Ed Sikov
Autor(a) de Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis
About the Author
Ed Sikov has taught at Haverford College, Colorado College, and Columbia University. He is the author of seven books, including Laughing Hysterically: American Screen Comedy of the 1950s (Columbia, 1994).
Image credit: Photo by David Shankbone, August 2007
Obras por Ed Sikov
Film Studies Second Edition 1 exemplar
Associated Works
Friends and Lovers: Gay Men Write About the Families They Create (1995) — Contribuidor — 122 exemplares
Etiquetado
Conhecimento Comum
- Nome canónico
- Sikov, Ed
- Data de nascimento
- 1957
- Sexo
- male
- Nacionalidade
- USA
- Locais de residência
- Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, USA (birthplace)
New York, New York, USA (1979- ) - Educação
- Columbia University (Ph. D.)
- Ocupações
- film scholar
author
Membros
Críticas
Screwball: Hollywood's Madcap Romantic Comedies por Ed Sikov
One of the best I've ever read on the subject. Not just a Term paper on the subject, but a thorough treatment.
Tedious study of Davis's turbulent career, discussing the details of all of her films, from the viewpoint of a devoted fan. Discusses the fascination of gay men with her work and personality. Includes some pictures. Completely footnoted. Obviously well-researched, but not really insightful from the point of view of people who worked with her. Discusses her career with Warner Bros. much more thoroughly than her later work. All in all, she comes off as a not-very-nice person.
As interesting (and quotable!!) as I found Bette, I was surprised to find that this book was less about her life than it was about Ed Sikov's opinions on her life.
One section illustrates this nicely: Sikov abruptly interrupts himself, completely breaking the flow of the narrative, to tell a rambling, random story of many pages that is supposed to sum up the difficult relationship between Bette and her father. In reality, the story is told to draw attention to the author's incredibly insulting attempt to explain Bette's 'psychic agony' to his readers (who are obviously too stupid to understand that her father's coldness hurt her) and his incredibly pretentious attempt to defend soap-opera Hollywood biographies as high art. Apparently, he earned his dual PhD's in Psychology and Literature during a two-week stint as an intern at People magazine.
I abandoned this book on page 190. I only read that far because Bette was just so repulsive and endearing. Now I'm off to find a biography of her that is actually about her.… (mais)
One section illustrates this nicely: Sikov abruptly interrupts himself, completely breaking the flow of the narrative, to tell a rambling, random story of many pages that is supposed to sum up the difficult relationship between Bette and her father. In reality, the story is told to draw attention to the author's incredibly insulting attempt to explain Bette's 'psychic agony' to his readers (who are obviously too stupid to understand that her father's coldness hurt her) and his incredibly pretentious attempt to defend soap-opera Hollywood biographies as high art. Apparently, he earned his dual PhD's in Psychology and Literature during a two-week stint as an intern at People magazine.
I abandoned this book on page 190. I only read that far because Bette was just so repulsive and endearing. Now I'm off to find a biography of her that is actually about her.… (mais)
With a focus on selected films of directors Howard Hawks, Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, and Frank Tashlin, the author offers readers a first-rate analysis of 1950s comedy films in the context of the director’s vision. Arguably Hollywood’s last great decade, this book takes an in-depth look at some of the funniest and most complex comedic films of the era and is likely to inspire readers to watch and enjoy these amazing films.
Recommended.
Recommended.
Listas
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Estatísticas
- Obras
- 9
- Also by
- 3
- Membros
- 576
- Popularidade
- #43,502
- Avaliação
- 3.7
- Críticas
- 9
- ISBN
- 32
- Línguas
- 2