Though sometimes diffuse, this is an essential addition to any film lover’s library.
The renowned film scholar delivers a lively history of musicals beloved and forgotten.
“The calendar year of 1927 is considered to be the official year in which sound took hold,” writes Basinger (I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies, 2013, etc.), a rare instance of the birth of a genre. This follows a close argument, perhaps at too much length, over just what divides a musical, characterized by a “sudden musical rupture” in the storyline, from movies in which music is incidental. The author is generous in her inclusions, from films like Woodstock and Help! to obvious standouts such as The Philadelphia Story and South Pacific. Still, she notes, “A film is not a musical just because someone gets up and sings a song…or steps up and does a little jig.” Once the parsing is settled, Basinger digs deep into histories of the pioneers—Ernst Lubitsch, Rouben Mamoulian, Fred Astaire, and Busby Berkeley—and the talents who would follow, men and women such as Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Mitzi Gaynor, Vincente Minnelli, and Gene Kelly. One constant in Basinger’s narrative is that every few years, critics grimly announce that the movie musical is dead only to be gainsaid by some surprise arrival on the scene—Rocky Horror Picture Show, say, which “made fun of the genre, and combined it with horror, rock and roll, science fiction, and even a touch of porn” and did something altogether novel by converting the audience into performers alongside the folks on the big screen. Today, critics look at musicals a touch skeptically. As Basinger notes, though the recent La La Land was clearly a musical, it was studied not for its numbers but for its approach to social issues of gender and race, with Ryan Gosling starring as “a white man who saves jazz.” Still, it suggests that the musical might enjoy new life among millennial viewers.
Though sometimes diffuse, this is an essential addition to any film lover’s library.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-101-87406-6
Page Count: 656
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2019
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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