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THE KILL BILL DIARY

Name: THE KILL BILL DIARY
Author: David Carradine
ISBN: 0-06-082346-1

THE MAKING OF A TARANTINO CLASSIC AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF A SCREEN LEGEND

by David Carradine ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2006

Absorbing and sweet—inspires a second (or third, or tenth) viewing of Kill Bill.

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Kung Fu Caine’s Kill Bill comeback.

Cult actor/icon Carradine’s diary, kept during the making of the Quentin Tarantino magnum opus Kill Bill (split by the studio into two “volumes”), is by turns engrossing, funny and surprisingly moving as it records both the impossibly difficult realities of personal-yet-epic filmmaking and an under-appreciated talent’s return to professional grace. Carradine had languished for years in marginal action pictures until Tarantino’s first choice for the eponymous role in his kung fu/western/exploitation extravaganza dropped out of the project. That actor was Warren Beatty, who suggested Carradine for the part after Tarantino had referred to the ’70s star for the umpteenth time. In an easy, unpretentious prose style that is prone in equal measure to mystical rambling and rueful self-deprecation, Carradine describes arduous martial-arts training sessions (in which he clashed with preeminent fight choreographer Yuen Wu Ping); his admiration for the performances of his co-stars (Uma Thurman and Michael Madsen receive particular praise); the compounded complexities of international moviemaking; and the boundless energy and invention of writer/director Tarantino. The emotional power here emanates from Carradine’s joy in finally being given the opportunity to work at the top of his abilities with quality collaborators in an atmosphere of mutual respect. If Kill Bill did not result in a Travolta-scale career rehabilitation for Carradine, it did give him the role of a lifetime, and the uncertainty he expresses in the diary’s early sections is rendered charmingly poignant by his ultimately brilliant performance. (A quibble: Carradine inexplicably gives far too much space to semi-literate Internet movie maven Harry Knowles’s set reports—Carradine himself seems annoyed by Knowles, so the inclusion of so much of his embarrassing gush is doubly puzzling. Maybe it’s a kung fu thing.)

Absorbing and sweet—inspires a second (or third, or tenth) viewing of Kill Bill.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-06-082346-1

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2006

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.