Paris

When 'Last Tango In Paris' was first shown at the New York Film Festival in 1972, an ecstatic Pauline Kael declared it a New Beginning, a seminal turning point in the history of cinema, as tradition-shattering and forward-looking in its implications for the medium as Stravinsky's 'The Rite Of Spring' was for music. This kind of hyperbole, together with the film's taboo-busting depictions of sexual relations, led to the film becoming an immediate, controversial legend. Now that 'Last Tango' has become a respectable art-house staple, we can now agree with Roger Ebert who sees 'Last Tango' as an End, the last major European movie to make an impact in America, one of the last dramas to deal honestly with with adult themes, the culmination of a radical cinephile lineage that would be absorbed and defused by the Movie Brats.

David Thompson is not interested in charting this decline. His book is a straightforward account of the film's genesis, context, production and impact. The film arose from Bertolucci's sessions with a psychanalyist, which probably accounts not only for the film's visual motifs, but the confessional monologues that litter it. Bertolucci saw in 'Last Tango' a fusion - of American and European cinema; of formal mise-en-scene with verite and imporvisation, and Thompson sensitively draws out the film's tensions and contradictions. He discusses the film's visual influences (in particular, the paintings of Francis Bacon and the French films of the 1930s), and the contributions of significant crew members to the film's texture. His charting the story's development from Bertolucci's initial idea through financial considerations and crucial script changes and omissions to cuts made after the final premiere and the final release, not only shows us the adaptability and openness of Bertolucci's aesthetic, but also alerts us to the shifting nature of the film's meanings. His synopsis of the film itself, and analysis of key scenes, figures, techniques and the interaction of the two plots, is enlightening.

The book concludes with essays on the three lead actors, Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider and Jean-Pierre Leaud. Those on Brando and Leaud in particular show how Bertolucci conflated the actors' iconic image (Hollywood; French New Wave), and their real-life histories with their roles, making the film both more intellectually detached and emotionally engaging. His chapter on Brando, on the personal traumas that fed into his characterisation, goes some way to illuminating the devastating power of his performance.

Nevertheless, Thompson assumes that the reader knows 'Last Tango' is a classic, and so doesn't feel the need to defend it - his eliding the film's alleged misognyny is particularly troubling. Bertolucci says that he undertook psychoanalysis for artistic reasons as a way of stimulating and provoking himself and his actors in the search for those 'secret places' of the mind. It reminds me of the story about Dali who showed Freud a painting he thought revealed his unconscious: 'No, Salvador, that's a painting of what you consciously think is your unconscious'. Doesn't the same problem bedevil 'Last Tango'?

Despite the fact that ALL SIX of the "Excerpt" pages shown above as samples are in ENGLISH, which would naturally lead one to believe that this book is WRITTEN in English, it is NOT! In other words, aside from approximately 15 pages in English found in the front of the book, all the other 377 pages it contains are written in FRENCH! Therefore, unless you read French, and read it well, I would recommend that you do NOT buy this book!

With this book,André Castelot gives us proof that Marie-Antoinette was already condemned before her trial.She didn't have judges but only accusers.If she perpetrated faults, any wise proof could be kept against her,and the meannest ways had to be used to sully her reputation. But above all, the account of this trial shows us the true Marie-Antoinette. With her feelings,she had some, and we have a right to blame her for them. But she also was a woman who had lost every thing,moving in her misery,admilable in her "sang-froid" (cold blood) Her relies to the judges reveal a shrewd and strong woman,who still keeps hope on the eve of death. Marie-Antoinette as a woman, a moyher, and a queen.

A nice combination of cities that are commonly the two major destinations in a combined holiday vacation to the area.

On the plus side, the book does a relatively good job of organizing and useful information for the traveler. While not as complete as a single destination guide (and there was no expectation that it would be), it generally does offer valuable information and good commentary.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I gleaned what seemed to be a bit of a need by the authors to compare the two cities - with what was perceived by this reader to be a bias towards things Parisian.

While I have visited both cities only about five or six times and am by no means an expert about either city, I did find this material about "getting around Paris" a bit off the mark: "The Metro [Paris] is a godsend to disorientated visitors; not only is it quick and convenient for travelling, but its stations serve as easy reference points for finding addresses. Contrasts with the London Underground are unavoidable. A ride in Paris consts less than half as much, and for that you get cleaner stations and faster service."

Despite my lukewarm rating, I am still glad that I purchased the book.

This novel truly captures the spirit of the 1968 'revolutions'---the sheer narcissism and self-indulgence of the 'revolutionaries' is captured, although, one suspects, not intentionally. As a snapshot of 60s Paris and London, it is an interesting, but slight, novel.

Max Beckmann's status as one of the giants of modernist painting is unquestionable. In light of the persistent development of "Neo-Expressionism", as well as the increasing importance of German art upon the contemporary art scene, his place within the pantheon of 20th century art grown increasingly significant. This reevaluation of Beckmann's oeuvre has been accompanied by a slew of recent museum exhibitions, including a showing of his triptychs at the Guggenheim in 1997, the 2003 retrospective in Paris, London and New York, and the "Max Beckmann and Paris" exhibition (seen in Zurich and St. Louis) for which this book served as the catalog.
The goal of this book (and that of the exhibition it accompanied) is to explore the relationship of Max Beckmann to the artists and critics of the "school of Paris". The authors attempt to reject Beckmann's association with German Expressionism (and with the "provincial" world of German art in general) in a misguided attempt to elevate our opinion of his work by placing it instead within the "greater" context of the Paris-based modernist art as a whole. Comparisons are made between Beckmann's work and that of such contemporaries as Picasso, Braque, Leger, Matisse, and Rouault. The authors draw attention to similarities in theme and subject (the female nude, still life, the circus and theater), and to such formal issues as the handling of color and line. They also explore Beckmann's (often frustrated) attempts at achieving greater recognition by the art critics and public in Paris.
There are a number of interesting connections drawn between the works of Beckmann and that of his Parisian counterparts, especially through comparisons of individual paintings. The relationships revealed between Beckmann and Rouault are especially persuasive, yet this, in itself, argues against the author's goals, as Rouault was something of an outsider in the Paris art world, and more of an "expressionist" himself. Perhaps the strongest aspect of this book is its copious use of side-by-side color reproductions comparing works. Readers familiar with Beckmann, however, may be disappointed with the lack of consideration (or reproductions) of any the artist's most distinctive and/or characteristic works, such as his celebrated self- portraits, triptychs, and historical/mythological paintings.
Beckmann's stature does not need rescuing (in relationship to his French counterparts), because he stands clearly as one of the giants of Western art history. If you are looking for an introduction to Beckmann's art and his achievements, I would suggest you look elsewhere (perhaps the Museum of Modern Art's recent publication "Max Beckmann", or better yet, "Max Beckmann, Retrospective" published by Prestel-Verlag). If, however, you are well acquainted with Beckmann's work, this book offers a number of unique perspectives which might be of interest.

Do you love theatre? Are you a Francophile? Does Zola make you salivate? What about pretentious journaling?

Then you will love this piece. An excellent means of exploring Antoine's significant Theatre Libre and its place in paving Naturalist theatrical activity.

Paris during the reign of Louis Napoleon was a fascinating period, and its figures were larger than life: Napoleon, Eugenie, Berlioz, Wagner, Hugo, Zola, Manet, Monet and the "great horizontals". Americans, English, Germans, Italians and Russians went to Paris for culture, art and, let's face it, a little bit of sex. Unfortunately, this period needs a first-rate historian and Otto Friedrich is not that. You read "Olympia" in spite of the writer, as the history of a fascinating time and the men and women who made it great.

I bought this book because of an avid interest in the period and place that it covers. The emphasis here is on fashion, art and architecture. When the author ventures into history, literature or politics, many of her statements are flawed and judgments debatable at best. The author is a fashion editor who doesn't write very well (is that redundant?). It's only to be expected that she emphasizes fashion, but even there her rather arbitrary opinions on style and taste are sometimes questionable. One wonders if she knows her own field very well. Still, it's worth owning the book for the seldom (or never) seen photos, and you can probably get a remainder copy really cheap.

We bought this book, as well as London for Less when we went to London and Paris last year. These books are a bit different from other guidebooks in that they include a card which gives you discounts at restaurants, tourist sites, stores, etc. at places that have made an arrangement with the book's publisher. The book serves as a typical guidebook, and includes many things that are not in this discount group. There are a decent number of places that accept the card, and we did save more money than we spent on the guide, so it was a good purchase for us. I'd recommend it, but I'd also buy another guide to Paris (I had several other guides). If you go to London, DEFINITELY get London for Less. The guides authors/publishers are from London, and created that guide first. They then wrote Paris for Less after their success, and you can definitely see the difference in the two guides, since the London book has much more information and has a lot more participating merchants. (We had seen these books recommended on a number of travel websites and books,and available directly from the publisher, but we bought it on Amazon, since it was cheaper.)