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A Very Courageous Decision: The Inside Story of Yes Minister
by Graham McCannThe behind-the-scenes story of one of the most successful and admired sitcoms of the 1980sIn 1977 the BBC commissioned a new satirical sitcom set in Whitehall. Production of its first series was stalled, however, by the death throes of Jim Callaghan's Labour government and the 'Winter of Discontent'; Auntie being unwilling to broadcast such an overtly political comedy until after the general election of 1979. That Yes Minister should have been delayed by the very events that helped bring Margaret Thatcher to power is, perhaps, fitting. Over three series from 1980 - and two more as Yes, Prime Minister until 1988 - the show mercilessly lampooned the vanity, self-interest and incompetence of our so-called public servants, making its hapless minister Jim Hacker and his scheming Permanent Secretary Sir Humphrey two of the most memorable characters British comedy has ever produced. The new prime minister professed it her favourite television programme - a 'textbook' on the State in inaction - and millions of British viewers agreed. In the years since Yes Minister has become a national treasure: Sir Humphrey's slippery circumlocutions have entered the lexicon, regularly quoted by political commentators, and the series' cynical vision of government seems as credible now as it did thirty years ago.Much of this success can be credited to its writers, Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, who drew on their contacts in Westminster to rework genuine political folly as situation comedy. Storylines that seemed absurd to the public were often rooted in actual events - so much so that they occasionally attracted the scrutiny of Whitehall mandarins. In A Very Courageous Decision acclaimed entertainment historian Graham McCann goes in search of the real political fiascos that inspired Yes Minister. Drawing on fresh interviews with cast, crew, politicians and admirers, he reveals how a subversive satire captured the mood of its time to become one of the most cherished sitcoms of Thatcher's Britain.
Without Feathers
by Woody AllenFrom the book jacket: The Philadelphia Inquirer says: "Woody Allen is more than a household name. His one-liners are part of our oral history." From Without Feathers here are some new one-liners oral history has been waiting for ... Thought: Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage. My Lord, my Lord! What hast Thou done, lately? On the plus side, death is one of the few things that can be done as easily lying down. Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable, with the possible exception of a moose singing "Embrace-able You" in spats. How wrong Emily Dickinson was! Hope is not "the thing with feathers." The thing with feathers has turned out to be my nephew. I must take him to a specialist in Zurich.
Yesterday, Today and Forever
by Maria Von TrappTrue stories of Maria Von Trapp's family and her life.
Bowie by O'Neill: The definitive collection with unseen images
by Terry O'Neill'This is not just another Bowie book. This, it's fair to say, is THE Bowie book... Essential for any fan.'THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'A truly sparkling collection.'THE DAILY MAIL'More than 500 photos of immense breadth and depth.'VOGUEChosen as one of Vogue's Best David Bowie Books.This book is the breathtaking result of iconic photographer Terry O'Neill's creative partnership with David Bowie that spanned over a number of years, including images published here for the first time.Containing rare and never-before-seen photographs, their work together includes images from the last Ziggy Stardust performance, recording sessions for Young Americans and the renowned studio portraits for Diamond Dogs - plus live shows, film shoots, backstage moments and more. With more than 500 photographs, this is the ultimate portrait of an inspiring, challenging and ever-changing artist.
The Bremen-Town Musicians
by Ruth Belov GrossOn their way to Bremen-town, a donkey, a cat a rooster, and a dog, all planning on a new career in music, serenade some robbers.
Closely Watched Films (Routledge Revivals): The Czechoslovak Experience
by Antonín J. LiehmFirst published in 1974, this book collects interviews with leading Czechslovak filmmakers conducted mostly between 1967 and 1969. This was a period of immense upheaval beginning with the attack of the Czechoslovak establishment on the Union of Writers in 1967, continuing through the liberalisation of the Prague Spring in January 1968 and ended with the Soviet invasion in August and subsequent ‘Normalization’ process in April 1969. It records the testimony of several generations of filmmakers and their attempts to answer the questions about the purpose and meaning of film before and during this period. This book will be of interest to students of film and cultural history.
Equus
by Peter ShafferAn explosive play that took critics and audiences by storm, Equus is Peter Shaffer's exploration of the way modern society has destroyed our ability to feel passion. Alan Strang is a disturbed youth whose dangerous obsession with horses leads him to commit an unspeakable act of violence. As psychiatrist Martin Dysart struggles to understand the motivation for Alan's brutality, he is increasingly drawn into Alan's web and eventually forced to question his own sanity. Equus is a timeless classic and a cornerstone of contemporary drama that delves into the darkest recesses of human existence.
ESP TV
by Mary RodgersPreviously published as "A Billion for Boris" Annabel Andrews is back in her body, but life is still anything but normal. When her brother, Ape Face, and her boyfriend, Boris, discover a TV that airs its programs a day early, they're suddenly faced with lots of opportunities. Boris wants to make billions of dollars, but Annabel wants to help mankind. They've got to decide what to do before someone figures out what's going on.
Expert Card Technique: Close-up Table Magic (Dover Magic Bks.)
by Jean Hugard Frederick BrauéIf you have ever tried to do a card trick and failed, you know what it is to be embarrassed. You may try to cover up by doing a more difficult trick and fail again. The way out of this dilemma, however, is not immediate, but it is reliable: a surer mastery of technique. This means the proper instruction book, and practice.In this definitive work on card technique, step-by-step instructions teach you the correct methods for the basic manipulations and the more advanced flourishes, and only then allow you to learn tricks. Offering the most foolproof methods available, Jean Hugard and Fredrick Braue explain such basic manipulations as the palm, the shuffle, the lift, the side slip, the pass, the glimpse, the jog, and the reverse. They detail various false deals, crimps, and changes and the more advanced execution needed for forces, fans, and the use of the prearranged deck. Also presented is a wide variety of tricks, including discoveries, self-working tricks, one-handed tricks, stranger cards, and such individually famous tricks as the four aces, the rising cards, and the Zingone spread. In addition, the authors include a complete compendium of shakedown sleights — to warn the card player and aid the entertainer — and a performer's guide to misdirection and patter.Many of the methods explained were revealed here for the first time, while many previously known tricks are presented in improved versions. In every case the aim is simplicity of technique for the purpose of mystifying an audience, not technique for the sake of technique. An unsurpassed collection of methods and manipulations, this classic work will help any aspiring magician to achieve expert card technique.
Goddess: The Secret Lives Of Marilyn Monroe
by Anthony SummersMore than half a century after her death, Marilyn Monroe is arguably still one of the most famous people in the world. Her life was a contrast of public brilliance and private misery, her death a tragedy suffused by dark questions - about her relations with President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert. Drawing on more than 600 first-hand interviews, Anthony Summers offers the classic, definitive biography of a woman who captivated the world. Marilyn's tragic story is clouded by gossip-reporting more than almost any other. GODDESS, however, delivers new, fully documented yet exciting fact.'Gets as near to the heart of the mystery as anyone ever will' Guardian'The fullest factual account of Monroe's life and death we're likely to get' Evening Standard'The definitive story of the legend' Irish Times'A remarkable performance...The ghost of Marilyn Monroe cries out in these pages' New York Times
Hollywood and After: The Changing Face of American Cinema (Routledge Revivals)
by Jerzy ToeplitzFirst published in English in 1974, Hollywood and After presents contemporary cinema in all its complexity, describing and analyzing the various factors which, in the sixties and seventies, brought so many changes both inside Hollywood and throughout the film industry of the USA. The film industry has been restructured. No longer independent, it now forms only a part, sometimes only a small and secondary part, of large diversified corporations. Formerly rivals, today cinema and television not only coexist, but are forced to cooperate closely in a world of technical developments such as videocassettes, cable TV, and satellite transmissions. The main part of this book is dedicated to artistic and creative questions. A new generation of film makers is making films for a new generation of film goers who are looking for fresh values on the screen. More and more the cinema mirrors the reality of American life: complicated, uneasy, shaken by violent outbursts, charged with a multitude of controversies and conflicts. The rose-tinted American dream, which Hollywood peddled, is a thing of the past. Today the US cinema offers a variety of artistic, political, and social approaches and a wide range of highly individual styles. In the world of social media, OTT platforms, and AI, this book is an important historical reference for scholars and researchers of film studies, film history, and media studies.
Hollywood Myths: The Shocking Truths Behind Film's Most Incredible Secrets and Scandals
by Joe WilliamsA film journalist’s insider account of the truth behind some of the movie industry’s biggest legends and scandals—a perfect gift for film buffs.Hollywood exists to create and sell myth. Often, however, the myths created on screen are secondary to the rumors, half-truths, and lies that circulate through studio back lots and the press. Discover the real stories behind Hollywood’s greatest myths, as veteran film critic and Hollywood reporter Joe Williams sorts fact from fiction and examines how these tales came to be and how they persisted. Did Thomas Edison really invent the motion picture? Why has Charlie Chaplin survived as the undisputed king of the silent era? What about Fatty Arbuckle and that ill-fated boys’ weekend in San Francisco? Did Woody Allen really marry his adopted daughter? Was there actually a suicide on the set of The Wizard of Oz (or are any of the other countless rumors about that film true)? The tales featured in Hollywood Myths involve specific films, actors’ private lives, the industry itself, and urban legends that have existed as long as Hollywood has. Throughout, Williams illuminates what it was that made the biggest stars—from Marlon to Marilyn, Bogie to Brad—shine so brightly on the silver screen. In all, 56 enduring myths are examined, in the process revealing the machinations of myth-making in the fast, loose, and out-of-control world of Hollywood.
Image and Influence: Studies in the Sociology of Film (Routledge Library Editions: Cinema)
by Andrew TudorThis text outlines what sociologists need to know of the nature of communication and of mass culture, while also looking in some empirical detail at the workings of the Hollywood community and the psychology of the star system. It explores trends such as attempts to adapt semiology and psycholinguistics to our understanding of film ‘language’, using them to develop a paradigm for film analysis. The book goes on to offer a guide to comprehension of the relation between cinema and society through detailed analysis of the relation between the German silent cinema and its social context and extensive discussion of popular genres like the western, gangster movie and horror movie. Seeing movies in terms of meaning, as reservoirs of culture which audiences may use for a variety purposes, this book uses a combination of sociological perspective and critical method to present a unique intriguing perspective.
James Dean: A Biography
by David DaltonThis is the book that restarted the James Dean cult by celebrating him as the cool, defiant visionary of pop culture who made adolescence seem heroic instead of awkward and who defined the style of rock 'n' roll's politics of delinquency. The only book to fully show how deliberately and carefully Dean crafted his own image and performances, and the product of still unequalled research, vivid writing, intimate photographs, and profound meditation, James Dean: The Mutant King has become almost as legendary as its subject.
Jean Renoir
by Raymond E. DurgnatThis 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 1974.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</DIV
Liszt: The Artist as Romantic Hero
by Eleanor PerenyiBiography of the famous composer, his romantic origins, his grand and literary passions, his years of pilgrimage, his stays at Vienna and Weimar. Includes a chronology and bibliography.
The Lucille Ball Story
by James GregoryHer life in public, in private, her triumphs and her troubles, with a never-before-published interview with the famous actress.
The Miloš Forman Stories (Routledge Revivals)
by Antonín J. LiehmFirst published in 1975, this book examines the career of one of the leading post-war Czech filmmakers Miloš Forman through his own testimony. After recollecting his childhood and early artistic ventures, Forman gives accounts of the making of his major films, interspersed with contemporaneous reviews by the author, and in the final chapter he sums up his ‘lessons along the way’. A section entitled ‘Stories behind the Stories’ fills in details on the events and people mentioned in Forman’s narrative. The author’s commentary provides valuable insights not only into the aesthetics of filmmaking but also the social and political environment in contemporary Czechoslovakia.
Pinochle is the Name of the Game
by Walter GibsonHave you ever watched a hand of this fascinating game and wished you knew how to play? Or do you already know how and want to play better? Well, here's your opportunity to "hire" one of the game's foremost authorities as your personal "pro." Watch him deal out a sample hand and show you how to play it. His play-by-play instructions, written for the beginning player, will guide you confidently through the fundamentals. And with the ease that comes with confidence, you will quickly master the finer points of the game. It is on this gamesmanship that those already familiar with the game can sharpen their skills. Included are the rules for two-, three-, and - four-handed pinochle, as well as for auction pinochle and auction pinochle with partners.
'Rommel?' 'Gunner Who?': A Confrontation in the Desert (Spike Milligan War Memoirs)
by Spike MilliganVOLUME TWO OF SPIKE MILLIGAN'S LEGENDARY MEMOIRS IS A HILARIOUS, SUBVERSIVE FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF WW2'Brilliant verbal pyrotechnics, throwaway lines and marvelous anecdotes' Daily Mail 'Desperately funny, vivid, vulgar' Sunday Times ______________'Keep talking, Milligan. I think I can get you out on Mental Grounds.' 'That's how I got in, sir.' 'Didn't we all.' The second volume of Spike Milligan's legendary recollections of life as a gunner in World War Two sees our hero into battle in North Africa - eventually. First, there is important preparation to be done: extensive periods of loitering ('We had been standing by vehicles for an hour and nothing had happened, but it happened frequently'), psychological toughening ('If a man dies when you hang him, keep hanging him until he gets used to it') and living dangerously ('no underwear!'). At last the battle for Tunis is upon them . . .______________'The most irreverent, hilarious book about the war that I have ever read' Sunday Express 'Milligan is the Great God to all of us' John Cleese 'The Godfather of Alternative Comedy' Eddie Izzard 'A totally original comedy writer' Michael Palin 'Close in stature to Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear in his command of the profound art of nonsense' Guardian
Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution
by Todd S. PurdumA revelatory portrait of the creative partnership that transformed musical theater and provided the soundtrack to the American CenturyThey stand at the apex of the great age of songwriting, the creators of the classic Broadway musicals Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music, whose songs have never lost their popularity or emotional power. Even before they joined forces, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written dozens of Broadway shows, but together they pioneered a new art form: the serious musical play. Their songs and dance numbers served to advance the drama and reveal character, a sharp break from the past and the template on which all future musicals would be built.Though different in personality and often emotionally distant from each other, Rodgers and Hammerstein presented an unbroken front to the world and forged much more than a songwriting team; their partnership was also one of the most profitable and powerful entertainment businesses of their era. They were cultural powerhouses whose work came to define postwar America on stage, screen, television, and radio. But they also had their failures and flops, and more than once they feared they had lost their touch.Todd S. Purdum’s portrait of these two men, their creative process, and their groundbreaking innovations will captivate lovers of musical theater, lovers of the classic American songbook, and young lovers wherever they are. He shows that what Rodgers and Hammerstein wrought was truly something wonderful.
The View from Highway 1: Essays on Television
by Michael J. ArlenA series of excellent essays that critique television and society. A highly recommended follow-up read to Arlen's "Living Room War".
William Peter Blatty on The Exorcist from Novel to Film: From Novel To Screen
by William Peter BlattyIn William Peter Blatty on The Exorcist: From Novel to Film, the New York Times bestselling author reveals the real-life incidents that inspired his famous novel and how it evolved into the groundbreaking Academy Award-winning screenplay of the 1973 groundbreaking William Friedkin film.Featuring the original, controversial ending of the novel, and both the first draft of the screenplay and the shooting script, Blatty presents his behind-the-scenes commentary on the differences between the book and screenplays, detailing the specific reasons why the changes were made for the final cut. This is the true story of the making of The Exorcist, an insider's guide to Hollywood in one of its most creative eras. Includes photographsAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Art and the Bible: Two Essays (IVP Classics)
by Francis A. Schaeffer"The lordship of Christ should include an interest in the arts," writes Francis Schaeffer. "A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God, not just as tracts, mind you, but as things of beauty to the praise of God." Many Christians, wary of creating graven images, have steered clear of artistic creativity. But the Bible offers a robust affirmation of the arts. The human impulse to create reflects our being created in the image of a creator God. Art and the Bible has been a foundational work for generations of Christians in the arts. In this book's classic essays, Francis Schaeffer first examines the scriptural record of the use of various art forms, and then establishes a Christian perspective on art. With clarity and vigor, Schaeffer explains why "the Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars."
Facing the Music: An Irreverent Close-up of the Real Concert World
by Henri TemiankaAn entertaining account of a virtuoso violinist's life on and off concert tours.