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VIETNAM AT THE MOVIES

Name: VIETNAM AT THE MOVIES
Author: Michael Lee Lanning
ISBN: 0-449-90891-7

by Michael Lee Lanning ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1994

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An examination of motion picture treatments of the Vietnam War that, while sometimes on the mark, is marred by questionable critical judgments. Lanning (Inside the VC and the NVA, 1992), a Vietnam veteran and former public relations officer for General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, looks at the effect of the Southeast Asian conflict on Hollywood and the movies in its broadest possible scope. Beginning with the first epic war film, D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, the author examines the history of combat films. WW II was, of course, ``the good war,'' and the numerous films made during and about it reflect that assessment. Korean War films began by following the same format as those about WW II, but their popularity waned and a more cautious and revisionist celluloid treatment arose. For instance, M*A*S*H, the author correctly notes, is less about Korea than about disaffection with Vietnam. Lanning groups treatments of Vietnam itself into a number of different categories. Prewar films such as The Quiet American, he notes, could be remarkably prescient about what was to come. Combat films sought to follow the ``good war'' model; yet the box office success of The Green Berets, Lanning claims, was overlooked by Hollywood. Instead, it produced protest films and, later, films about Vietnam veterans (or even the war itself, like Platoon) that took a decidedly dim view of the conflict. More than half the book is dedicated to meticulous reviews of every film in which Vietnam is even mentioned. Films are rated for artistic merit and historical authenticity. Lanning's prowar stance and his utter lack of knowledge of film lead to odd choices and flawed evaluations. For instance, he has a low opinion of Godard's Masculine-Feminine, generally considered one of the filmmaker's best. Julian Smith's Looking Away: Hollywood and Vietnam (1975) is a far better treatment of the same topic.

Pub Date: July 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-449-90891-7

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1994

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIER
by Michael Lee Lanning

- BOOK REVIEW
INSIDE THE VC AND THE NVA
by Michael Lee Lanning & Dan Cragg

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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.