This in-depth look at the work of one of America's most successful maverick filmmakers is another fine contribution to Faber and Faber's ``Directors on Directors'' series. As an accomplished writer, director, and actor, Sayles (Los Gusanos, 1991, etc.) is a rarely talented triple threat. His movies, including The Brother from Another Planet, The Secret of Roan Inish, and Lone Star, have won critical acclaim for their uncompromising honesty and their adamantly individual vision. Unlike many independent directors, Sayles truly works outside the Hollywood mainstream, contemplating unpopular subjects and problems, rarely casting stars, yet doing well enough to make film after film. He got his start with B-meister Roger Corman, cranking out quickie, though generously subtextual, genre scripts such as Piranha and Alligator—in which, as Sayles once remarked, ``the alligator eats its way through the entire socioeconomic system.'' He has also made money by taking on occasional acting gigs, by writing a well-received novel and a short-story collection, and by turning his hand to (usually uncredited) stints at Hollywood script-doctoring. It's worth noting that he pulled together no more than just enough money to fund his first film, Return of the Secaucus Seven, considered by some to be the wellspring of the modern indie movement; it established Sayles's reputation. This Q-and-A chronicle, despite inevitable generic limitations, provides a fascinating film-by-film analysis of his creative process. From his ideas about acting to his theories of editing to why he has favored a certain lens, Sayles remains articulate throughout, and often revealing. He's well-served by collaborator Smith, an associate editor of Film Comment, who asks the right questions and shows a rich, nuanced understanding of Sayles and his work. An invaluable companion piece to Sayles's films. (b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: March 12, 1998
ISBN: 0-571-19280-7
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Faber & Faber/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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