Try to Tell the Story
by David Thomson (Knopf)
The British-born film historian and critic (“New Biographical Dictionary of Film,” “Have You Seen . . .?”) tells his own story of growing up an only child in bombed-out postwar London and how he came to love movies. Thomson tells Required Reading, “The movie that most catches the period and mood of my memoir is John Boorman’s ‘Hope and Glory’ [1987].” But if there was a movie made of Thomson’s life from this memoir, Nicole Kidman would play his mother and he’d like to see Orson Welles play him, “because he had a child in him always – picture him on Nicole’s lap.”
India: A Cultural Journey
photographs by Laurence Mouton and Sergio Ramazzotti, text by Catherine Bourzat
(Putumayo World Culture)
For filmgoers whose interest in India has been piqued by Oscar fave “Slumdog Millionaire,” this first book from the folks best known for introducing people to music from around the world through their compilation CDs is a fine next step. The first thing you notice in this splendid 270-page photo book are the vivid colors – saffrons, pinks, greens. Divided into chapters such as “Bazaars and Markets” or “Land of a Million Gods,” you get the impression of India as a land bursting at the seams.
Variety’s The Movies That Changed My Life
by Robert Hofler (Da Capo Press)
Variety editor Hofler snagged a lot of A-listers for his fun project, including Jack Nicholson on “On the Waterfront” and Nicole Kidman on “The Wizard of Oz.” Hofler tells us the Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton “Cleopatra” is his own pick. “I was 10 when it came out, and I knew everything about Liz’s breakup with Eddie Fisher and ‘the love triangle that shocked the world.’ I was completely enthralled by not only the entire torrid affair but the fact that 20th Century Fox practically went bankrupt when the film’s cost ballooned to $40 million. The combination of money and sex was irresistible . . . I’m sure it’s why I became an entertainment journalist.”
Movies: The Ultimate Insider’s Guide to Cinema’s Hidden Gems
edited by Robert Kahn (Rizzoli)
There’s a lot of film fun packed into this small volume. Aimed more at the cinéaste, Kahn’s contributors offer thoughts on a broader and deeper list of films: “The Hill” (Woody Allen), “The Savage is Loose” (Alec Baldwin), “Canyon Passage” (Martin Scorsese), for example. As for tonight’s Academy Awards, Kahns tells us he’d like to see the host be “Mark Twain, but if he is unavailable, George Clooney.”
Joseph P. Kennedy Presents His Hollywood Years
by Cari Beauchamp (Knopf)
Best known as the patriarch of the political dynasty that bears his name, Kennedy was an early force in the movie biz. Relying in part on Kennedy’s personal papers, previously open only to family, the author shows how he killed vaudeville by purchasing a big theater chain and dumping live shows for motion pictures, as well as his business and personal affairs with Gloria Swanson (and the disastrous film “Queen Kelly”) which left her deep in debt.