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The Devil on Screen: Feature Films Worldwide, 1913 Through 2000
Charles P. Mitchell Manufacturer: McFarland & Company ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items: ASIN: 0786410493 |
Book Description
The Devil has been represented in many film genres, including horror, comedy, the musical, fantasy, satire, drama, and the religious epic, and in these works has assumed many shapes and forms. This work explores in detail feature films from the year 1913 through the year 2000 that depict the Devil. It begins with an overview that discusses how the devil has been portrayed on stage, how that portrayal carried over to the big screen, and what are the standard elements of a satanic plot. Each entry in the filmography includes such particulars as the year of production, running time, and the names of the writer, editor, cinematographer, producer, and director. An evaluative rating, annotated cast list, plot synopsis, and film appraisal are also provided for each film, as well as a spotlight on the performance of the actor playing the role of Satan.Customer Reviews:
I Bought this Book Because the Devil Made Me Do It!.......2003-06-04
Fun book with a "Devil May Care" approach.......2003-05-28
Mitchell's THE DEVIL ON SCREEN Should "DOG YOUR TRAIL!".......2002-03-09
The author's forte is that he uses this configuration for every film he analyzes---and his perception is always on target!
For example, besides the fantasy element in BEAL, Mitchell also
catches the aspects of "film noir," which make his review doubly rewarding. He knows his film music, especially the noirish Franz Waxman score (which has gone unrecorded all of these years) but more importantly, despite all of the detailed turns of the plot, Mitchell uses original source information to enhance the chapter.
He interviwed Audrey Totter, one of the film's stars, who related some "inside information" about her fellow actors, their attitudes on the set and her dissatisfaction with the studio, Paramount, which promoted the film badly. Mitchell hopes for its "rediscovery" and as a reader, I applaud his critique---not for just this film but the hundred or so films he accurately and astutely examines with his fine sense of critical purview.
Mitchell's book is an A to Z of "devil films," with two excellent appendices, a thorough and useable index and wonderful stills and lobby cards that entice the reader to read a review of a film that he or she may NOT have seen. His publisher has also done justice to the author's work because of its beautiful, artful and colorful front and back covers and has produced a library bound edition worthy for purchase for collectors, libraries and for those of us who are fascinated by the theme of the "devil in cinema."
Too bad Mitchell had to begin his critical analysis in 1913 and ended it in 2000---for there must be some "devilish" films out there through 2002---and his gaze is not only on American cinema but international films that come under his critical view--such as the 1922 silent Danish work by Ben Christensen, HAXAN, which was recently brought out on DVD by Criterion and that French sound marvel from 1942, LES VISITEURS DU SOIR with Arletty and Jules Berry as the Devil. Certainly, Mitchell's exploration of the theme is comprehensive, detailed, insightful and at times, even humorous.
This is a book I have always wanted for my own collection---and Mitchell's other books, one on APOCALYPTIC CINEMA and a GUIDE TO FILMS OF CHARLIE CHAN (both published by Greenwood Press)[Note: Mitchell's book on CHAN is the BEST ONE ON THE MARKET!]-- are worthy forerunners in film criticsm to this new DEVIL work from McFarland & Co. I hear by the critical grapevine that Mitchell has something in the works about "HITLER IN FILM" and possibly a biography of RICHARD BASEHART, one of the most neglected character actors of the late forties and early fifties. I hope my sources are correct and we also see these future volumes--but I am still content with THE DEVIL ON SCREEN for now---there is so much good "stuff" in it that I can hardly put it down.
Delightfully Diabolical.......2002-02-24
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50 Facts That Should Change The World
Jessica Williams Manufacturer: The Disinformation Company ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0972952969 |
Book Description
50 Facts That Should Change the World is a series of snapshots of life in the 21st century. From the inequalities and absurdities of the so-called developed world to the vast scale of suffering wreaked by war, famine and AIDS in developing countries, it paints a picture of incredible contrasts. These are the facts YOU need to know.
50 Facts That Should Change the World contains an eclectic selection of facts that address a broad range of global issues. Each is followed by a short essay explaining the story behind the fact, fleshing out the bigger problem lurking behind the numbers. Real-life stories, anecdotes and case studies help to humanize the figures and make clear the human impact of the bald statistics.
The facts paint a picture of a world of inequality: unheard-of and often ludicrous prosperity living alongside crippling poverty. Some of the facts will make you rethink things you thought you knew. Some illustrate long-term, gradual changes in our society. Others concern local issues that people face in their everyday lives. Many will shock.
All of the facts remind us that whether we like to think of it or not, the world is interconnected and civilization is a fragile concept. 50 Facts that Should Change the World will make us think about some of the hard facts about our civilization, and what we can do about them.
Jessica Williams is a journalist and television producer. Born in New Zealand, she now lives in London and currently works as a producer on the BBC's flagship international interview program, "HardTalk with Tim Sebastian," where she has researched and produced interviews with such disparate figures as the political philosopher Noam Chomsky, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Sir David Attenborough, Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble and the late academic Edward Said.
Customer Reviews:
interesting book but dated - my fault for not paying better attention.......2007-01-03
Necessary!.......2006-04-13
Okay, although a tad radical.......2006-03-15
Blows you out of your shell - if you can distract yourself from Hollywood.......2006-02-21
good to know..........2005-09-13
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50 Facts That Should Change the World 2.0
Jessica Williams Manufacturer: Disinformation Company ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 1932857907 |
Book Description
Jessica Williams revisits her classic series of snapshots of life in the twenty-first century. Revised and updated with lots of new material, this book is every bit as vital as the first edition. From the inequalities and absurdities of the so-called developed world to the vast scale of suffering wreaked by war, famine, and AIDS in developing countries, it paints a picture of incredible contrasts.
This 2.0 edition again contains an eclectic selection of facts addressing a broad range of global issues, now with added emphasis on climate change, the decline in human rights and democratic freedoms around the world, the unexpected global impact of corporate growth, sports and media madness and inequality, and lots of updated facts and figures. Each is followed by a short essay explaining the story behind the fact, fleshing out the bigger problem lurking behind the numbers. Real-life stories, anecdotes, and case studies help to humanize the figures and make clear the human impact of the bald statistics.
All of the facts remind us that whether we like to think of it or not, the world is interconnected and civilization is a fragile concept. Williams makes us think about some of the hard facts about our civilization, and what we can do about them.
Jessica Williams is a journalist and producer of the BBC's flagship international interview program, HARDTalk with Tim Sebastian, where she has researched and produced interviews with such disparate figures as the political philosopher Noam Chomsky, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Sir David Attenborough, and the academic Edward Said.
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50 FACTS THAT SHOULD CHANGE THE WORLD
Jessica Williams Manufacturer: Icon Books Ltd ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000MC37R4 |
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50 FACTS THAT SHOULD CHANGE THE WORLD / FIFTY
Jessica Williams Manufacturer: Disinformation ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000PECL6C |
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Freeport: The City of Adventure (d20 System) (Freeport)
Chris Pramas , and Kyle Anderson Manufacturer: Green Ronin Publishing ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 097010488X |
Book Description
The beautiful hardback city sourcebook Freeport: The City of Adventure blew the lid off the most larcenous city in fantasy. In this book game industry veterans Matt Forbeck and Hal Mangold join Freeport creator Chris Pramas for an in-depth look at the people, places, and politics of the city of adventure. Jam packed with info on the city, the Serpent's Teeth, and the sea lanes, Freeport: The City of Adventure provides action-packed material for any campaign. The book also includes a full color poster map of the city, beautifully rendered with street-level detail. Freeport: The City of Adventure is a must-have city sourcebook!Customer Reviews:
Fun but Flawed Product.......2006-03-18
Freeport: A Schizophrenic Pirate Setting.......2004-02-18
Published in a hardcover format by Green Ronin, "Freeport: City of Adventure" is an attractive and well-designed book. While not as content-dense as, say, Wizard of the Coast's various Forgotten Realms sourcebooks - the difference in type size and white space is striking - the overall high quality and narrow focus of "Freeport" still makes this an excellent value for those interested in pirate and nautical adventures.
The book features a good timeline for Freeport and the region - in theory, it can be dropped into any large maritime trade lane in any setting, and it works best when placed in such a context - that is carefully generic enough to be able to fit into most settings with a minimum of fuss. (There need to be multiple competing political powers and shipping routes, which most settings have. The only setting I can think of off the top of my head that would have difficulty fitting in Freeport would be a Dragonlance campaign, although I suspect it could be done. Setting Freeport in the Iron Kingdoms - which works well in a number of ways - would require tweaking the religions found in the city as well as some of the races, but neither would be an insurmountable obstacle.)
This is followed by extensive information about the city, quarter by quarter. For the most part, the book focuses on highlights from each area, but sufficient information is given for each quarter that most Dungeon Masters will feel very comfortable setting action there, while still leaving enough room for their own creations, or additions from other books. (There are subsequent books in the Freeport line that do just this, and the setting also works extremely well with Citybook II: Port of Call from Flying Buffalo.)
Finally, there are new rules, including prestige classes, a new NPC class, a host of pirate-flavored spells (one tattooing a treasure map on the back of the subject, and then wiping their memory of where the map actually depicts is a particular winner) and some modest gunpowder rules. Some adventure seeds are also provided.
One thing potential buyers should be aware of is the somewhat schizophrenic tone of the book. For one thing, Chris Pramas and the other contributors are squarely in the camp of putting in overtly humorous characters and situations in the book, as well as some slightly anachronistic material. Elements like a daily newspaper (well, news sheet) feature strongly in the setting. While not a big deal taken individually, it creates a rather different tone than in most D&D settings, something some DMs might find jarring. The humor in the setting (including character names that are obvious allusions to popular media characters) is something many DMs will also want to scan for ahead of time and change as needed.
The issues of tone also apply to how "bad" Freeport really is. The hype on the back of the book, and in marketing hype in general, talks about how dangerous and deadly the city is. In reality, Freeport doesn't come off particularly more dangerous than any fantasy city - how criminal and corrupt is a town where drugs are outlawed? Compared to the TSR-licensed setting of Lankhmar, or Judges Guild's various city states, Freeport is Disneyland. Criminal activity in town is surprisingly mild and gang activity is more interesting than threatening. Still, it won't be too much work for a DM to crank the level of illegality up a few notches, but it's puzzling that it was set so low to begin with.
Finally, the book tries to have it both ways vis-à-vis gunpowder. While gunpowder is anathema to many D&D games, it's also hard to picture pirates without flintlock pistols and cannons blazing. Modest gunpowder rules are supported in the back, as an option, but the rest of the setting bends over backwards to create magical alternatives to gunpowder, and mostly it's just awkward - the city is defended by enormous cannon-style wands that use unique rules, don't resemble any other magic in the D&D game, and neither scratch the itch gunpowder-use pirate groups will want, nor fits seamlessly into standard gunpowder-free D&D. Probably the best bet would be to use gunpowder but say that the materials used to create it only come from secret locations far at sea, and the cost of creating it is prohibitive on the mainland, even if someone knew how to do it.
Having said all that, Freeport has a charm and a freewheeling style that's hard to match and is a great contrast to the more generic D&D published settings that groups were stuck with prior to the advent of the Open Game License. Where once groups had their choice of nearly identical-in-tone Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance settings, today players can find such wildly diverse top-drawer settings as Hollowfaust, Redhurst and Freeport. Freeport especially is supported with a line of supplements that expand and build off the setting, including the mega-module "Black Sails over Freeport" (which fleshes out the Pirate God, the one generic element in this work that should never have been left generic). It's a pirate's booty of riches, and Freeport is one of the brightest treasures.
Recommended for D&D groups looking for a swashbuckling setting. Groups using the duelist prestige class or swashbuckler core class from "The Complete Warrior" will particularly find Freeport to be a good home base for their adventures.
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Made In China: What Western Managers Can Learn from Trailblazing Chinese Entrepreneurs
Donald N. Sull , and Yong Wang Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 1591397154 |
Book Description
An on-the-ground playbook for competing successfully against China’s best-in-class entrepreneurs—for Westerners and local Chinese businesses alike—and for importing their strategies and principles for use in any unpredictable business environment. China's 7-8% annual growth and steady march towards capitalism has helped it to rival America as one of the best places to seek success and wealth. But China is also one of the riskiest markets to operate it. In spite of these risks, some Chinese companies have managed not only to survive, but to thrive during the country’s most turbulent period. This book introduces managers to some of China’s hottest entrepreneurs, reveals the success strategies that have enabled them to compete so effectively, and codifies these strategies into a small set of principles for managing in China or any turbulent environment. This is the guide no manager considering—or already conducting—business in China can afford to be without.Customer Reviews:
Very ordinary advice on business management.......2007-06-09
In China, do as Chinese do.......2006-02-22
Learn from Chinese entrepreneurs even though China is lack of good entrepreneurs.......2006-02-06
Another 'FAILED' study about Chinese entrepreneurs.......2005-12-12
Profiles eight Chinese ventures to probe the secrets behind their success.......2005-08-07
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Made in China: Que podemos aprender de los empresarios chinos / What Western Managers Can Learn from Trailblazing Chinese Entrepreneurs
Yong Wang Manufacturer: Grupo Editorial Norma ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 9580491860 |
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