"You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet": The American Talking Film History and Memory 1927-1949

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Andrew Sarris, the film critic who made the auteur theory of the French cineastes palatable to American sensibilities in The American Cinema and thereby taught generations of filmgoers to regard films as the creative products of directors rather than vehicles for stars, introduces "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet" by writing, "The first lesson one learns almost immediately after undertaking to write a comprehensive and critically weighed history of the American film is that one can never finish; one can only stop." But Sarris has managed to extend his meandering journey through the first two decades of American sound film to quite some length; film fans and readers may only feel regret that it must come to an end.

This is not so much a sustained historical argument as a series of reflections, primarily rooted in Sarris's reminiscences of roughly seven decades of film viewing and reviewing. Addressing broad categories (genres, directors, and actors), he zooms in for extended consideration of particular subjects (the Astaire-Rogers musicals, John Ford, and Vivien Leigh, among many others), creating intimately detailed miniature portraits that provide such studiously loving descriptions of classic scenes they may make the reader wish to hole up with a copy of the book and a VCR after having secured the services of a video store that makes deliveries. There is even a short final chapter in which Sarris discusses such "guilty pleasures" as My Foolish Heart, the only film ever made based on a J.D. Salinger story.

People who know movies, or think they do, will no doubt find something about which to disagree with Sarris. This is as it should be; "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet" is as much a commencement point as it is a summation.

Book Description

Andrew Sarris has long been one of America's most celebrated writers on film, author of the seminal work The American Cinema, and for decades a highly regarded critic, first for The Village Voice and more recently for The New York Observer. Now comes Sarris's definitive statement on film, in a masterwork that has taken 25 years to complete. Here is a sweeping--and highly personal--history of American film, from the birth of the talkies (beginning with The Jazz Singer and Al Jolson's memorable line "You ain't heard nothin' yet") to the decline of the studio system. By far the largest section of the book celebrates the work of the great American film directors, with giants such as John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles, and Howard Hawks examined film by film. Sarris also offers glowing portraits of major stars, from Garbo and Bogart to Ingrid Bergman, Margaret Sullavan, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable, and Carole Lombard. There is a tour of the studios--Metro, Paramount, RKO, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Universal--revealing how each left its own particular stamp on film. And in perhaps the most interesting and original section, we are treated to an informative look at film genres--the musical, the screwball comedy, the horror picture, the gangster film, and the western. A lifetime of watching and thinking about cinema has gone into this book. It is the history that film buffs have been waiting for.

Customer Reviews:

superb.......2004-04-17

This is a magnificent book - Sarris' love for movies and his beautiful writing make reading it a joy. It is selective and very personal, and is filled with the authors reflections based on years of watching and rewatching old Hollywood movies.

The book should not be regarded as a complete survey of the talking film from 1927 to 1949. The early part of the book seems to have been pulled together from various other pieces Sarris has written, as there is repetition of information and key phrases. Some of the pieces seem sketchy or unresolved - for example, his piece on Vivien Leigh seems to be a juxtaposition of a brief glowing tribute and a review of Gone With the Wind - with little reference to her other movies. Sometimes his languange is a little opaque, or his interpretations occasionally seem tenuous. But despite these flaws, I give the book 5 stars for the richness of it's beautiful language and the wealth of fascinating information. This is a book to ignite a passion for old movies.

I only wish Sarris hadn't limited himself to the 1927-1949 period - in the section on the pantheon directors, I often wanted him to continue his survey into the 50s and beyond.

This guy is a treasure, and any of his books, including out of print ones, should be eagerly consumed by film buffs.

Interesting in places.......2003-01-16

I'll never quite understand why Sarris is held in such regard as a critic. I know he "introduced" auteur theory to the states and he certainly seems intelligent enough. His writing, though, is frequently almost incomprehensible. I don't mind a meandering style, but these essays seem barely planned. The utterly pointless academespeak (Buster Keaton saving his father in "Steamboat Bill Jr." is termed "reverse Oedipal" for no clear reason) would lead one to expect a little more structure. I'm still giving this 3 stars though, because there do appear to be some interesting ideas here; they're just hopelessly buried. Case in point is his article about Harold Lloyd. I do understand BASICALLY what Sarris is trying to get at, but it could have been said in a paragraph or so. Towards the beginning of that essay, the reader runs across this unadorned doozy of a line - "It is hard to believe but Getting the Girl [his caps] was once interpreted as a convention that implied acceptance of the capitalist system". Oh really? And we're trying to CONTRAST Lloyd with Keaton and Chaplin? Sarris does manage to make the point that Lloyd was a more conventional figure than the other great silent comedians throughout the essay, but only just barely and only if you keep a close eye on exactly how many times he contradicts himself. I much prefer his "The American Cinema, Directors and Directions 1929-1968". The much shorter essays in that previous book are models of clarity in comparison.

Sometimes Provocative Opinions But Never Ambiguous.......2001-11-21

This is indeed a book for film buffs. It is chock full of opinions, many of which you may disagree with. So what? Sarris examines a wide range of subjects (covering the 1927-1949 timeframe) which are organized within five chapters:

The Hollywood Studios ["The Golden Age" at MGM, Paramount, Warner Brothers, 20th-Century-Fox, RKO, Universal, and Columbia]

Genres [e.g. the musical, gangster film, the horror film, the screwball comedy, the western, the film noir, the war film]

Directors [e.g. Chaplin, Ford, Hitchcock, Hawks, Welles, Sturges, Wilder, Capra, and Stevens]

Actors and Actresses [e.g. Garbo, Cagney, Bogart, Davis, Grant, Bergman, Harlow, Fields, the Marx Brothers, Tracy and Hepburn, and Gable and Lombard]

Guilty Pleasures [e.g. the "B" picture]

Sarris then provides four appendices: Academy Award nominations and winners (1927-1949), New York Critics Circle Awards (1935-1949), Best Directors (1927-1949), and Best Performances (1929-1949). The various lists are interesting but the book's greatest appeal derives from the comprehensive coverage of 22 years of the American talking film's history in combination with Sarris' own opinions about most of those who created that history.

I highly recommend this book to film buffs, not as a definitive history of the period (there is none) nor as the single best source of film criticism (there is none); rather, as a collection of thoughtful, generally well-written essays which inform as well as entertain.

If you are a film buff and if, after reading this book you are motivated to see films you have not as yet seen or to see once again films you last saw years ago, Sarris will have achieved what seems to be his primary objective.

A Subjective But Knowledgable Perspective.......2000-08-06

This is a book for film buffs. It is chock full of opinions, many of which you may disagree with. So what? Sarris examines a wide range of subjects (covering the 1927-1949 timeframe) which are organized within five chapters:

The Hollywood Studios ["The Golden Age" at MGM, Paramount, Warner Brothers, 20th-Century-Fox, RKO, Universal, and Columbia]

Genres [eg the musical, gangster film, the horror film, the screwball comedy, the western, the film noir, the war film]

Directors [eg Chaplin, Ford, Hitchcock, Hawks, Welles, Sturges, Wilder, Capra, and Stevens]

Actors and Actresses [eg Garbo, Cagney, Bogart, Davis, Grant, Bergman, Harlow, Fields, the Marx Brothers, Tracy and Hepburn, and Gable and Lombard]

Guilty Pleasures [eg the "B" picture]

Sarris then provides four appendices: Academy Award nominations and winners (1927-1949), New York Critics Circle Awards (1935-1949), Best Directors (1927-1949), and Best Performances (1929-1949). The various lists are interesting but the book's greatest appeal derives from the comprehensive coverage of 22 years of the American talking film's history in combination with Sarris' own opinions about most of those who created that history.

An Idiosyncratic Tour of Golden Age Hollywood.......2000-03-29

This book is a delight for anyone who loves the films of Hollywood's studio-driven "golden age" of the 1930s and 40s. Reading Sarris's (mostly) short essays is like being walked through a film storage vault by a knowledgeable, opinionated old tour guide who's seen every picture and seemingly met everyone who helped to make them. You may not always agree with his take on the pictures you know well, but he's always worth listening to. And you finish the tour ready to spend the next several weekends watching all the great movies that he's pointed out to you.

Sarris's treatments of individual directors are, by a long shot, the best part of the book. His essays on actors, mostly shorter and less comprehensive, are also well worth the reading. The observations on genres and studios seem sketchy by comparison, especially by comparison with books like Ethan Mordden's _Hollywood Studios_. The essays stand well on their own, which makes the book ideal for reading in essay-at-a-time chunks, but keeps it from being a comprehensive introduction to the period.

If you want to read one and only one book on classic Hollywood movies, this isn't it. If you want to read, several, this should certainly be one of them.

Average customer rating:
You Ain't Heard Nothin Yet !: The American Talking Film History and Memory, 1927-1949
Andrew Sarris
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKUU92

Average customer rating:
You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet : The American Talking Film, History and Memory, 1927-1949
Andrew Sarris
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKDIFA

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

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Music & Poetry in the Early Tudor Court
John Stevens
Manufacturer: UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VFMYU8

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Music & Poetry in the Early Tudor Court
John Stevens
Manufacturer: Methuen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CKWJ4

Music and Poetry in the Early Tudor Court (Cambridge Studies in Music)

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Music and Poetry in the Early Tudor Court (Cambridge Studies in Music)
John Stevens
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0521294177

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The conspiracy of occultism

A Conspiracy of Magicians

GURPS Cabal
Kenneth Hite
Manufacturer: Steve Jackson Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1556344295

Customer Reviews:

The conspiracy of occultism.......2003-10-24

The worst parts of this book are at the beginning. The first chapter has a history of the Cabal that bored me to tears. I don't know what the author was talking about. Then, at the end of the first chapter, he mentions a guy named Dr. Selden Graves, and that was interesting.

It gets better as you go along. The next chapter covers the structure of the Cabal. That was a little too dry. It's basically just as you imagine it, with concentric circles of higher power, ranks, and lodges that work together and sometimes against each other. I could have written that part myself without research; so could anyone else interested in the subject. Then he goes on to cover hermetic magic, which is nothing more than a series of spell-casting skill modifiers based on conditions. It's simple and effective, but not creative.

The chapter on other planes has the same problem. On the one hand, it's just right. It fits the Cabal and hermetic magic. On the other, it's predictable. You can travel to the astral plane where you'll see astral beings, some of which are analogues for things in reality. Okay. I've seen that before.

When the author gets to the characters, campaigns, and monsters, you get the goodies. The new advantages and disadvantages are good. The creatures are good. The set of defining characteristics for the campaign is good, too.

This is a professional, predictable GURPS book. It describes what I expected. I didn't get anything new from it, but I don't feel ripped off because the author wrote exactly what he was supposed to.

I would've given this book two stars, but . . . well . . . believe it or not, I was originally contracted to write this book years ago. But I just couldn't do it; I couldn't figure out how to write it. Kenneth Hite did something I couldn't do, so he gets an extra star.

A Conspiracy of Magicians.......2003-07-22

I really like the concept of this book. It creates a world where life seems "as normal" but behind the scenes is a group called the Cabal that are full of sorcerors and mythical creatures. It also includes planar travel and ancient Gods. This book also provides a recounting of history starting from Ancient Eygpt, with what "really" happened and to what extent the Cabal was involved. Another nice feature of this book is the detail of Hermetic magic, which helps to make ritualistic magic more focused in the game. This book also gives several campaign options whether to be with or against the Cabal.

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Myth buster

One of Doug's Better Books

Good Advice, Good Ideas

Jump Start Your Marketing Brain: Scientific Advice and Practical Ideas
Doug Hall
Manufacturer: Emmis Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Planning & Forecasting | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Jump Start Your Business Brain: Scientific Ideas and Advice That Will Immediately Double Your Business Success Rate

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Book Description

This is a powerful new approach to marketing that will multiply the impact of every dollar invested. Comprehensive research by Doug Hall details marketing initiatives that will deliver sustained success. What makes this book's teaching more reliable and reproducible than others is its foundation on hard data reflecting customer, industrial, and business-to-business marketing, not "guru opinions." After reading Jump Start Your Marketing Brain, readers will know how to more effectively and efficiently market and sell their brand, their services, their products, and even themselves!

Customer Reviews:

Myth buster .......2007-05-07

Great book, full of insights gained by reviewing the research and through testing. It shines a harsh light on many false assumptions among marketers and non marketers alike. But also it gives actionable advice on what to do to improve marketing results. I've written all over it and will re-read often.

One of Doug's Better Books.......2006-02-11

I have read all of Doug's books and this is one of his better publications. It gives specific, practical action steps and guidance on how to accelerate your marketing success based on his research.

Buy it and increase your marketing success.

Paul R. DiModica
Author of Value Forward Selling - How To Sell Management
http://www.howtosellmanagement.com

Good Advice, Good Ideas.......2005-06-02

This little book is different.

Most marketing books tell you how to do the same old things: market studies, focus groups, testing, etc.

This one is different. It is basically an analysis of research involving advertisements, brands, customers, and sales reps. The format is basically a series of little two page points. The left hand page is labeled "Scientific Advice" and the right hand is "Practical Ideas."

A lot of these are the old standbys like: KISS, Keep it Simple Stupid. Make your message so a ten year old can understand it. But even the old standbys need to be thought over every once in a while.

And some of the scientific advice directly contradicts the old message. Selling the sizzle rather than the steak for instance is often a mistake. And he gives the evidence to prove it.

Most of the messages seem to me to be more concerned with a smaller company, even a start-up rather than a giant operation. There's more on selling new widgets rather than convincing people to buy Coke rather than Pepsi.

An inexpensive little book, even one idea for your next marketing project will cover its cost many times over, and I got much more than one idea out of it.

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