Klik op een omslag om naar Google Boeken te gaan.
|
Bezig met laden... Harlan Ellison's Endlessly Watchingdoor Harlan Ellison
Geen Bezig met laden...
 Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. 1   figre | Mar 2, 2015 |  geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
This follow-up to Ellison's 1989 Stoker Award-winning book of film (and by extension, cultural) criticism picks up precisely where its predecessor left off: with the 35th installment-dated July 1989-of his column in THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION, and continues through his 50th entry, written for this volume in September 2014. But wait, there's more: buy now, and at no extra cost, you'll get three pieces of twenty-first century film criticism bringing the collection bang -up-to-date, as well as a long-lost assessment of PSYCHO that predates even the 1965 entries in HARLAN ELLISON'S WATCHING; if that's not value for money, we don't know what is. Did I mention the stunning Overton Loyd cover? The Harlan Ellison's Watching columns included are: From 1989: Installment 35: In Which the Phantasmagorical Pales Before the Joys of the Mimetic Installment 36: In Which, Darkly and Deliciously, We Travel From Metropolis to Metropolis, Two Different Cities, Both Ominous Installment 37: In Which Not Only is No Answer Given, But No One Seems to Know the Question to Ask Installment 38: In Which, Though Manipulated, We Acknowledge That Which All Men Seek From 1990: Installment 39: In Which We Hum a Merry Tune While Waiting for New Horrors, New Horrors Installment 40: In Which We Scrutinize the Sedulousness to Their Hippocratic Oath of Troglodytic, Blue, Alien Proctologists Installment 41: In Which an Extremely Nervous Fool with His Credentials Taped to His Forehead Tacks Trepidatiously Between Scylla and Charybdis Knowing that Angels and Wise Men Would Fear Even to Dog-Paddle This Route Installment 42: In Which It Waddles Like a Duck, Sheds Water Like a Duck, and Goes Steady With Ducks, But Turns Out to be a Tortoise Installment 43: In Which We Lament, "There Goes the Neighborhood " Installment 44: In Which the Good Ship Coat-Tail-Ride Sinks, Abandoning Hundreds in Treacherous Waters From 1991: Installment 45: In Which Tempus Fidgets, Fugits, and Inevitably Omnia Revelats Installment 46: In Which We Bend So Far Over Backwards To Be Unbiased That You Can See The Nose Hairs Quiver With Righteousness Installment 47: In Which Artful Vamping Saves the Publisher $94.98 From 1994: Installment 48: In Which the Wee Child's Icons are Demeaned From 1995: Installment 49: In Which the Old Man of the Sea Bites the Head off Yet Another Chicken From 2014: Installment 50: In Which the Playroom of the Prodigal Gives One Last Gasp Pre-dating Ellison's column in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, ENDLESSLY WATCHING collects a review of PSYCHO from a 1960 fanzine, 1974's "Total Impact: THE TERMINAL MAN," and Ellison's 1966 treatise on terror: "3 Faces of Fear," making its debut in a non-fiction Ellison collection. Bridging the nearly two decades between Watching columns are: 2007's "I Saw GHOST RIDER Today at the Galleria," and 2013's review of 12 YEARS A SLAVE and "Death to All Hollywood Award Shows " As an added bonus, we've exhumed two unpublished reviews...or, rather, one unpublished review of BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA and an unpublished refusal to review HONEY, I BLEW UP THE BABY. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
Actuele discussiesGeenPopulaire omslagen
 Google Books — Bezig met laden...GenresWaarderingGemiddelde: (4)
Ben jij dit?Word een LibraryThing Auteur. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2
Ellison writes movie reviews that go beyond any you have ever read before. He will extoll or rebuke or fall somewhere in between in his attitude about various movies. But he does this in a very convincing manner (even if you don't agree with his assessment of the movie) because of the preponderance of evidence he is able to bring to the table.
Ellison knows his stuff. And Ellison really knows his movies
And it all comes together in a seemingly effortless manner for these reviews. In fact, you might not even notice how much ink is wasted on lambasting a turkey such as Communion (one that, over the years, I'm willing to bet few of us remember) because of the skill used in the skewering. But the reasons why certain movies are excellent and certain others truly stink is important, because it reminds all of us how we need to be educated consumers of such an influential medium. (If nothing else, the essay "3 Faces of Fear" should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand what makes movies work or not work.)
And, as already mentioned, Ellison does much more than talk about the movies. Because movies reflect their culture Ellison uses these pulpits to help deliver his many other comments about people and the world. You think you are reading a movie review, and the next moment you are confronting discussions about feminism, about violence in the culture, about how best laid plans, etc., etc.
That is what makes this collection work; the fact that there is real meat to the essays – meat about the movies and meat about life.
There are some down times. Since this is a "complete" collection it contains some filler. Columns first published in the early 90s which suggest new products and books related to the visual medium are instantly dated. I will note, however, that within each I found an interesting new area to explore – something new that made it worth my time to visit Google and learn just a little bit more. So, while not highlights, these were not a waste.
But don't worry about these minor flecks of dross. What makes this collection work is that ability to speak eloquently about movies while speaking to so much more – working from the small to the greater.
As the final collection of all the rest of the movie-based articles (those not included in the original Harlan Ellison's Watching), the book is not as strong as the original Watching, but it is still good. And, if nothing else, it should change, favorably, the way you watch movies. (