ROBERT TANITCH’S ROUND-UP OF BOOKS No 9
WOODY ALLEN A Retrospective by Tom Shone (Thames & Hudson £29.95). Master of the one-liner, Woody is notable for his prolific longevity. He has made 45 films. “I make films for literate people,” he has said. He always budgets for reshoots; wisely since he is liable to have second thoughts and scrap everything and begin again. Woody is the authentic comic image for Chronic Anxiety. For those of who were brought up on his films, starting with Annie Hall, and are still watching him in the hope of another good film, Shone’s critical and astute commentary and the images will bring back happy memories. There have been lots of flops but actors still want to appear in his films because, who knows, it could well be another The Purple Rose of Cairo or another Bullets Over Broadway. Which of his films is your favourite?
SINATRA 100 (Thames & Hudson £40). The Official Centenary Book is a pictorial tribute to one of the great entertainers of our times from his family to his fans. The photographs cover his life and career from the 1930s onwards but, sadly, not his film career. “Sinatra had a wonderful ability to create a mood when he sang,” said Bing Crosby. “I would like,” said Sinatra, “to be remembered as a man who brought an innovation to popular singing.” The perfect way to flick through this scrapbook would be do so whilst you were listening to Sinatra singing and this you can do with a deluxe 2 DVD edition titled Sinatra All Or Nothing At All (published by Universal).
DENNIS STOCK |JAMES DEAN (Thames & Hudson £24.95) James Dean, the most exciting American actor since Marlon Brando, made three films: East of Eden, Rebel without a Causeand Giant. The film to see is East of Eden. He died in a car crash on 30 September1955 just before they were released. He was 24-years-old. His death was front page news. The shock was enormous. What roles would he have acted had he lived? Photojournalist Dennis Stock had taken Dean on to the streets of New York and then back to his hometown of Fairmount, Indiana. The innovative, moody, black and white photo reportages caught the environment that had affected and shaped him.
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