The plots of many films pivot on the moment when a dowdy girl with bad hair, ill-fitting outdated clothing, and thick glasses is changed into an almost unrecognizable glamour girl. Makeover scenes such as these are examined beginning with 1942's Now, Voyager. The study examines whether the film makeover is voluntary or involuntary, whether it is always successful, how much screen time it takes up, where in the narrative structure it falls, and how the scene is actually filmed. Films with a Pygmalion theme, such as My Fair Lady, Vertigo, and Shampoo, are examined in terms of gender relations: whether the man is content with his creation and what sort of woman is the ideal. Some films' publicity capitalizes on a glamorous star's choice to play an unattractive character, as discussed in a chapter examining stars like Bette Davis, Meryl Streep, and Cameron Diaz. Topics also include folk literature's Cinderella tale, men as the inspiration for makeovers in teen flicks films like Clueless, She's All That, and Me, Natalie, and class repositioning in such movies as Working Girl, Pretty Woman, and Grease. Photographs are presented in a before/after format, showing the change in the madeover character.

This study examines the life and work of acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese, showing that his films reflect his experiences growing up in a Sicilian-American-Catholic family in the tough neighborhood of New York's Little Italy. The study links the personal Scorsese, his roots, and his ethical and religious attitudes. The work examines many films from Boxcar Bertha (1972) to Bringing out the Dead (1999), with special attention given to Gangs of New York (2002) as a vehicle for Scorsese's return to his roots. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) is analyzed as a template for the Scorsese opus. The study begins with a biography of Scorsese, and then describes his films from 1963 to 2002, providing plot summaries, themes, and characters. The body of the work analyzes films in terms of male sexuality, narcissism, violence, and the place of women in the director's personal and cinematic world. In addition to showing how the themes of Scorsese's films derive from his roots, the study offers psychological analyses of his focal characters. It provides a psychological basis for understanding the dialogue and actions of the characters in the context of their respective film stories. The study shows that Scorsese's films express the values that define his worldview, which include his attitudes about masculinity, aggression, and violence.

Foreign films once enjoyed a position of prominence on American theater screens. By the start of World War I, however, the United States' film industry was strong enough to challenge that foreign presence and foreign films in American have been insignificant ever since. For about a century, the Hollywood cartel has dominated the production, distribution, and exhibition of movies domestically and around the world. This work traces the history of the foreign film in America from its domination in the early days to its low standing in the present, looking at the attempts made by foreign producers to increase their presence on American cinema screens, the responses by Hollywood to those attempts, and the oligopoly of Hollywood's few producers. The work discusses the cultural differences between foreign artistic expression and the commercialism of the American film and analyzes Hollywood's explanations for the lack of a foreign presence: Americans have ""unique"" tastes, they don't like subtitles, foreign films are immoral or badly made, trade union pressure, and so on. An appendix detailing the all-time gross earnings of foreign-language films and a full bibliography conclude the work, which is illustrated with stills and posters.

Jules Verne - Voila! - is a name that resonates with visions of fantastic adventures and images of exotic exploits. In his voyages extraordinaires, the noted French author integrates his encyclopedic knowledge of science and geography with his ability to tell fascinating and entertaining tales, taking his readers on unprecedented journeys across the globe, into the earth, and out into space. This revered writer, who with his boundless imagination had hoped to contribute substantially to the world of letters, has surpassed that expectation to become coincidentally a significant influence on film. This comprehensive filmography not only offers an incisive analysis of Verne's epic creations, but also presents an examination of the films inspired by his stories and characters. If one tries to think of all the films adapted from the works of Jules Verne, a fair sampling might be easy to come up with. If one looks more closely at the plots and motifs of many other films, science fiction and otherwise, their origins are revealed to have been derived from Verne. For example, most film enthusiasts are familiar with Disney's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and a few may even be aware of the 1916 silent version. But Verne's classic undersea novel also provided the underpinnings for such other movies as Fantastic Voyage (1966) and Innerspace (1987). The central arrangement is by Verne's title with a brief thematic analysis of the novel. The entry then presents in chronological order all cinematic adaptations of that work, allowing the user to make comparative analyses of not only the movies but also their relationships to Verne's original story. Filmographic data are provided for each adaptation, along with a plot synopsis that blends critical commentary with an examination of the connection between the movie and Verne's work.

The late 1950s and early 1960s were the golden years of horror television. Anthology series such as Way Out and Great Ghost Tales, along with certain episodes of Twilight Zone and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, were among the shows that consistently frightened a generation of television viewers. And perhaps the best of them all was Thriller, hosted by Boris Karloff. In Thriller the horror was gothic, with a darker, bleaker vision of life than its contemporaries. The show's origins and troubled history is first discussed here, followed by biographies of such key figures as producer William Frye, executive producer Hubbell Robinson, writers Robert Block and Donald S. Sanford, and Karloff. The episode guide covers all 67 installments, providing airdate, production credits, cast, plot synopses and critical evaluations.

In the 1920s, the playwright Sidney Howard and his wife, actress Clare Eames, were at the heart of the movement to change the American theater from a commercial enterprise to one with art at its center. Sidney gained fame writing They Knew What They Wanted (which won the Pulitzer Prize) in 1924. A dramatist for the Theatre Guild, he wrote Ned McCobb's Daughter and The Silver Cord and became the voice of American theater's fight against censorship. Energetic and ambitious Clare played some of the greatest dramatic roles for women, including Queen Elizabeth, Lady MacBeth, and Hedda Gabler. For a time, Sidney and Clare were an ideal couple, collaborating on dramas and drawing admirers in both England and America. This dual biography illuminates the growth of the American art theater, gives intimate details into the work of the couple, and reveals a glamorous doomed romance. The letters interspersed throughout the text detail the couple's thoughts on the artistic process, acting, writing, and the social and theatrical circles in which they moved. Including many letters, reviews from the era, and extracts from Sidney's plays, this study describes Sidney and Clare's relationships, careers, and the dramatic disintegration of their marriage, set against the background of one of the most artistically fertile periods of American drama.

Filmmaker David Lynch's work is viewed here as patriotic and Puritanical. This Lynch is an idealistic conservative on a reformer's mission. Lynch promotes a return to the values inherent in a mythological America, but he simultaneously indulges in a voyeuristic pleasure while he condemns. Like Jeffrey peeking through the slats of Dorothy's closet in Blue Velvet, the viewer of Lynch's work is a rationalist plagued by his dreams; intrigued and repulsed, fascinated and judgmental, he both craves and resists cultural assimilation. Works presented include all features from Eraserhead to Mulholland Drive, shorts such as The Amputee and The Grandmother, and contributions to television such as On the Air, American Chronicles, and, of course, Twin Peaks. This study develops an idea of Lynch's politics and analyzes his work. This analysis explores Lynch's paradox of condemning an immoral world through disturbing images and concepts, and touches on such points as the identifiable figure of evil in his works and the archetypes of the nymphet, well-meaning traditionalist, and struggling ethicist. Also included is a history of moralistic criticism in American literature and a review of existing Lynch criticism within this context.

Celebrated film director Frank Capra was a central architect of the ""feel good"" movie genre now known as populism, which celebrates people, families, second chances, and other traditional American icons such as small town or pastoral life and baseball. Capra developed his own brand of populism by interweaving traditional values of the genre with a younger, more vulnerable hero starting with Mr. Deeds Goes to Town in 1936. The result, Capraesque populism, has had a significant influence of American pop culture in general and forms a small but important variety of baseball movie. This book examines eight of these Capraesque baseball films, starting with the all-important Pride of the Yankees (1942), which one admiring critic has called ""Mr. Deeds Goes to Yankee Stadium."" An introduction provides an overview of baseball and populism. Individual chapters are devoted to the populist legacy from Will Rogers (Capra's mentor) to Capra, The Pride of the Yankees, The Stratton Story, Angels in the Outfield, The Natural, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Frequency, and The Rookie.

Until I vampiri (The Vampires) in 1956, Italian filmmakers generally eschewed horror in favor of fantasy films and big screen spectacles. In the 1960s, the subjects became as varied as the filmmakers, ranging from the comic strip flavor of The Wild, Wild Planet (1966) to the surrealistic mixture of horror and social commentary of Fellini's ""Toby Dammit"" segment of Spirits of the Dead (1969). Arranged by English title, each entry includes Italian title, studio, running time, year of release, work the film is based on (when appropriate), and cast and credits. These data are followed by a lengthy essay, blending a plot synopsis with critical commentary and behind-the-scenes information.

During the ""golden age"" of live radio and television, writers, performers, and producers created their programs in an environment far different from the studios of today. With live programming, anything could happen, and often did. Robert L. Mott, a veteran writer and Emmy-nominated sound effects creator of the live era, recreates the days when television and radio programs were performed live. He includes personal reminiscences as well as a forthright look behind the microphones: horses' hooves were played by coconuts, African-American women were played by white males, and television actors might ad lib an entire program that didn't go as planned. Celebrities like Red Skelton and Jackie Gleason, as well as the unsung heroes in the sound booth and backstage, step up to the mike here. Behind-the-scenes photographs are also included in this account of the exciting - but not always glamorous - world that was ""live on the air.

Argentina fell in love with movies as soon as they were first exhibited in1896. Even before World War I, Argentina was one of the biggest film markets in the world and continues to be a major film market today.

This history of the Argentine film industry starting with the earliest film exhibiions in 1897 covers film music, broadcasting, the introduction of film with sound, the impact of the American film industry on the Argentine, the industrialization of Argentine film, Hollywood films in Spanish, the tango in film and local stars. Reference material includes filmographic information and reviews from numerous publications. Photographs offer a look at film stills, promotions, and the people involved in the industry, and an index provides quick access to names and titles.

In Czechoslovakia, in the 1960s, artists began to realize that the aesthetics of social realism contrasted with the realities of daily life; a movement of film arose in response to the politics and history of the nation. This work collects candid interviews with the creators of the Czech New Wave film movement (1960-2000). Their work put Czech film on the map of world cinema, generating two Oscars for Best Foreign Film, but the official critique marked them as decadent, pessimistic, and reactionary. The work contains sixteen uncensored interviews with filmmakers such as Jan Nemec, Jiri Menzel, Sasa Gedeon, and Jan Sverak, who describe the struggle to realize their visions in a constantly shifting political landscape: from the mid-1960s, through the repressive normalization after the Soviet occupation in 1968 (more films were banned in 1970 than during the previous twenty years of Communism), and after the Velvet Revolution of 1989. The interviews give portraits of some of the most talented figures in film, revealing artists searching for individual and national identity, who describe living and making film in the Czech Republic now and in the past, explore how foreign films influence Czech film, and speculate on the future of film. Each interview includes a short biography, filmography, and list of awards. The work is bookended by essays giving background on the political and economic situations leading up to and after the Velvet Revolution.

Did you know that detective Adrian Mont (Monk) is afraid of milk? That Pinky's real first name on The Roaring '20s is Delaware? That on Charlie's Angels, Sabrina was the only Angel who was never seen in a bikini or swimsuit? These are only a few of the more than 9,800 facts readers will find in this work, which presents detailed information on 134 syndicated and cable series broadcast from 1948 to 2003, plus six experimental programs broadcast from 1937 to 1946 and 204 unsold pilots broadcast from 1948 to 1996, that featured the work of television's law enforcers who risk their lives to solve crimes and bring criminals to justice. The entries are arranged alphabetically and provide such details as character names, addresses, names of pets, telephone numbers, and license plate numbers - in short, anything and everything that adds interest to a program and its characters. Many of the entries contain information about related projects, including TV movies and pilots that were broadcast as part of a series (for example, Sharon Stone's appearance as detective Dani Starr on the ""Hollywood Starr"" episode of T.J. Hooker).

Widely regarded as the Shakespeare of Persia, Bahram Beyzaie—playwright, director, screenwriter, and scholar—has made the greatest contribution to modern Persian drama of any individual artist, yet he remains largely unknown to the English-speaking world. In this volume, Richard Saul Chason and Nikta Sabouri have translated for the first time into English Beyzaie’s complete Naqqali Trilogy, one of the dramatist’s greatest masterpieces and a pinnacle work of twentieth-century world drama. Blending modes of traditional Iranian storytelling and mythological ritual with contemporary dramatic philosophy and technique, the Naqqali Trilogy is a cycle of three works of mythological revisionism. It celebrates a renaissance of Persian cultural tradition while reframing ancient tales into a modern psychodrama of outcasts and oppression in a land of tyranny and injustice. This volume also includes a detailed introduction that provides background information on Beyzaie, the mythological basis of the plays, the nature of the plays in performance, and on the plays’ distinctive employ of the Persian language and the replication of the dramatic prose poetry into an English equivalent.

While countless films have been based on fictional characters, a surprising number have also been based on the lives of real people. This comprehensive reference book covers 640 nonfictional characters of historical or social importance who have been portrayed in at least two feature films. It lists 569 real people arranged alphabetically (from George Adamson to Emile Zola), provides a brief biography of each, and lists each film in which he or she has been portrayed. Such information as the actor portraying the real person and the country, year of release, running time, color or black & white, director(s), source (novel, play, etc.), awards, alternate titles (if any), and cast credits are given. The appendices list 71 additional real people who have been portrayed in feature films, including American presidents, British, French, German and Russian monarchs, and Billy the Kid and Wild Bill Hickock.

Bergman is a most versatile director who has devoted himself to several muses in a variety of media. Apart from being a writer of plays and screenplays, he has over the past 50 years directed about a hundred stage performances, 50 films, and many works for radio and television. During this time, all the production equipment used have undergone significant changes (allowing, just for instance, a more varied and subtle use of light and sound). But by his own admission, Bergman's texts have often lacked a clear orientation toward a specific medium. This book focuses on Bergman's way of tackling the problems inherent in each art form he has dealt with, giving a penetrating picture of his craftsmanship and the intimate relationship between his work on stage and in film, as well as the possibilities and limitations of the various forms. With the varied media at his disposal, Bergman is internationally the most versatile author-cum-director presently at work, well aware of what each medium can and cannot do and, most importantly, eager to test its borders. The book addresses itself not only to Bergman fans but also to all those interested in the aesthetic problems related to different presentational forms.

This is a detailed examination of vigilantism in 1970s American film, from its humble niche beginnings as a response to relaxing censorship laws to its growth into a unique subgenre of its own. Cary Edwards explores the contextual factors leading to this new cycle of films ranging from Joe (1970) and The French Connection (1971) to Dirty Harry (1971) and Taxi Driver (1976), all of which have been challenged by contemporary critics for their gratuitous, copycat-inspiring violence. Yet close analysis of these films reveals a recurring focus on the emerging moral panic of the 1970s, a problematisation of Law and Order's role in contemporary society, and an increasing awareness of the impossibility of American myths of identity.

In 1954, Mike Connolly, the gay gossip columnist for the Hollywood Reporter from 1951 to 1966, was described by Newsweek as ""probably the most influential columnist inside the movie colony,"" the one writer ""who gets the pick of trade items, the industry rumors, the policy and casting switches."" He was indeed one of the most talented and influential members of the Hollywood press of his time, and his column, for those who could read between the lines, was a daily chronicle of gay goings-on. Fifty years later, his cumulative output is a virtually untapped lode of gay Hollywood history. Mike Connolly's life and work are the focus of this book. It considers his formative years, pre-World War I life at the University of Illinois and in Chicago, and the ways in which the homosexual community in Hollywood lived lives both secretive and open in the forties, fifties and sixties. It also examines the literary merit, power and newsworthiness of Connolly's ""Rambling Reporter"" column in the Hollywood Reporter and its significance as a chronicle of gay Hollywood life, the previously unexplored role of Connolly's column in the Hollywood blacklist and how his anti-Communist crusade was rooted in his earlier campaign to close down the brothels in his college town, and how his life informed his column and how his column shaped his life.

On October 15, 1880, with great excitement and fanfare, two Sarah Bernhardts set sail for New York from Le Havre for a theatrical tour of the United States. One wanted to introduce French culture to a backward country, and the other wanted to make money. As an actress, she behaved in a fashion that amused and scandalized her audiences, and as a woman, she was an unwed mother and a shrewd businessperson. Bernhardt's multiple personas and ""otherness"" were what fascinated the American public; her name, her eccentricities, and her genius had already made her world famous. Sarah Bernhardt's first American theatrical tour, from her arrival in 1880 to her return to Europe in May 1881, is chronicled here. She traveled as far west as Kansas City and as far south as New Orleans, all the while sparking cultural commentary about her performances, her artwork, and her lifestyle. This book provides an overview of the contemporary reviews, caricatures and satires, considers Bernhardt's reception by the American press and American audiences, and discusses the way in which the Bernhardt iconography was created and the assumptions that underlie it.

Frank and Anne Hummert brought at least 125 separate series to the airwaves. The production dynasty over which they presided extended far beyond the serialized melodrama that became their trademark. Their genres also included music, mystery, juvenile adventure, quiz, sports, news, comedy and dramatic theater. The Hummerts tried to appeal to everyones tastes and probably influenced more old time radio listeners than anyone else. By the 1940s the twosome controlled four and a half hours of the national weekday broadcast schedule.

This book explores the private lives and professional dealings of broadcastings most prolific creator-producers. There are five appendices: a list of all broadcast series that were created, adapted, supervised, augmented or influenced by the Hummerts; a list of the most active players among radio producers stemming from the Golden Age and their best-remembered titles; a collection of statements attributed to Frank or Anne that express their philosophy of broadcast programming; a chronology of defining moments in the Hummerts lives; and three sample programming schedules that give the reader a clear understanding of the Hummerts involvement in radio producing.

It has been said that M*A*S*H was a show set in the 1950s which reflected the shifting values of the 1970s and early 1980s. Hawkeye Pierce, Radar O'Reilly, Trapper John McIntyre, Sherman Potter, Margaret (Hot Lips) Houlihan, B.J. Hunnicutt, Frank Burns, Charles Emerson Winchester, Max Klinger--these and the many other characters who populated the MASH 4077 used the Korean War as a backdrop to comment on many of the social issues of their day. Using a unique blend of comedy and drama, the show's first three seasons (1972-1975) focused on the anti-Vietnam War sentiment that consumed much of America. As Vietnam ended, M*A*S*H moved on to concentrate on other contemporary issues--the women's movement, the rise of the religious right in American politics, the new narcissism that marked the early 1980s, the heightened awareness of underage or excessive alcohol use, and the increased emphasis on family in American life. How the series presented these issues and its success in doing so are the subjects of this critical study. An episode listing--brief plot outline, casts and credits, air dates, and titles--is also provided.

Sophie Tucker appeared in only seven American stage musicals and appeared only twice on Broadway but, then, it was difficult to cast her in a show. A buxom and ebullient performer, she - and her audiences - quickly found that playing herself was most effective. This is a biography of a vaudeville and cabaret performer who saw herself as one of the first liberated women and one of the last ""red hot mamas."" It tells the story of her birth as her mother traveled to Boston from Russia, her childhood in Boston, and her first public performance at Poli's Vaudeville Theatre at the age of 13. It also tells the story of her troubled marriage to Louis Tuck and the birth of their son, her meeting with Willie Howard, a vaudeville veteran who encouraged her to go to New York and pursue a stage career, her discovery by Flo Ziegfeld (of the Ziegfeld Follies), and her rise to headliner status under the guidance of her agent William Morris. She was best known for appearing on stage with just a piano player, and openly discussing her life and Jewish upbringing.

Imagination, Philosophy and the Arts is the first comprehensive collection of papers by philosophers examining the nature of imagination and its role in understanding and making art.

Imagination is a central concept in aesthetics with close ties to issues in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of language, yet it has not received the kind of sustained, critical attention it deserves. This collection of seventeen brand new essays critically examines just how and in what form the notion of imagination illuminates fundamental problems in the philosophy of art.

eBook available with sample pages: 020349864X

Movies have provided a record of the war veteran as he was viewed within his own culture and within the culture in which the movies were produced. Thus, movies account for a significant portion of what people "know" about the war veteran and how he fared during and after the war. In this book, the author examines 125 movies from the classical era to the 20th century that feature the war veteran. The author provides commentary on specific categories the films can be organized into and notes similarities between films produced in different periods. The categories deal with the wounded veteran returning home (e.g., The Sun Also Rises, The Best Years of Our Lives, Born on the Fourth of July, The Manchurian Candidate); the veteran struggling with guilt, revenge and post-traumatic stress disorder (Anatomy of a Murder, Lethal Weapon, Desert Bloom, In Country, Jacob's Ladder); the war veteran returning in disguise (Ulysses, Ivanhoe, The Seventh Seal, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit); the war veteran as a social symbol (Dances with Wolves, Gosford Park, The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Big Chill, Gods and Monsters, Cornered); the war veteran in action (The Born Losers, Conspiracy Theory, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Saint Jack, Looking for Mr. Goodbar); and the war veteran before, during and after the war (The Deer Hunter, Forrest Gump).