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Risky Business: Rock in Film
by William D. RomanowskiThe role of motion pictures in the popularity of rock music became increasingly significant in the latter twentieth century. Rock music and its interaction with film is the subject of this significant book that re-examines and extends Serge Denisoff's pioneering observations of this relationship.Prior to Saturday Night Fever rock music had a limited role in the motion picture business. That movie's success, and the success of its soundtrack, began to change the silver screen. In 1983, with Flashdance, the situation drastically evolved and by 1984, ten soundtracks, many in the pop/rock genre, were certified platinum. Choosing which rock scores to discuss in this book was a challenging task. The authors made selections from seminal films such as The Graduate, Easy Rider, American Grafitti, Saturday Night Fever, Help!, and Dirty Dancing. However, many productions of the period are significant not because of their success, but because of their box office and record store failures.Risky Business chronicles the interaction of two major mediums of mass culture in the latter twentieth century. This book is essential for those interested in communications, popular culture, and social change.
Rita Moreno
by Rita MorenoIn this New York Times bestselling memoir, Rita Moreno shares her remarkable journey from a young girl with simple beginnings in Puerto Rico to Hollywood legend--and one of the few performers, and the only Hispanic, to win an Oscar, Grammy, Tony and two Emmys. Born Rosita Dolores Alverio in the idyll of Puerto Rico, Moreno, at age five, embarked on a harrowing sea voyage with her mother and wound up in the harsh barrios of the Bronx, where she discovered dancing, singing, and acting as ways to escape a tumultuous childhood. Making her Broadway debut by age thirteen--and moving on to Hollywood in its Golden Age just a few years later--she worked alongside such stars as Gary Cooper, Yul Brynner, and Ann Miller. When discovered by Louis B. Mayer of MGM, the wizard himself declared: "She looks like a Spanish Elizabeth Taylor." Cast by Gene Kelly as Zelda Zanders in Singin' in the Rain and then on to her Oscar-winning performance in West Side Story, she catapulted to fame--yet found herself repeatedly typecast as the "utility ethnic," a role she found almost impossible to elude. Here, for the first time, Rita reflects on her struggles to break through Hollywood's racial and sexual barriers. She explores the wounded little girl behind the glamorous façade--and what it took to find her place in the world. She talks candidly about her relationship with Elvis Presley, her encounters with Howard Hughes, and the passionate romance with Marlon Brando that nearly killed her. And she shares the illusiveness of a "perfect" marriage and the incomparable joys of motherhood. Infused with Rita Moreno's quick wit and deep insight, this memoir is the dazzling portrait of a stage and screen star who longed to become who she really is--and triumphed.
Rita Moreno: A Little Golden Book Biography (Little Golden Book)
by Maria CorreaHelp your little one dream big with a Little Golden Book biographyabout EGOT-winning actor, singer, and dancer, Rita Moreno. Little Golden Book biographies are the perfect introduction to nonfiction for young readers!This Little Golden Book about Rita Moreno—Puerto Rican-born star of West Side Story and the first Latina to win an Oscar—is an inspiring read-aloud for young children, as well as their parents and grandparents who are fans.Look for more Little Golden Book biographies: • Betty White • Carol Burnett • Lucille Ball • Harry Belafonte • Julie Andrews • Dwayne Johnson
Rita Moreno: Memorias
by Rita MorenoEn esta lúcida autobiografía, Rita Moreno nos hace partícipes de su extraordinario periplo desde los sencillos inicios de su temprana niñez en Puerto Rico hasta que se convirtió en una leyenda de Hollywood y en una de las pocas artistas, y la única hispana, que ha ganado un Oscar, un Grammy, un Tony, y dos Emmy. A la edad de cinco años, Rosita Dolores Alverio, nacida en la idílica isla de Puerto Rico, se embarcó en una borrascosa travesía por mar con su madre, que la llevó hasta los turbulentos barrios del Bronx, donde descubrió que la danza, el canto y la actuación serían el escape de su accidentada niñez. A sus trece años, debutó en Broadway y poco después, en los años dorados de la meca del cine, se trasladó a Hollywood donde trabajó junto a estrellas de la talla de Gary Cooper, Yul Brynner, y Ann Miller. Cuando fue descubierta por Louis B. Mayer de MGM, el propio magnate declaró: "Ella parece una Elizabeth Taylor hispana”. Gene Kelly la eligió para interpretar el papel de Zelda Zanders en Singin’ in the Rain, que la lanzó a la fama y a su actuación ganadora del Oscar, en West Side Story. Pero durante mucho tiempo Moreno fue encasillada en el estereotipo de "versátil nativa” un rol que le fue casi imposible eludir. Aquí, por primera vez Rita reflexiona sobre su prolongada lucha por superar las barreras raciales y sexuales de Hollywood. Estudia a fondo la vulnerable jovencita que ocultaba su glamorosa fachada y cuánto le costó encontrar su lugar en el mundo. Habla con franqueza de su relación con Elvis Presley, de sus encuentros con Howard Hughes, y del apasionado romance con Marlon Brando que la llevó hasta un intento de suicidio. Y nos enseña los bemoles de un matrimonio "perfecto” y las incomparables alegrías de la maternidad. Impregnada del brillante desparpajo y la profunda perspicacia de Rita Moreno, esta autobiografía es el deslumbrante retrato de una estrella del teatro y el cine que anhelaba convertirse en lo que realmente es ella. . . y lo logró. .
Ritorno al parquet. Quick, quick, slow (Quick, quick, slow - Club di Danza Lietzensee #3)
by Annemarie Nikolaus Ilaria IgieniPer la prima volta dopo sedici anni Friederike osa tornare sul parquet: un grave incidente d'auto l'aveva costretta ad abbandonare il ballo da sala. La danza è invece diventata il suo argomento di ricerca e ha fatto carriera come professoressa di storia. Un collega diventa il suo nuovo compagno di ballo, poiché suo marito George non vuole prendere parte a un semplice gruppo di ballo come un dilettante: non sarebbe all'altezza della sua carica di presidente del Club di Danza Lietzensee. Tuttavia la sostiene quando lei vuole girare un film sulle danze del barocco con gli square dancer e la formazione latina del circolo. Ma d'un tratto vuole ballare personalmente le danze barocche con lei. Friederike si trova davanti a un dilemma: dall'incidente si era augurata di poter ballare di nuovo con suo marito. Però non vuole neanche deludere il suo collega. Troverà una scappatoia che non offenda nessuno dei due? Il romanzo appartiene alla serie "Quick, quick, slow - Club di Danza Lietzensee", scritta da più autrici. Ogni libro della serie è un romanzo a sé e può essere letto indipendentemente dagli altri.
Ritual and Event: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies)
by Mark FrankoRitual today can be encountered in the midst of catastrophic and transforming events. This collection reassesses and revises traditionally understood relationships between ritual and politics, ritual and everyday life, ritual and art making, and ritual and disaster. The methodologies as well as the subject matter are interdisciplinary: they range from the anthropological to the art and dance historical, from the theatrical and literary to the linguistic, philosophical, and psychoanalytic. It will be a valuable tool for scholars of Theater and Performance Studies, as well as Anthropology, Art, and History.
Rituparno Ghosh: Cinema, gender and art (South Asian History and Culture)
by Rohit K. Dasgupta Sangeeta Datta Kaustav BakshiAn iconic filmmaker and inheritor of the legendary Satyajit Ray’s legacy, Rituparno Ghosh was one of the finest auteurs to emerge out of contemporary Bengal. His films, though rooted firmly in middle-class values, desires and aspirations, are highly critical of hetero-patriarchal power structures. From the very outset, Ghosh displayed a strong feminist sensibility which later evolved into radical queer politics. This volume analyses his films, his craft, his stardom and his contribution to sexual identity politics. In this first scholarly study undertaken on Rituparno Ghosh, the essays discuss the cultural import of his work within the dynamics of a rapidly evolving film industry in Bengal and more largely the cinematic landscape of India. The anthology also contains a conversation section (interviews with the filmmaker and with industry cast and crew) drawing a critical and personal portrait of this remarkable filmmaker.
Ritwik Ghatak and the Cinema of Praxis: Culture, Aesthetics and Vision
by Diamond Oberoi VahaliIn a significant departure from other works on Ritwik Ghatak, this book establishes him as an auteur and a maestro on par with some of the great film directors, like Sergei Eisenstein, Satyajit Ray, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Kenji Mizoguchi and Luis Bunuel. Based on in-depth research that follows Ghatak’s journey within the context of the Indian People’s Theatre Association, it fills an important gap in the scholarship around Ghatak by offering crucial insights into Ghatak’s unique vision of cinema embedded as it is in the cultural psychic configurations of the people. It analyses Ghatak’s practice by minutely tracing formal similarities across the language of his cinematic oeuvre in the domain of cinematography, lighting, music, and sound. The book develops the way in which cinematic technique enters the domain of conceptual constructs and abstractions. It moves on to chronicle Ghatak’s political odyssey as reflected in his cinema. Moreover, it charts the manner in which Ghatak, through his cinematic idiom, offers a polemic of cinema that further adds to his notion of praxis – a thoughtful Marxist paradigm organically associated with the culture and context of India. By locating Ghatak within the discourse of nationalism, the book brings to the surface Ghatak’s critical insights related to the independence of the nation and the trauma of the partition of Bengal. Ghatak’s cinema served the crucial function of chronicling the mass tragedy of partition and its impact on the human psyche.This book appeals to scholars of film studies and filmmaking as well as to researchers and general readers interested in debates pertaining to culture, politics, art, psychoanalysis, partition and refugee studies, cinema, theatre, and ideology.
Rival
by Sara Bennett WealerBrooke I don't like Kathryn Pease. I could pretend everything's fine between us. I could be nice to her face, then trash her behind her back. But I think it's better to be honest. I don't like Kathryn, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Kathryn I saw a commercial where singers used their voices to shatter glass, but the whole thing is pretty much a myth. The human voice isn't that strong. Human hatred is. Anybody who doubts that should feel the hate waves coming off of Brooke Dempsey. But I don't shatter; I'm not made of glass. Anyway, the parts that break aren't on the outside. Brooke and Kathryn used to be best friends . . . until the night when Brooke ruthlessly turned on Kathryn in front of everyone. Suddenly Kathryn was an outcast and Brooke was Queen B. Now, as they prepare to face off one last time, each girl must come to terms with the fact that the person she hates most might just be the best friend she ever had.
Riverdish: The Unauthorized Case Files of Riverdale
by Ryan Bloomquist Samantha GoldFrom the hosts of the Riverdish podcast, the unauthorized case files from the world of the CW’s teen drama sensation Riverdale.For Archie Andrews, Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones, and Betty Cooper, high school is more than just pep rallies and milkshakes. Based on the beloved characters from the Archie Comics, Riverdale is a dark, addictive, campy teen thriller that devilishly mixes adolescent angst with corruption, politics, serial killers, gang wars, and twisted secrets. The emotional exploits of Archie, Veronica, Jughead, Betty, and their friends and foes have riveted fans across generations and catapulted the teen drama series into an iconic cultural phenomenon spawning internet discussion groups and podcasts. One such podcast is Riverdish, hosted by the adoring and enthusiastic Ryan and Sam, and they have taken it upon themselves to complete the complicated and necessary task of creating the essential unauthorized case files on Riverdale's twisted web of lies, crimes and mysteries.Featuring case files on Riverdale’s beloved ensemble cast of Archie, Veronica, Jughead, Betty and their friends and foes, Riverdish offers up comprehensive breakdowns of the many mysteries and crimes that plague the town of Riverdale, paired with laugh-out-loud commentary and photos from behind-the-scenes of the show. Tackling everything from The Black Hood to Jingle Jangle to the Southside Serpents to bogus FBI agents and everything and everyone in between, Riverdish is an insightful and hilarious sendup of the case files that the authorities should use to track the many twists and turns of the show. With a deep knowledge of and appreciation for the show and all that makes it iconic, Riverdish dissects and celebrates the dramatic and thrilling darkness of Riverdale.
Riverview Amusement Park (Images of America)
by Dolores HaughEvery summer from 1904 to 1967, for 63 years, Riverview--the world's largest amusement park--opened its gates to millions of people from all walks of life. For three generations, the Schmidt's family park offered rides, shows, food, and music to men, women, and especially children. Riverview survived depressions, two World Wars, labor disputes, Prohibition, and a World's Fair that threatened to take a great deal of its business. Riverview Amusement Park tells the story of Riverview's growth from 22 acres and three rides to 140 acres and more than 100 attractions. Through an extensive collection of never-before published images, author Dolores Haugh chronicles the tale of this impressive chapter of Chicago history. Known as the "Roller Coaster Capital of America," Riverview remained a Chicago landmark until it was unexpectedly closed in 1967.
Road Rash
by Mark Huntley ParsonsA teenage drummer finds out what life is really like on tour with a rock band in this funny, funky, bittersweet debut YA novel. For anyone who loved Almost Famous or This Is Spinal Tap.After being dropped from one band, 17-year-old drummer Zach gets a chance to go on tour with a much better band. It feels like sweet redemption, but this is one rocky road trip. . . . Zach's in control on the drums, driving the band, keeping things moving at the right pace. But when the show is over, his timing is all off. The jealousies and rivalries within his new group keep him off-balance. The awesome original song he recorded backfires. And the girl he left back home is suddenly talking about this other guy . . . Mark Parsons has written a fast-paced, feel-good novel about a boy finding his place in the world, in a band, and in the music. Zach is a character teens will stand up and cheer for as he lands the perfect gig, and the perfect girl. From the Hardcover edition.
Road Trip to Nowhere: Hollywood Encounters the Counterculture
by Jon LewisHow a new generation of counterculture talent changed the landscape of Hollywood, the film industry, and celebrity culture. By 1967, the commercial and political impact on Hollywood of the sixties counterculture had become impossible to ignore. The studios were in bad shape, still contending with a generation-long box office slump and struggling to get young people into the habit of going to the movies. Road Trip to Nowhere examines a ten-year span (from 1967 to 1976) rife with uneasy encounters between artists caught up in the counterculture and a corporate establishment still clinging to a studio system on the brink of collapse. Out of this tumultuous period many among the young and talented walked away from celebrity, turning down the best job Hollywood—and America—had on offer: movie star. Road Trip to Nowhere elaborates a primary-sourced history of movie production culture, examining the lives of a number of talented actors who got wrapped up in the politics and lifestyles of the counterculture. Thoroughly put off by celebrity culture, actors like Dennis Hopper, Christopher Jones, Jean Seberg, and others rejected the aspirational backstory and inevitable material trappings of success, much to the chagrin of the studios and directors who backed them. In Road Trip to Nowhere, film historian Jon Lewis details dramatic encounters on movie sets and in corporate boardrooms, on the job and on the streets, and in doing so offers an entertaining and rigorous historical account of an out-of-touch Hollywood establishment and the counterculture workforce they would never come to understand.
Roadshow, A Landscape With Drums
by Neil Peart"In this unique travelogue, Peart leverages his considerable literary penmanship to describe the joys and rigors of a rock tour as well as his impressions of the politics, social mores, and cultural heterogeneity he encounters across states and nations. As Peart travels for his art, he perfectly describes the art of travel."
Roasting in Hell's Kitchen: Temper Tantrums, F Words, and the Pursuit of Perfection
by Gordon RamsayEveryone thinks they know the real Gordon Ramsay: rude, loud, pathologically driven, stubborn as hellFor the first time, Ramsay tells the full inside story of his life and how he became the world's most famous and infamous chef: his difficult childhood, his brother's heroin addiction, his failed first career as a soccer player, his fanatical pursuit of gastronomic perfection and his TV persona—all of the things that made him the celebrated culinary talent and media powerhouse that he is today. In Roasting in Hell's Kitchen Ramsay talks frankly about his tough and emotional childhood, including his father's alcoholism and violence and their effect on his relationships with his mother and siblings. His rootless upbringing saw him moving from house to house and town to town followed by the authorities and debtors as his father lurched from one failed job to another. He recounts his short-circuited career as a soccer player, when he was signed by Scotland's premier club at the age of fifteen but then, just two years later, dropped out when injury dashed his hopes. Ramsay searched for another vocation and, much to his father's disgust, went into catering, which his father felt was meant for “poofs.”He trained under some of the most famous and talented chefs in Europe, working to exacting standards and under extreme conditions that would sometimes erupt in physical violence. But he thrived, with his exquisite palate, incredible vision and relentless work ethic. Dish by dish, restaurant by restaurant, he gradually built a Michelin-starred empire.A candid, eye-opening look into the extraordinary life and mind of an elite and unique restaurateur and chef, Roasting in Hell's Kitchen will change your perception not only of Gordon Ramsay but of the world of cuisine.
Rob Delaney: Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage.
by Rob DelaneyWho is that hairy guy in the green Speedo? Rob Delaney is a father, a husband, a comedian, a writer. He is the author of an endless stream of beautiful, insane jokes on Twitter. He is sober. He is sometimes brave. He speaks French. He loves women with abundant pubic hair and saggy naturals. He has bungee jumped off of the Manhattan Bridge. He enjoys antagonizing political figures. He listens to metal while he works out. He likes to fart. He broke into an abandoned mental hospital with his mother. He played Sir Lancelot in Camelot. He has battled depression. He is funny as s***. He cleans up well. He is friends with Margaret Atwood. He is lucky to be alive. Read these hilarious and heartbreaking true stories and learn how Rob came to be the man he is today.Praise for Rob Delaney "A book as funny, sincere, weird, wet, and wonderful as Rob Delaney himself."--Jimmy Kimmel "Rob Delaney has done it again! Actually, this is his first book, so he has not 'done it again.' Actually, this book is so good, I doubt he will be able to do it again. He's peaked."--Judd Apatow"Rob's transition from tweets to book is like a gold medal sprinter winning the marathon the next day. I am jealous and angry."--Seth Meyers"WARNING: This book may cause involuntary seepage. Some funny, funny, funny, funny s*** from the most dangerous man on Twitter. The fact that he's just as funny in long form makes me want to vomit with envy."--Anthony Bourdain"All it takes to be as funny as Rob Delaney is luck, good timing, deep compassion, reckless imaginative agility, a flawless grasp of the inner workings of language, and criminally vast quantities of mojo. What a jerk."--Teju Cole, author of Open CityFrom the Hardcover edition.
Rob Delaney: Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage.
by Rob DelaneyRob Delaney is a father, a husband, a comedian, a writer. He is the author of an endless stream of beautiful, insane jokes on Twitter. He is sober. He is sometimes brave. He speaks French. He has bungee-jumped off the Manhattan Bridge. He enjoys antagonizing political figures, powerful retailers and the Kardashians. He listens to metal while he works out. He broke into an abandoned mental hospital with his mother. He played Sir Lancelot in Camelot. He has battled depression. He is funny as s***. He cleans up well. He and Margaret Atwood have a thing going on Twitter. He is lucky to be alive.
Rob Delaney: Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage.
by Rob DelaneyRob Delaney is a father, a husband, a comedian, a writer. He is the author of an endless stream of beautiful, insane jokes on Twitter. He is sober. He is sometimes brave. He speaks French. He has bungee-jumped off the Manhattan Bridge. He enjoys antagonizing political figures, powerful retailers and the Kardashians. He listens to metal while he works out. He broke into an abandoned mental hospital with his mother. He played Sir Lancelot in Camelot. He has battled depression. He is funny as s***. He cleans up well. He and Margaret Atwood have a thing going on Twitter. He is lucky to be alive.
Robbie
by Sean SmithRobert Peter Williams was a sixteen-year-old selling double glazing when he auditioned for a new boy band which became Take That. Twenty years later he is one of the most popular entertainers Britain has ever produced: he has recorded eight number one albums in the UK and he sold 1. 6 million tickets for his 2006 world tour in a day. The most successful artist in the history of The Brits, Robbie was given a Lifetime Achievement Award one day before his 36th birthday in 2010. The UK's leading celebrity biographer Sean Smith has followed Robbie's remarkable journey from the unpromising streets of Stoke-on-Trent to the millionaire's playground of Beverley Hills and discovered a vulnerable, funny, gifted and deeply complex man. Using new research and interviews, Sean Smith reveals there is far more to being Rob than just being Robbie Williams, superstar. Robbie's roller coaster story will astonish you. Sean Smith's heart-warming account of his life is the unmissable show business book of the year.
Robert Altman: The Oral Biography
by Mitchell ZuckoffThe late Robert Altman--visionary director, hard-partying hedonist, eccentric family man, Hollywood legend--comes roaring to life in this rollicking cinematic biography, told in a chorus of voices that can only be called Altmanesque.
Robert De Niro at Work: From Screenplay to Screen Performance (Palgrave Studies in Screenwriting)
by Steven Price Adam GanzRobert De Niro and the Working Screenplay is the first critical study to examine how Robert de Niro, perhaps the finest screen actor of his generation, works with screenplays to imagine, prepare and denote his performance. In categorising the various ways in which De Niro works with a screenplay, this book will re-examine the relationship between actor and text. This book considers the screenplay as above all a working document and a material object, present at every stage of the filmmaking process. The working screenplay goes through various iterations in development and exists in many versions on set, each adapted and personalised for the specific use of the individual and their role. As the archive reveals, nobody works more closely with the script than the actor, and no actor works more on a script than De Niro.
Robert Redford: The Biography
by Michael Feeney CallanThe long-anticipated biography of Robert Redford.Among the most widely admired Hollywood stars of his generation, Redford has appeared onstage and on-screen, in front of and behind the camera, earning Academy, Golden Globe, and a multitude of other awards and nominations for acting, directing, and producing, and for his contributions to the arts. His Sundance Film Festival transformed the world of filmmaking; his films defined a generation. America has come to know him as the Sundance Kid, Bob Woodward, Johnny Hooker, Jay Gatsby, and Roy Hobbs. But only now, with this revelatory biography, do we see the surprising and complex man beneath the Hollywood façade.From Redford's personal papers--journals, script notes, correspondence--and hundreds of hours of taped interviews, Michael Feeney Callan brings the legendary star into focus. Here is his scattered family background and restless childhood, his rocky start in acting, the death of his son, his star-making relationship with director Sydney Pollack, the creation of Sundance, his political activism, his artistic successes and failures, his friendships and romances. This is a candid, surprising portrait of a man whose iconic roles on-screen (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, The Natural) and directorial brilliance (Ordinary People, Quiz Show) have both defined and obscured one of the most celebrated, and, until now, least understood, public figures of our time.From the Hardcover edition.
Robert Shaw: An Actor's Life on the Set of JAWS and Beyond
by Christopher Shaw MyersRobert Shaw, the iconic star of Steven Spielberg&’s Jaws, comes boisterously to life in an up-close-and-personal biography that reveals the brilliant actor, esteemed playwright, prize-winning novelist, and loving and hard-living family man as never before.Robert Shaw unforgettably commanded attention as the weathered seaman Captain Quint in the blockbuster sensation, Jaws. But what came before and after that landmark film is as dramatic as the hunt for the great white shark itself.Capturing the many facets of the vibrant, generous, and sometimes polarizing man is his nephew, Christopher, who explores the forces that shaped a dynamic personality—including Robert&’s indomitable mother, his deeply troubled father, and his activist sister, Joanna, with whom Robert shared an unbreakable bond. Out of the traumatic events of their childhood in the Orkney Islands and Cornwall, Mrs. Shaw pushed her children to pursue their dreams. For Robert, that dream was acting and writing.Despite a storied career on the British and American stage—as both performer and playwright—and a string of hit films including From Russia with Love, A Man for All Seasons, The Sting, and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, international celebrity eluded Robert . . . until he was summoned to star in &“a little horror film&” called Jaws.What happened on-screen was unforgettable. What happened off-screen was chaos. Now Christopher Shaw Myers reveals the true story of the making of the classic. Jaws would become both an artistic success and a worldwide triumph for Robert Shaw. Tragically, for a man shadowed by his father&’s demons, it would also signal the beginning of the end.Drawing on family recollections, personal letters, scrapbooks, recordings, extensive interviews, and a lifetime of his own memories, Christopher paints a unique, intimate, and honest portrait of a man he was proud to call his uncle.
Robert Taylor: Male Beauty, Masculinity, and Stardom in Hollywood
by Gillian KellyBecause of his lengthy screen resume that includes almost eighty appearances in such movies as Camille and Waterloo Bridge, as well as a marriage and divorce to actress Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor was a central figure of Hollywood’s classical era. Despite this, he can be regarded as a “lost” star, an interesting contradiction given the continued success he enjoyed during his lifetime. In Robert Taylor: Male Beauty, Masculinity, and Stardom in Hollywood, author Gillian Kelly investigates the initial construction and subsequent developments of Taylor's star persona across his thirty-five-year career. By examining concepts of male beauty, men as object of the erotic gaze, white American masculinity, and the unusual longevity of a career initially based on looks, Kelly highlights how gender, masculinity, and male stars and the ageing process affected Taylor's career. Placing Taylor within the histories of both Hollywood’s classical era and mid-twentieth-century America, this study positions him firmly within the wider industrial, cultural, and socioeconomic contexts in which he worked. Kelly examines Taylor’s film and television work as well as ephemeral material, such as fan magazines, to assess how his on- and off-screen personas were created and developed over time. Taking a mostly chronological approach, Kelly places Taylor’s persona within specific historical moments in order to show the complex paradox of his image remaining consistently recognizable while also shifting seamlessly within the Hollywood industry. Furthermore, she explores Taylor’s importance to Hollywood cinema by demonstrating how a star persona like his can “fit” so well, and for so long, that it almost becomes invisible and, eventually, almost forgotten.
Roberto Rossellini
by Peter BrunetteThis is the first full-length study in any language of the most significant film director of Italian Neorealism. Peter Brunette combines close analyses of Roberto Rossellini's formal and narrative style with a thorough account of his position in the political and cultural landscape of postwar Italy. More than forty films are explored, including Open City, Paisan, Voyage to Italy, The Rise to Power of Louis XIV, and films made in the director's later years that documented crucial epochs in human history. Brunette's book is based on eight years of research, during which he interviewed members of the director's family as well as Rossellini himself. Brunette also draws on an enormous body of European and American criticism and discusses the various intellectual debates spawned by the director's work. This landmark study is both a comprehensive introduction to one of the most influential practitioners of the contemporary cinema and a boldly original discussion of Italian Neorealism. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1996.