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	February 2006 :: issue 28
	Books This Month 1. Subtitles by Atom Egoyan and Ian Balfour, eds. 2. City of Nets by Otto Friedrich 3. Hitchcock by François Truffaut 4. My Last Sigh by Luis Buñuel 5. The Conversations by Michael Ondaatje 6. Cindy Sherman by Cindy Sherman, Peter Galassi   Adaptations Book News Credits/About Us The Film Issue This month, in celebration of Flavorpill's own dishy Sundance blog, we turn our lenses onto the topic of film. Listen in on a meeting of the minds as François Truffaut interviews Alfred Hitchcock, the world's most famous silhouette. Crib life lessons from a memoir by surrealist iconoclast Luis Buñuel. On the technical tip, you can learn the ins and outs of the cutting room with a series of conversations between novelist Michael Ondaatje and master editor Walter Murch. For a more visual treat, lap up Cindy Sherman's faux celluloid moments, or pay your respects to the humble beauty of Subtitles — world cinema is brought to you by those messages. In a more prurient vein, catch up on golden era-Hollywood scandals that put Branjelina babies to shame. Yet above and beyond books about the movies, there exists an abiding link between the screen and the page, in that so many books are made into films. In fact, these days it sometimes seems that the only reason they still publish fiction is that flicks are often better when they're based on untrue stories. So, whether you're a rabid cinephile or a staunch 'the book was better' purist, check out our adaptation section for quickie coverage of classic novels with film versions, as well as some new adaptations hitting screens this year. You'll be surprised what's been greenlit.

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NONFICTION Subtitles: On the Foreignness of Film by Atom Egoyan and Ian Balfour, eds. Published: 2004 Pages: 544 Publisher: MIT Press Links: Subtitles site Synopsis A elegant collection celebrating the humble words at the bottom of your screen. Review Not unlike the lack of translated works in our bookstores, the dearth of foreign films in our theatres speaks volumes about our cultural isolationism. With this lovingly edited and designed collection, filmmaker Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, Ararat) and literature professor Ian Balfour celebrate the much-maligned middlemen of world cinema: subtitles. While definitely a high-brow gift-tome, it's an approachable one, thanks in large part to its exceptional attention to design. The book's gorgeous layout was created by Egoyan with designer Gilbert Li, and they've simply outdone themselves. It's the little things that matter: the book's wide-format layout mimics a silver screen, right down to an insanely anal use of the cinematic 1.66:1 ratio. Contributions include a collaborative poem by Anne Carson, an interview with French director Claire Denis, and even a trio of unearthed movie reviews by Jorge Luis Borges – the Argentinean master reveals himself to be an instinctive film critic, lambasting the practice of dubbing and offering mixed praise to Orson Welles' bloated chef d'oeuvre, Citizen Kane. Among theoretical contributions, from such usual suspects as Fredric Jameson and Slavoj Žižek, are tucked several terrific essays on the history of subtitling and dubbing. One helpfully explains why you hardly ever see a subtitles in a preview: back in the '70s, marketers decided American moviegoers were afraid of them and embarked on a bait-and-switch strategy. A standout among the visual pieces is Stefana McClure's time-lapsed prints of an entire movie's projection — the photographic remains of a film turn out to be monolithic (and nearly monochrome) abstract-expressionist blocks, while its subtitles appear as a smear of white at the bottom of the image. Another highlight is a series of publicity stills from Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter, on which are printed sentences (from the original novel) describing the person pictured. They offer an eerie lesson in casting and a reminder of the deep bond between books and cinema. - Toby Warner back to top

NONFICTION City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940's by Otto Friedrich Published: 1997 Pages: 495 Publisher: University of California Press Links: Friedrich bio Other books by OF: Glenn Gould: A Life and Variations The Kingdom of Auschwitz Synopsis Heroes, villains, good-looking stars, and overlooked writers people this lively account of Hollywood in its golden era of 1939–1950. Review Otto Friedrich's City of Nets is littered with bodies: somebodies, nobodies, congressional bodies, bodies of work, and even corpses. Hollywood from 1939 to 1950 — the period covered in this 20-year-old book — had scandals that make US Weekly and Star seem school-marmish by comparison. A few examples: Errol Flynn Flings with Fifteen-Year-Old Aboard Yacht, Calls Boss Jack Warner 'Jew Bastard'; Great Dictator Charlie Chaplin Held at Gun-Point by Stalker Starlet, Sued for Paternity; Wm. Faulkner and MGM Exec Found Drunk in Okie Camp after Ten-Day Whisky Binge. If all this sounds Brechtian in its lurid hedonism, that’s because it is. Friedrich drew the inspiration for his account from Brecht's description of Mahagonny — his fictional, California Sodom — as a "city of nets." With a moral and physical landscape that caters to the whims of moguls and starlets, Hollywood ensnares all those who enter. But ominous overtones aside, Friedrich, an old newspaper man, gives a lively anecdotal tour through the trials — both literal and figurative — and triumphs — commercial and personal — of Hollywood's golden era players. The book is a pasticcio of personal accounts, diaries, and news clippings. Friedrich's genius lies not in revelation but in organization, as he creates a taxonomy of the twelve years and their many narratives. Nineteen thirty-nine is entitled "Welcome," while 1940 is "Ingatherings;" but the third chapter (1941) is "Treachery" and the next nine years get only darker, culminating in "Prejudice," "Expulsions," and "Farewells." It's no wonder that Thomas Mann wrote Dr. Faustus while living in LA, or Brecht, Galileo. Hollywood pits souls against money. The lure of the silver screen in this gilded age enticed many a brilliant mind, and the resulting frisson was breathless and grand. Where else but in Hollywood could one find such surrealist scenes as William Faulkner, Howard Hawks, and Clark Gable on a hunting trip; Mickey Mouse canoodling with Leopold Stokowksi; or Ayn Rand chatting with Cecil B. DeMille in a parking lot? Sadly, other Hollywood stories — the 1943 violence against Mexicans, the HUAC pogroms, and the raging anti-semitism — extend beyond the city, reaching deep down into the larger story of America. - Joshua David Stein back to top

NONFICTION Hitchcock by François Truffaut Published: 1985 Pages: 367 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Links: Hitchcock bio NY Times review Hitchcock interview Synopsis The definitive study of Alfred Hitchcock by filmmaker François Truffaut. Review It is hard to imagine how the work of Alfred Hitchcock ever escaped critical acclaim, but while many of Hitchcock's films were commercially successful when released, they were largely dismissed as mere entertainment by contemporary critics. Displaying formidable foresight, French New Wave filmmaker François Truffaut was among the first to recognize Hitchock's genius and valuable contribution to the art of film. Hitchcock, or "the hitchbook," as Truffaut himself fondly referred to it, is the result of Truffaut's extensive interviews with the British cinéaste between 1962 and 1966, coupled with an abundance of photographs that serve as a useful visual companion to the text. While Hitchcock was originally published in 1967, a revised edition, issued a few years after Hitchcock's death, incorporated the last four films of his career, including his fifty-fourth, The Short Night, which was never completed. The interviews presented in this artfully designed tome examine Hitchcock's six-decade career, which spanned from the silent film era to the inventions of "talkies" and color film to the introduction of nudity into commercial cinema. Truffaut is a respectful interviewer but by no means a soft one — he coaxes the normally guarded Hitchcock into discussing not only which film he is most proud of (Psycho) but also which film he regrets (Under Capricorn), which actors he enjoyed working with (James Stewart), which he disliked (Kim Novak), and which film's musical score didn't turn out as he had hoped (Rebecca). Ultimately, it is clear that Hitchcock is more than a book about film — it explores the very essence of creativity and craft, offering a peek inside the mind of one of the 20th century's great artistic and storytelling geniuses, as elicited by one of the 20th century's great creative stylists. Hitchcock captures the inner workings of a man who was able to portray anxiety, fear, and fantasy in ways that deeply resonated with his audience. In a world growing more morbidly absurd, more perversely off-kilter — more, well, Hitchcockian — by the day, Hitchcock's oeuvre should resonate with us more than ever. - Larissa N. Dooley back to top

MEMOIR My Last Sigh by Luis Buñuel, translated by Abigail Israel Published: 1983 Pages: 256 Publisher: University of Minnesota Press Links: Buñuel filmography On Buñuel Synopsis A poetic autobiography of musings and memories from the emperor of surrealist film, Spanish director Luis Buñuel. Review In an appropriately poetic end to a tirelessly creative life, Luis Buñuel (whose ashes, curiously enough, are still missing) finished this autobiography just before his death in 1983. Buñuel’s work was visionary, his approach was unique, and his films were incomparable. Beginning with the first surrealist movies he made with Salvador Dali, Un Chien Andalou (1928) and L’Age D’Or (1930), Buñuel specialized in the unexpected. In later years, he created such brilliant left-field pieces on hypocrisy and society as Viridiana, Belle de Jour, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and That Obscure Object of Desire. Without Buñuel, the dreamlike touch of horror films, the biting social humor of Almodóvar, and the psychological tension and depth of Hitchcock would not have been the same. Yet, as its title implies, Buñuel's memoir is not a look back at a brilliant career but rather a collection of reminiscences assembled at the end of a lifetime. There is little discussion of his films in these pages; instead, Buñuel relates the extraordinary life that framed the filmmaker's work. The story travels from his almost medieval childhood in Aragon to his studies in Madrid, where he befriended Dali. There are rich accounts of his life among the surrealists in Paris and, later, his time in Spain during the Civil War. Scattered throughout the book are the author's thoughts on memory, the pleasures of drinking and other earthly delights, politics, atheism, the passing of time, and dreams. For such an iconic individual as Buñuel, his autobiography is surprisingly without ego — but with plenty of soul. - Francesca Gavin back to top

NONFICTION The Conversations: Walter Murch & The Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaatje Published: 2004 Pages: 339 Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Links: Murch filmography Murch on NPR Also Recommended: In the Blink of an Eye Synopsis A celebrated author talks film with a master editor. Review In The Conversations, novelist Michael Ondaatje speaks with legendary film editor Walter Murch, the man who cut such landmark films as The Conversation, The Godfather I and II, and Apocalypse Now, as well as last year's Jarhead. Playing off of each other, the two men free-associate their way through an intriguing mix of film history, trivia, and theory. Ondaatje and Murch start with the past, discussing the early days of Zoetrope, Murch's fateful encounter with Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. Murch recounts how Coppola was able to use Martin Sheen's drunken rehearsal to create Apocalypse Now's unforgettable opening scene; he also provides intriguing gossip on how the director turned an overweight, hostile Brando into Colonel Kurtz. Murch goes on to explain exactly how he re-edited Orson Welles' Touch of Evil in accordance with an unearthed 58-page memo scribbled to Universal Studios during Welles' one and only screening of his maligned masterpiece. These conversations offer much more than just behind-the-scenes details. In a discussion of the nuts and bolts of his craft, Murch explains how he transforms over 100 hours of footage into a comprehensible two-hour film. He details why he considers Beethoven and Flaubert to be the true forefathers of cinema, as well as how Edison's early experiments with film dictated the future of the medium. Packing a wealth of information into a series of compulsively readable dialogues, The Conversations requires repeat visits. - Scott Esposito back to top PHOTOGRAPHY Cindy Sherman: The Complete Untitled Film Stills by Cindy Sherman, Peter Galassi Published: 2003 Pages: 164 Publisher: Museum of Modern Art Links: MoMA exhibition ArtForum interview TATE magazine interview Synopsis In front of and behind the camera, a starlet — and art star — is born. Review These photographs are outtakes from a Hollywood classic that was never made (or even planned to be made), but we all know how the story goes: EXT. CITY STREET. DAY: Heroine arrives in the big city, her eyes cast upward at its glorious towers — she is filled with anticipation. INT. BEDROOM. DAY: Heroine in repose in a bedroom, a handkerchief in her hand. She is distraught. EXT. DARK ALLEY. NIGHT: Our heroine is alone, traipsing cobblestones, her coat collar pulled close. INT. BEDROOM. DAY: Heroine stands over a half-packed suitcase, sighing between fits of tears. EXT. CITY STREET. DAY: Heroine is fleeing, in a trench coat and dark glasses. Her hand flutters up to cover her face. Cindy Sherman is the star of these scenes and also their auteur. The photographer who invented heroine chic began her Untitled Film Stills series as a fledgling artist haunting downtown New York between 1977 and 1980. At the time, Sherman's most readily available subject was herself; her cheapest materials were a trove of vintage threads, a few scrappy wigs, and the flair with which she imagined herself as a screen siren in the mode of Jeanne Moreau, Anna Magnani, Brigitte Bardot, or Sophia Loren. If the project began as an elaborate game of dress-up, the Untitled Film Stills have since left their mark on the art-world walk of fame. Sherman's iconic status is enshrined by her countless spawn (how many crafty girls with a gift for the self-timed camera, proximity to an MFA program, and a dose of feminist theory have set out in Sherman's footsteps, determined to vanquish "the male gaze"?). But this book reminds us why Sherman, the original impostor, was so urgent and captivating to begin with. Often seen as riffs on identity politics and meditations on the limits of femininity, Sherman's grainy, black-and-white portraits are also true to the cinematic archetypes they attempt to reproduce: they are quests for innocence and glamour, deeply indulgent showers of pathos, and rather rebellious assertions that such things really do matter beyond the make-believe of the silver screen. - Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts back to top

ADAPTATIONS A quick look at some of the adaptations headed for the big screen this year — plus a smattering of some of our favorite books that have been made into films. FICTION Flicker by Theodore Roszak (1991)   Be prepared for late-night page turning, as two cinephiles investigate the obscure German Expressionist, B-movie director, and weird genius Max Castle. What they expose is a dark and ancient meta-history of film. An adaptation is in the works by apt director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) and screenwriter Jim Uhls (Fight Club). (SD)   FICTION The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne (1759-1767)   The grandaddy of postmodern whippersnappers from Eggers to Moody, Sterne's sprawling 18th-century meta-novel is an endless but rewarding read. It's long been considered un-adaptable — that is, until British director Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People) steps up to the plate this month. Ladies and gentlemen, start your crib sheets! (TW)   FICTION Freedomland by Richard Price (1998)   From the revered literary urban crime writer who penned Clockers, Freedomland is a gritty and compulsive portrayal of inner-city racial tension that explodes when a white woman's car is highjacked — with her son in the backseat — by a black man. Price wrote the screenplay to the film, starring Samuel L. Jackson, which is out in February. (OZ)   FICTION The Third Man by Graham Greene (1949)   Graham Greene conceived The Third Man merely as raw material for what became one of the most chilling films of the 20th century. Yet his novella of deception, love, and naïveté in post-war Vienna is as perfectly wrought, and nearly as haunting, on the page. (MN)   NONFICTION Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser (2001)   Before the adaptation by Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides) hits theaters later this year, eager cinéastes should read up on the biography that inspired it. Antonia Fraser's best-selling work boasts thoroughly researched scholarship and a modern eye compassionate enough to capture the remarkable journey, and extravagant tragedy, of one of history's most controversial royals. (SD)   FICTION A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick (1977)   Split-personalities, paranoia, and drug addiction feature large in this classic from sci-fi don Philip Dick. Read it now before it gets the Keanu-in-Wonderland treatment — though Richard Linklater's idea of running the whole movie through a Photoshop filter certainly does seem novel. (TW)   FICTION The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry (1966)   Peter Bogdanovich marked his adaptation of McMurtry's novel with self-reference and winks at Hollywood — mere celluloid gloss on a work already heavy with the power of cinema. Here a simple picture show dissipates coming-of-age longing and monotony on the Texas plain, temporarily replacing early-'50s small-town lonesomeness with models of perfection. (NP)   FICTION The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle (1995)   Worlds collide, literally, when SoCal yuppie Delaney Mossbacher hits illegal Mexican immigrant Cándido while driving to his gated home. From there, the two tortured protagonists remain entwined, as each wages his own futile battle: Mossbacher fights to maintain his happy suburban bubble and Cándido tries to sidestep unemployment and la migra. An adaptation of Boyle's best work hits screens later this year. (SE)   FICTION The Hoax by Clifford Irving (1981)   An inside look at the great literary hoax of our time: in the 1970s, Clifford Irving conned publishers into a huge contract for the authorized autobiography of billionaire Howard Hughes; but the book was barred from publication when Hughes denied any involvement with it, and Irving went to jail. Soon to be a movie from Lasse Hallström and starring Richard Gere. (MR)   NONFICTION The Kid Stays in the Picture by Robert Evans (1994)   A startlingly honest and brutally funny memoir by legendary 1970s Hollywood producer (and notorious swordsman) Robert Evans – once married to Ali MacGraw, as well as head of Paramount and responsible for Love Story, Rosemary's Baby, The Godfather, and Chinatown. The book was turned into a brilliant documentary, produced by Graydon Carter, but the audiobook — read by the author — is widely regarded as among the greatest ever recorded (download it here). (MR)   FICTION Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison (1992)   The narrator of Dorothy Allison's quasi-autobiographical Bastard Out of Carolina starts off with wisecracks but soon careens into a realm of sexual abuse and utter betrayal. Allison shuns the phony triumphalism of so many contemporary memoirs. Here, the pain of escape smarts as much as the blows. (MN)   COMICS V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, David Lloyd (1995)   Originally published serially in the UK, this seminal strip depicts a sinister future in which Britain is a fascist state. The story, by reclusive mastermind Alan Moore, follows the violent, morally complex rebellion of the anarchist anti-hero V — a shadowy threat to the new order. A film version by the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix trilogy) will premiere this spring. (SD)   back to top

BOOK NEWS A few notable bits of recent book news. A million little melodramas (NY Times) Oprah gives James Frey a public tongue-lashing. Meanwhile, the Smoking Gun — which broke the story of the bestselling memoir's inaccuracies — has gone on a publicity blitz, sending out 300 copies of the book to journalists and boosting sales in the process. The National Book Critics Circle announces its 2005 finalists (Bookcritics) Kazuo Ishiguro, Anthony Shadid, Joan Didion, and Orhan Pamuk are just a few of the authors to make the list. Suffering from SNS? (Sydney Morning Herald) Malcolm Kox explores the performance anxiety of second-novel syndrome. The other book club beginning with O (BBC) Osama Bin Laden's mention of Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower in a recent broadcast has boosted William Blum's book onto the bestseller list. Not quite good enough (Sunday Times) When publishers reject Booker-prize winning novels. Maud on Mark Twain (American Prospect via MoorishGirl) Maud Newton contributes a column to the American Prospect, on the continuing relevance of Mark Twain's satirical writing. Pamuk off the hook (NY Times) The Turkish government has dropped charges against the novelist Orhan Pamuk. back to top

	CREDITS Editors Toby Warner Mark Mangan Paul Laster Jocelyn K. Glei Jamend A. Riley Nick Merritt Chris Gage Editors-at-Large Larry Weissman Sean McDonald Contributors Larissa N. Dooley Stephen Dougherty Scott Esposito Francesca Gavin Chris Lamb Maud Newton Nick Parish Marisa Robot Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts Joshua David Stein Orlando Zepeda Production & Design Anjuli Ayer Jessica Bauer-Greene Morgan Croney Sascha Lewis Cover Art Cindy Sherman Untitled Film Still #14, 1978 Gelatin silver print 9 7/16 x 7 1/2" (24 x 19.1cm) The Museum of Modern Art Purchase © Cindy Sherman   ABOUT US Boldtype is a monthly, email-based review of books published by Flavorpill Productions. Our mission is to cover five to seven books each month that are worth reading. No money is accepted from any publishers, writers, reviewers, or marketing or PR companies. MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS Every month, Boldtype presents one exclusive media partner. Click for more information about advertising opportunities on Boldtype and across all Flavorpill publications. FEEDBACK We welcome any and all feedback — comments, criticism, and even effusive praise. To reach the staff at Boldtype, please email us at editor. SUBMISSIONS If you have a book that you would like us to consider for review, please send an email to books or mail a copy here: Boldtype c/o Flavorpill Productions 594 Broadway, Suite 1212 New York, NY 10012 Our other email magazines: A twice-monthly email magazine highlighting the latest in electronic music — including news, reviews, and original features An email magazine covering a handpicked selection of music, art, and cultural events — delivered each Tuesday afternoon A twice-monthly fashion report providing an insider's view on trends emerging from Paris, London, New York, and around the world A twice-monthly email magazine covering art, design, and architecture with profiles, news, and reviews of inter-national shows
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