : Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper
Dominick Dunne
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ASIN: 0609603884
Release Date: 1999-09-28 |
Amazon.com
In a previous incarnation, writer Dominick Dunne was the toast of Hollywood--entertaining movie stars and socialites and invited by moguls to clambakes and black-tie dances. Long before he started churning out his romans à clef set in the private recesses of Hollywood and penthouses of New York City and his dispatches from notorious murder trials, he spent his days on movie sets, producing films like Ash Wednesday and working as an executive at various studios. In the off-hours, he and his wife Lenny ate dinner with Vincente Minnelli, Jack Benny, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Montgomery. They went to beach parties hosted by Jane Fonda and Roddy McDowall--and threw not a few bashes of their own, attended by, well, everyone and often photographed for Vogue magazine. Dunne seemed to carry his camera with him everywhere and "was always sticking [it] into someone's face." Kirk Douglas biting into an oversized hotdog, a scantily clad Paul Newman perusing a picnic table, Princess Margaret smoking, Mia Farrow dancing, and Natalie Wood hamming. Each weekend he carefully arranged his snapshots along with the week's invitations, telegrams, and news-clippings into a set of scrapbooks.
The Way We Lived Then closely resembles those scrapbooks, filled as it is with images culled from them. Dunne sews the scraps together with a loose memoir that moves from the mundane (how the house was decorated for a certain party, how the subjects of a given photo were feeling about one another at the time) to the grand (meditations on his marriage and his children). All of these famous friends, glittery parties, and cozy evenings did add up to a picture-perfect life for a time. But by the mid '60s, Dunne was drinking hard, insulting acquaintances in public, and being a perfectly terrible husband to the lovely Lenny. He was soon arrested carrying drugs into the country from Mexico, divorced, nearly poverty-stricken, and living in a cabin in Oregon. But he lived to tell about it, and though his story is something of a cautionary tale about the dangers of success and excess, punctuated as it is by his dreamy photos, one can't help but wonder if he'd happily go back to the way he lived then. --Jordana Moskowitz
Book Description
Mesmerizing, revelatory text combines with more than two hundred photographs -- most of them taken by the author -- in a startling illustrated memoir that will both astonish and move you.
When Dominick Dunne lived and worked in Hollywood, he had it all: a beautiful family, a glamorous career, and the friendship of the talented and powerful. He also had a camera and loved to take pictures. These photographs, which Dunne carefully preserved in more than a dozen leatherbound scrapbooks -- along with invitations, telegrams, personal notes, and other memorabilia -- record the parties, the glittering receptions, the society weddings, and scenes from the everyday lives of the Dunnes and those they knew, including Jane Fonda, Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Roddy McDowall, Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood, Brooke Hayward, Jennifer Jones, and David Selznick. You'll meet them all in this fascinating book -- captured in snapshots as these celebrities relax at poolside barbecues, gossip at cozy get-togethers and dance at the Dunnes' dazzling black-and-white ball. And you will meet Dominick Dunne's beautiful wife, Lenny, and his children, Griffin, Alex, and Dominique, as they celebrate Christmases, birthdays, and graduations. But, most of all, you will meet Dominick Dunne and learn about the peaks and valleys of his years in Hollywood, the disastrous turn his life took, and the long road back that led to his triumphant career as a writer. With its engaging photographs and candid text,
The Way We Lived Then is a riveting and unvarnished account of a life among the stars and a life almost lost.
Customer Reviews:
--Interesting glimpse of old Hollywood--.......2005-08-18
THE WAY WE LIVED THEN is a look at the lives and personalities of some of the most famous entertainers in the world.
I've been aware of the author, Dominick Dunne for a long time, but until reading this book, I had no idea what kind of background he had or what made him so knowledgeable about so many celebrities. Dunne was a director and producer of various TV shows and apparently was good at his job. People enjoyed working with him and he and his wife gave wonderful parties and were invited everywhere.
The book is as much about Dunne and his family as it is about the people that he socialized with. His story is rather sad because he ended up losing his wife because he became addicted to drugs and the fast Hollywood lifestyle. There are more than a few moving stories in the book. One pitiful entry has Dunne and Peter Lawford sharing drugs at a party. Years before, they had been friends and neighbors, but at this low point in their lives, they were both broke and seemingly without friends.
You can also read about Elizabeth Montgomery, Gig Young, Natalie Wood, George Hamilton, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda and dozens of other Hollywood "big" names. Dunne took a lot of photographs and I think that I enjoyed the snapshots as much as I did the text of the book.
Mr. Dunne, I adore you!.......2004-02-03
I think I was probably one of the very first people who purchased this book...and I loved every page and every minute of it! Some of the earlier reviewers I read below simply don't seem to "get" this book. It is not meant to be great literature. It is meant to be a great read with one-of-a-kind photos, and it delivers both in spades! Also, I believe it is meant to be somewhat of a love letter, both to the parts of Mr. Dunne's ealier life that were happy and held great promise, AND perhaps to the fans of his books...giving all of us glimpses into what was an incredibly fascinating "Hollywood existence" and giving us a peek at the REAL people that he has thinly veiled, completely disguised, or combined to create the fascinating characters that populate his terrific books. Mr. Dunne, if you read these reviews (I know that I probably would!!), please know that I eagerly await everything you publish, including your monthly "Diarist" articles in Vanity Fair. Your writings are so incredibly enjoyable, fascinating, and provide a much-needed escape for me. You must feel very blessed to have finally found your calling - so many never do.
Dominick Dunne is fascinating.......2002-11-05
It is easy to see why celebrities, criminals and perfect strangers have told Mr. Dunne their secrets. He is so interesting in a gossipy, name-dropping but sweet way. His Hollywood life makes an engrossing tale, much more entertaining than fiction.
Beautiful collection of photos.......2001-10-06
This book is filled with beautiful photographs of almost every star imaginable with personal anecdotes from Mr. Dunne to go with them. There are beautiful photos of Natalie Wood and a young (brunette) Elizabeth Montgomery. Mr. Dunne's life has certainly had its ups and downs, but this is NOT another celebrity pity party...he writes of the bad times he has faced, as well as the good, in a very matter of fact style, which is (thankfully) not at all whiny. But, again, the real treasure here are all the beautiful photographs of beautiful people in beautiful places. Thanks, Mr. Dunne, for sharing them with us.
THE WAY WE LIVED THEN.......2001-06-27
Mr. Dunne can work the room no matter where he is, no matter what social strata. I would have had an anxiety attack had I been face-to-face with Betsy Bloomingdale. Yet, this why I love Mr. Dunne. Reading about Betsy, she retained the warm, kind, classy image that I imagined her to have from various books and magazines. I loved being a fly-on-the-wall when Mr. Dunne was in Washington since I knew so little about politics. It was fun the way he scribed it in the pages. I feel safe reading Dominick's stories - although I feel like I am there, I don't have the real fear!
Book Description
Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971) is a fashion icon unlike any other. She invented modern clothing for women: at the height of the Belle Époque, she stripped women of their corsets and feathers, bobbed their hair, put them in bathing suits, and sent them out to get tanned in the sun. She introduced slacks, costume jewelry, and the exquisitely comfortable suit. She made the first couture perfume-No. 5-which remains the most popular scent ever created.
In this beautiful volume, the glorious life of the incomparable Coco Chanel shines again through hundreds of illustrations and the lively prose of Edmonde Charles-Roux, her official biographer and close friend. Chanel knew and collaborated with the likes of Picasso, Diaghilev, Stravinsky, Cocteau, Jean Renoir, and Visconti-even as she matched their modernist innovations by liberating women from the prison of 19th-century fashion and introducing a whole new concept of elegance. The staggering collection of photographs amassed by the over decades of friendship with Chanel sheds new light on one of the great stories of the modern age. AUTHOR BIO: Edmonde Charles-Roux began her journalistic career at Elle and ultimately became editor-in-chief of French Vogue. She has published three novels, among them To Forget Palermo (Oublier Palerme), which won the Prix Goncourt in 1966.
Customer Reviews:
Chanel!.......2007-05-28
I paid almost full price for this book and I don't regret it. I found this coffee table book just lovely.
I am not a fashion expert. I'm just a reader interested in interesting people, so I was looking for a book on CHANEL that gave a brief background on her life and photos of Coco and some of her fashions. Well, this book seemed to fit the bill---for me. I was not disappointed.
I have enjoyed this book very much and it sits on my living room table , ----for the book to be browsed by others.
Entertaining book with mostly pictures.......2007-04-08
I was looking for a book showing photos of Chanel's clothing designs and styles. This book focuses more on her life and the celebrities and cultural/social trends of her era (spanning 1910's - 1950's), so if you are looking to see her clothing styles and designs, you will be disappointed as there isn't that much coverage of the actual clothing. However, it is a very absorbing, encyclopedic, pictorial collection of the people of Chanel's time and you can spend many a lazy Sunday afternoon thoroughly exploring les temps perdus. There are many many pictures of Coco Chanel - like Madonna, she looks different every few years, a real chameleon. It retails at $65, so the $37 Amazon price is a good deal. It is a heavy thick book with glossy pages.
Chanel and Her World.......2007-04-06
I was disappointed in the text. I guess from the title I should have expected some world history. The story line is somewhat incoherent and doesn't seem to present her life very well. I had to use the index to find a couple lines of reference to her "Boy", a romance started in the story and then dropped, only to be finished much later and with no real detail. Either Chanel was very closed mouth about a lot of her life or the author didn't know her that well. Also, there are a lot of pictures of rather irrelevant items. I wouldn't purchase it again.
Coco Chanel: The French self-made woman.......2006-06-01
From an orphanage in France to the Ritz hotel in Paris, Coco Chanel created an entire style empire that lives on. A French fasionista version of Eva Peron for the couture world. Coco remains an icon and legend.
A designer of authentic beauty.......2006-05-26
This is a substantial book in both size and pictorial content.
As an ideal complement to the Metropolitan Museum's Chanel exhibit last spring (2005), this book actually exceeds - and outlasts - the exhibit itself.
More than just an intelligent, fascinating woman, Chanel was a fascinating opportunist in the way that she manipulated and transformed the trends of her times (and many men of her times), turning them to her advantage. She was as much a businesswoman and social and cultural politician as a fashion designer, and to see her in this book's big, beautiful photographs, modeling her own creations, is an inspiration to any woman who disbelieves that humble beginnings and a less than conventionally perfect countenance can lead to high achievement.
The best photograph of all - the photograph that tells all - graces the book's cover: one look at that face of intelligence, intensity, self-composure, and elegance, and one knows what the book is all about (philosophically as well as biographically) even before opening it.
The classic Chanel endures as a legend and lesson in the achievement of authentic beauty, i.e., defined by compelling creation rather than passive, taken-for-granted standards of acceptance.
Book Description
A master of metamorphosis, Sicilian duke-turned-jewelry-designer Fulco di Verdura (1898-1978) studded seashells with precious gems, transformed sailor's knots into pearl-encrusted necklaces, and wrapped blazing ruby hearts with braided gold rope. Since the mid-20th century, his ultrasophisticated neo-Baroque pieces have been the status symbols of a near-secret society of European blue bloods, Hollywood royalty, and Park Avenue patricians. Verdura's by-appointment-only patrons included Wallis Simpson, Marlene Dietrich, and Diana Vreeland, who considered his Maltese Cross cuffs an essential part of her daily uniform.
In this lavish book, featuring fresh color photographs as well as vintage images, Patricia Corbett presents a deft evaluation of Verdura's work and a glimpse inside his impossibly glamorous world.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing.......2006-03-29
This book has not only wonderful pictures but also incredible biography of Verdura -- highly recommend it.
Average customer rating:
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Erte Sculpture
Erte
Manufacturer: Studio
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ASIN: 0525244530 |
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- Fabulous!
- Compelling and educational
- Excellent!!
- The Best book on Bipolar for the average reader
- Awsome Book for Families and Bi-Polar sufferers
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Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness
Patty Duke
Manufacturer: Bantam
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ASIN: 0553560727
Release Date: 1997-02-04 |
Book Description
In her revealing bestseller Call Me Anna, Patty Duke shared her long-kept secret: the talented, Oscar-winning actress who won our hearts on The Patty Duke Show was suffering from a serious-but-treatable-mental illness called manic depression. For nearly twenty years, until she was correctly diagnosed at age thirty-five, she careened between periods of extreme euphoria and debilitating depression, prone to delusions and panic attacks, temper tantrums, spending sprees, and suicide attempts. Now in A Brilliant Madness Patty Duke joins with medical reporter Gloria Hochman to shed light on this powerful, paradoxical, and destructive illness. From what it's like to live with manic-depressive disorder to the latest findings on its most effective treatments, this compassionate and eloquent book provides profound insight into the challenge of mental illness. And though Patty's story, which ends in a newfound happiness with her cherished family, it offers hope for all those who suffer from mood disorders and for the family, friends, and physicians who love and care for them.
Customer Reviews:
Fabulous!.......2007-10-05
This book is both entertaining and informative with loads of references and resources....I highly recommend it, especially for someone just starting the research into what this desease is all about.
Compelling and educational.......2007-07-02
I've always been a big fan of Patty Duke which is what prompted me to purchase the book. I knew a little bit about her illness from the movie "Call Me Anna" that came out in the eighties; however, nothing could've prepared me for the astonishing ways she pulled herself together after falling apart over and over again or for how long she dealt with her disorder until doctors were able to figure out what it was she had and how to treat it. Most importantly, this book teaches scientific information regarding neurotransmitters and mental illness. I can't believe how much I learned from this book while being entertained at the same time.
Excellent!!.......2007-06-02
This is an excellent book. It is more than Patty Duke's situation, which is very well presented in her own words. There are multiple examples of others experiences. It gave me a much greater understanding of my own experiences. It also helped de-stigmatized the disease for me. The single drawback is the discussion of Lithium; it was written before many of the current medications became available. This in no way detracts from the power of the book. I would, and have, high recommend it.
The Best book on Bipolar for the average reader.......2007-03-30
This book is one I recommend to any patient I suspect may have bipolar disorder in the differential. Patty Duke is a most lovable character who pours out her heart in an endearing autobiography. The chapters go back and forth between Patty Duke, telling her story (Which reads like an exciting novel) and a science writer who talks more in depth about bipolar- beautifully written throughout. This book is a must read, as well as a very fun read for anyone who think they may have bipolar or anyone who may love someone who has bipolar. Very inspiring and upbeat. Filled with humanness.
Also don't miss Kay Redfield Jameson's Autobiography An Unquiet Mind
Awsome Book for Families and Bi-Polar sufferers.......2007-01-20
This book gives you a real insight as to what families of bi-polar patients and the patient himself goes though. There is a great deal of information on medications and their effects, what is good, what is not, what works, what doesn't, etc.
The book includes names of organizations where one can turn to along with phone numbers, addresses of the organizations. I bought five books for my family and friends so they might understand this disorder with a broader perspective. My daughter has had manic depressive disorder for 8 years and this book has given us hope.
Average customer rating:
- An American Icon
- As a glamour photographer myself...
- ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL
- Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits
- EXCELLENT BOOK! Vieira's mastery of the written word brings that era to life.
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Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits
Mark A. Vieira
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
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ASIN: 0810934345 |
Amazon.com
They had faces then, in the golden age of Hollywood when a publicity photo could make or break a star. The visual power of George Hurrell's portraits, with their Rembrandtesque lighting and dramatic poses, shaped the careers of such stars as Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, and Jane Russell, and did as much or more to establish them as their film performances. Mark Vieira, who adopted Hurrell's techniques and uses them to this day, explains how the master portraitist lit and retouched his photographs--a portrait of Crawford before and after retouching reveals what an artist the one-time painter really was--and analyzes their impact.
Customer Reviews:
An American Icon.......2007-08-25
George Hurrell is universally acknowledged THE Hollywood portrait photographer, the man who recreated during the talkies much of the mystery of the silent stars through his breathtaking photographs. At a time when the finest still photography was becoming more incisive and natural, Hurrell managed to balance this new naturalism and directness in highly manipulated ways, producing in his best work iconic images of the great stars of MGM. After the second World War his work became largely passe, appearing too contrived and built up for an age demanding grit and spontaneity and an off-hand naturalness.
This work seeks to both show and tell the story of Hurrell's highwater era as not only the major photographer of the stars, and MGM in particular, but also his development as artist. Breathtaking photographs fill the volume - Harlow on a polar bear skin rug, her gown glowing a burnished white against the softer fur while all around her Hurrell captures an infinite play of lighting, the entire amazing and unrepeatable, a dream world evoked out of the irridescent sheen of an infinity of microscopic silvery gifts left by the platinum negative; Norma Shearer transformed from attractive but doughty into a timeless vamp, surpassing her silent film predecessors with an electric sexuality never before captured on still film; Joan Crawford, Hurrell's great muse at the top of his game, seen in powerful forceful images, unrelenting in their hold on an Apollonian authority.
Hurrell's flamboyant personality, his novel and sometimes off-putting behavior during shootings, seems now unfortunately taken as role template by many lesser fashion photographers. In his day and at his height during the late twenties through the beginnings of World War II Hurrell dominates a demanding and highly accomplished professional field.
Whether you live in a sumptious penthouse overlooking Central Park, need a single book for the coffee table in the living room of that restored Neutra you just purchased, or just enjoy reasonably priced fashion books, Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits fits the bill. At a significantly reduced price its a lovely reminder of one of the nicer advantages of democratic publishing: not every fine art book is a prohibitively expensive limited edition printed by a small press.
As a glamour photographer myself..........2007-04-13
As a glamour photographer myself, this is a book I own and use for inspiration. I love the way Hurrell not only captures the inner-beauty of the subjects, but his photojournalistic approach. I often graze through this book as I've read it many times over--the grazing gets me going when it comes to my own glamour photography. I recommend anyone interested in this book, buy it now! If you'd like to see how it's affected my career, also check out the following books, Garage Glamour: Digital Nude and Beauty Photography Made Simple, Rolando Gomez's Glamour Photography: Professional Techniques and Images and even a book where I have a chapter, Professional Portrait Lighting: Techniques and Images from Master Photographers (Photo Pro Workshop series) This book should not only be on a collector's list, but for any student of photography--we're always learning no matter what level your photography. ---Rolando Gomez, contributing writer, Studio Photography magazine
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL.......2006-08-19
This book -- how beautiful. I have photography books by several of the great portrait photographers of the 20th Century, and this one is the best. There are a wealth of photographs, and the story of Hurrell's life is also interesting. If you ever thought about seriously learning about photography and taking some good pictures, this book will take any hesitation out of your mind. Gorgeous!!
Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits.......2006-07-25
This book is everything I expected. The pictures are great and the text very informative. I am enjoying it very much and it is a valued addition to my film library.
EXCELLENT BOOK! Vieira's mastery of the written word brings that era to life........2005-12-03
I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through and then reading this beautiful tribute to the legendary work of George Hurrell. As compelling as Hurrell's photos are it is the author's indepth knowledge and understanding of Hollywood and Hurrell that set this book apart.
Mark Vieira's own photographic artistry is based on Hurrell's techniques, providing current-day enthusiasts with authentic glamour photography of their own.
Average customer rating:
- Superstar Edie!
- The Girl Is On Fire
- Edie: Girl on Fire Review
- Edie: Girl on Fire
- Edie:Girl on Fire!
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Edie: Girl on Fire
David Weisman , and
Melissa Painter
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
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Binding: Hardcover
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Edie Factory Girl
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ASIN: 0811855260 |
Book Description
Model, film star, socialite, friend, lover, addict, Edie Sedgwick was the first "it" girl of the Andy Warhol Factory scene and later muse to Bob Dylan. The arc of Edie's life traced the rise and fall of the 1960s from idyllic experimentation to dissolute recklessness. After being toasted by the whole of New York City, Edie died alone of a drug overdose in California at the age of 28. David Weisman (with John Palmer) filmed Edie for the last five years of her life in his cult film Ciao! Manhattan. When he recently uncovered lost footage of Edie, David was inspired to create Edie: Girl on Fire, a book and a documentary film that explores Edie's true story. He and coauthor Melissa Painter have tracked down and interviewed many of Edie Sedgwick's surviving intimates, including Danny Fields, Baby Jane Holzer, and Ultra Violet. They also unearthed hundreds of never-before-published photos portraits, professional ad shoots, and heartbreaking snapshots of the girl who won New York's heart and nearly burned down the Chelsea hotel. The book also features a CD with Edie's last interview ever, a riveting account of a rollercoaster life. Sure to be seen as a rebuttal to Hollywood's highly fictionalized film Factory Girl (coming this fall), Edie: Girl on Fire creates an insightful and startling portrait of a woman that nobody quite knew.
Customer Reviews:
Superstar Edie!.......2007-05-13
I adored it...full of photo's I'd never seen before of Edie...new quotes, etc. Really gave me insight into her whole vibe & electricity. major fun! and it comes with a great CD with an interview.
The Girl Is On Fire.......2007-04-23
Edie: Girl On Fire is chalked full of rare pictures and new commentary from the people who knew Edie the best, her husband, friends & family. The co-author of the book, David Weisman, not only shares never-before-seen pictures of Edie but, also marvels at the Edie obsession some 36 years after her death. Weisman & Painter do an excellent job of portraying the real Edie through pictures & stories shared by Edie's family & friends. They don't romanticize Edie as being an victim. In fact, they show that Edie was just like the rest of us. A flawed human being who was trying to find a place in the world during a turbulent time period. Edie's flaws are not glossed over or explained away. Instead, they show what a disturbed and lost young woman she was. Weisman himself knew Edie personally for years. Weisman saw Edie at her zenith and watched her fall apart and ultimately lose her life because of her own addictions & obsessions.
One of the best parts of the book is the pictures. After years of seeing the same Edie pictures over & over, there are finally pages & pages of glorious "new" pictures including scrapped "Life" magazine photoshoots and newspapers covering one of the many fires that Edie started at various hotels due to her speed usage. Another awesome part is the cd of audio interviews Edie conducted towards the end of her life for what would be her last movie "Ciao! Manhattan!" (made by co-author Weisman). Edie talks about her many drug trips and her time at the Factory. She's candid, well spoken and heartbreaking. When listening to this cd of Edie's voice and looking at the pictures, you almost want the ending to change. You want Edie to pull through all this garbage and rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Just like any story, the ending never changes and there's really no happily ever after.
Edie: Girl on Fire Review.......2007-03-25
The book is filled with many great photos of Edie. Many I've never seen before. The text if fine, mostly quotes from many different people. I think I would have given this book a 5 if it contained more of a narrative type of text vs. many quotes.
Edie: Girl on Fire.......2007-03-21
This book is excellent. The pictures really tell the story of
Edie Sedgwick, '60's Warhol groupie, actress, model who lived a "roller coaster" life. Comments by those who knew her make the tale of her life
interesting & real.
Edie:Girl on Fire!.......2007-03-18
Hot coffee table book with lots of rare Edie interviews & photos! A must for all Edie fans & a great companion to the Ciao Manhattan DVD! Brilliant!
Customer Reviews:
World of the Trapp Family.......2007-05-08
This is one book I will keep in my private library. Very good book with all the pictures. My mother has enjoying looking at it also.
Very Nice book.......2007-03-08
I really enjoyed the beautiful pictures. I first read "The Trapp Family Singers" by Maria which was great but I wanted pictures and more info and this book was greatly enjoyed.I really liked it.
The real Sound of Music.......2006-02-05
I had the opportuntiy to buy this book last fall when I saw the grandchildren of Maria Von Trapp in concert at the Dollywood theme park. Having read the account by Maria in her book "The story of the Trapp Family Singers" as a child I was fully aware that the movie and the real story were not identical, however the liberties of the movie version aside this book is a delight for anyone who loves the story and music of the Von Trapps. It gives you a first hand insight to what the family went through from the Natzi's to the building of their inn in Vermont to the rebuilding of it after it was destory by fire. The photography is superb and the history of this family is one I have enjoyed for years and will for years to come. I can hardly wait til next Christmas to add the Von Trapp Children CD to my holiday music enjoyment.
This book is great...........2003-06-06
....because I find so many information about the Trapp Familiy which I don't know. I saw the two german movies from 1956 und 1958 and the american from 1965, and I like all this films.
The pictures make it easy to read.
But there is something, that I don't like. Martina, who died in 1951. Maria Augusta wrote only one and a half sentences about her stepdaughter. Why had she done that ?
Good, that I've read "Yesterday, Today and Forever", so I know the tragedy of Martina's death.
...
Great book.......2000-08-16
This book is a really great behind-the-scenes type book about the real Von Trapp family. Fans of the movie may not like it as much, because there isn't very much stuff written about the making of the SOM. However, it really gives you a very clear picture of the way the story reall was without detracting from the magic of the movie.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic.......2006-02-27
This book is worth the money if only for the reproductions. Lots of large plates with a lot of close ups as well. If you only want one book on Botticelli this would be a good one.
A beautiful book!.......2005-08-14
This is fascinating book about the life of Botticelli and techniques he used. The reproductions are wonderful, including some close-ups of characters from selected paintings. I recently returned from Italy, and having viewed many of these paintings at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence makes the reading and the beautiful color plates throughout the book all the more enjoyable. I would highly recommend this book to fans of Renaissance art.
Another life for Botticelli.......2003-11-03
In the life of Sandro Botticelli, Lightbown does not remark the big season of secret science that linked several artists in and around Florence.
This science that today we can call "esoterism" come from the recent middle age and increased in Florence his importance.
The Great Lorenzo dei Medici was one of the most important men of this matter.
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