[ebooks] Controversy in French Drama: Moliegrave;rersquo;s Tartuffe and the Struggle for Influence by J. Prest in Arts-Photography

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Class ActBy Critic41Just a nice biography by an amazing talent and gentleman34 of 39 people found the following review helpful. A Limited PerspectiveBy R. BonoIve read almost all of the books on Astaire and when they fail; they first fail the test of balance...the test of proper weighing. The central mistake is to weigh Astaires great achievements in solo dance; significantly over his great achievements in paired dance. The duets are typically underrated; as is the evaluation of his early career. In setting out to further iconize Astaire; writers like Levinson; not only give second class status to his greatest dancer partner; Ginger Rogers; (Hyam; Croce; and Mueller); they also; quite mindlessly; give lower status Astaires COMPLETE achievement...defeating their own stated purposes.This results in damage to the good reputations of all concerned....even in spite of good intentions. I am sorry to hear of Mr. Levinsons passing; but this book should not have been written. There are better books on Fred than this one. Not only does it fail to weigh the establishment of Astaires career correctly; it also has more than a few obvious errors on his formative films.What makes the book additionally disturbing is that Levinson repeats the many false statements about the alleged conflict between Fred and Ginger...false stories that emanated from the RKO publicity department to explain their breakup to the public...when the real reason was their eventual declining box office. This would be understandable in earlier years; but today; it has been refuted by so many sources; that it is just unacceptable; and should be seen as the serious error it is. After ten films; of course; there would have had to have been a few short lived "snits"; as Rogers called them. But the steady respect and affection that each had for the other; throughout their entire lives; seems not to have made an impression on critics like Levinson...no matter how many times they have been denied by the accused.Levinson serves a half-baked souffle. Its disappointing; and honestly I ready to sent the whole dish back to the kitchen.Astaires career had several aspects; but his early career was crucial to all his future successes. In this phase; he established his formidable creative process in dance; singing; music; acting; and directing. In this phase; he perfected his integrated approach to all elements of the dance-musical. And in this phase; he established his modus operandi in both the paired and solo dances. Central to this effort was Ginger Rogers.It is difficult today to recall the absolutely electrifying effect that the Fred and Ginger partnership had on audiences of the 1930s. When they were dancing on screen: quiet prevailed; breathing ceased; and hearts fluttered. Upon their completion; movie audiences burst into spontaneous applause.It is difficult to recall this today...but its only mathematics to note that typically; in each of their films; THREE of the FOUR dances were DUETS. Hollywood producers then (as now); were hard boiled money-men...so its quite safe to say; that this was not just happenstance. It was the PAIRED dances that sparked the imaginations of millions and created the tremendous box office bonanza for RKO. It was the PAIRED dances that established Astaires career and assured his success and legend.And what did the often reticent Fred say about his pairing with his greatest dance partner? Heres his rare evaluation: "Ginger was brilliantly effective. She made everything work for her. Actually she made everything very fine for both of us and she deserves MOST of the credit for our success.". Emphasis mine.By their third film; Ginger was filled with self-confidence under Astaires and Hermes Pans coaching. Not every dancer then could have withstood Freds insistent perfectionism. Rogers; petite; 5-4; 105 pounds; was mentally strong; and highly motivated and determined. She never once cracked. She was the "tough cookie" who just practiced harder. The results in virtuosic performance show an ease and grace that was underlied...unlike Adele...by an extraordinary commitment and unheard of hours of practice.With Rogers; first among his partners; Astaire was able to achieve greater and greater choreographic and rhythmic complexity; knowing full well that she was capable of handling anything he and Pan could imagine. And in fact; Ginger herself; as Fred and Pan acknowledged; made her own contributions in this sphere as well.Now add to this; the chemistry; and genuine poignancy; between them...even when not dancing; but when acting...and you begin to see Gingers central importance to the whole enterprise. Rogers was a quality actress who also danced...and beautifully so. She dramatized every dance; with great technical skill; in a whole range of emotions. Astaire and Rogers were of one mind; and heart; and soul; on the dance floor. They together; were much more than the sum of two parts...and as such; were much more than any other of Astaires later pairings. They together entered that rarefied realm of the sublime; time and time again....in ten films.Rather than buying this book; I would recommend John Muellers "Astaire Dancing"; or Hannah Hyams "Fred and Ginger"; and still Arlene Croces "The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Book".Well needless to say...that in missing all this; Levinsens book misses much about what is most essential about Fred. The books major shortcoming...and there are many others...is that it fails; on its own terms; to give an objective view of Astaires life and career; by failing to properly weigh the key role of Ginger Rogers; in performance; of the greatest of all film partnerships. Fans of Fred Astaire ought to be indignant at such treatment. Fred was.WAITER! OH; WAITER!2 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Overview of Levinsons book and commentsBy Ronald SimoneAn in depth study of Astaires life and era. This book uses many of Astaireswords from his autobio "Steps in Time"......and then fills in a lengthy objective review of his life and career. Mr. Levinson fills in many facts and comments by Astaires peers and associates not included in Astaires book. I was especially enlightened by Mr. Levinsons comments on Fred Astaires jewish roots. For whatever reason Mr. Astaire had for not including that biographical fact in his bio remains a mystery to me. Everyone of us has had some "warts" in our life. Mr. Levinson; while not trying to "damage" Astaires career; faithfully includes these facts in his book.I; as a professional pianist; having worked with some of the best choreographersand dancers in the business; have had much input from many of the people mentionedin Levinsons book. I have also worked with Ginger Rogers and played many timesunder Hal Borne of whom I heard countless stories of the Fred and Ginger years.Truthfully; I adore Astaire and his fabulous career. What a talent! Well neversee another one. Ron Simone