Product Description
Offering a comprehensive overview of Orson Welles' life and career, this book highlights the filmmaker's career, emphasizing his astonishing precocity and extraordinary talent that resulted in great success as well as puzzling failure.At the core of the book are sustained studies of Welles' masterpieces, Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons, and critically incisive accounts of his other major films, The Lady from Shanghai, Touch of Evil, Othello, Macbeth, and Chimes at Midnight. ... Read more

Product Description

The classic novel--and hit Broadway show--about escaped convict Jean Valjean

has been adapted with easy-to-read text, large type, and short chapters. This

engaging adaptation of the timeless tale is ideal for reluctant readers and

kids not yet ready to tackle the original.

--This text refers to the paperback edition of this title ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Available for free online
The copyright has expired on this program

[...]
but the indexing info on amazon is valuable!

Very, very good!
This is an excellent example of 1930's radio theater, not to mention a kickin' version of Les Miserables. If you listen closely, you will realize that probably about half of the male characters involved are being read byWelles himself. I have read the book, and it's a pity that Welles didn'tdecide to go the whole nine yards and do most of the book.

Les Miserables: Smithsonian Historical Performances
Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of the Air deliver a seat-riveting performance with Les Miserables. This audio drama, originally aired live, covers the majority of the Les Miserables story. There is no comparisonbetween this rendition of the story and the two movies and Broadway show.First, it tells the story indepth, thus making the Broadway version easierto follow. Second, Welles completely captures the spirit of Jean Valjean.The scene at 2AM where Valjean commits his life to Christ after the Priesthelps him escapes the gendarmes is powerful. Nothing in the play comesclose to this power. The court room scene and emotional trauma Valjean goesthrough in deciding whether he should let a man go to prison who claims tobe him is another spellbinding performance by Welles. The first time Iheard this, I could barely move. It kept my attention for the entireperformance. Though I've seen the play live, and have a video of it, it isthis version by Welles that sticks with me. If you want a story that'struly touching and profoundly moving, skip HBO. Buy this. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a Clown's death
I think it's very charming, almost terrific, here is all Orson Welles, his frigthening love and his magnific sardonic laugh wich overwhelms everityng ... Read more

Product Description
Davies begins his study with a comparison of theatrical and cinematic space showing that the dramatic resources of cinema are essentially spatial. Central chapters focus on Welles' Macbeth, Othello, and Chimes at Midnight; Olivier's Henry V, Hamlet, and Richard III; Brook's King Lear; and Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. Davies then discusses the dramatic problems the sources for these films pose for the film maker and he examines how these films influenced later theatrical stagings. The book concludes by exploring the demands that distinguish the work of a Shakespearean stage actor from his counterpart's in film. ... Read more

Product Description
The misunderstood genius

A recognized prodigy at age 10, world famous by age 23, Orson Welles was a triple magician of theater, radio, and film—and by age 25 a promising figure in American politics. President Franklin Roosevelt encouraged him to try a run for the Senate; newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst branded him a pariah. But by the time he turned 30, Orson Welles’ professional success ended irreversibly; from then until the day he died, he endured ridicule and reproach over what many judged his "failure." Few knew how feverishly he had persisted as an independent filmmaker. Now, decades after his death, "new" work keeps emerging, and his reputation as an undefeated genius and creator only grows. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A wonderful visual history.
I'm a big fan of Orson Welles after recently watching the movie "Citizen Kane".I was blown away by the movie, but also by the great actor.

I decided to delve deeper into his career, and I chose this book for a great starter.

I found the book to be very good.It goes through the career of Orson Welles from movie #1 (Kane), throughout his death.

The book is filled with great photos, and movie stills, each with a short caption.

Please be aware though, this is a visual history, with very little text.

It does include a bibliography,filmography, and a short roundup of his career, including a time line.

I really enjoyed this book for the broad overview.I will now probably dig deeper with other books.

For the price, I would not hesitate to pick this book up.As they say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and this book is chocked full of them!

I will be picking up more books in this "Movie Icons" format.

Happy reading/viewing! ... Read more

Product Description
This new work contains the most comprehensive bibliography of Orson Welles' work and material written on Welles. It presents a concise history of Welles' life and career, paying special attention to the ways he was presented by the media. The book contains a brief yet precise analysis of each of Welles' projects, with particular emphasis on the works he was unable to complete and those which have been diminished by outside editing or since lost. The book also contains a comprehensive bibliography of Welles' writings, productions, and appearances. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Film description but little else
I have to confess I don't understand a book about films that spends most of its time summarizing the plot of the films. Not all film books do this, but a lot of them do. Don't the authors understand that if we are picking up a book about films, we want to know about the films, and the chances are pretty good that we already have seen the films, and if we are reading a book about them, the chances are that we know the plots pretty well. What we are looking for is the stuff you can't get from watching the films. Background about the principals, social and financial influences, production problems, etc.

This book is primarily a summary of the plots in Welles' films. There is little else, apart from criticism of Welles, a lot of which is probably deserved, but is better delivered from the people who make the criticisms (his co-stars, actors, camera people, etc) than coming directly from Higham.

People looking for a book about Welles should go elsewhere. ... Read more

Product Description
Steve Vertlieb met science fiction icon Forry Ackerman when he was 19, and since that time he has written reviews and articles for dozens of publications, on such diverse topics as Star Trek, King Kong, the music of Bernard Herrmann, the films of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Orson Welles, and interviewed several. He also became lifelong friends with such individuals as composer Miklos Rozsa and of course Forry Ackerman.

In this anthology, we collect together several of Steve's articles published in The Thunder Child webzine, plus a few that appeared in other locations and are reprinted here with their kind permission.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introducing Steve Vertlieb

Reminiscences
1.The Most “Famous Monster” of Them All: A Personal Remembrance of Forrest J. Ackerman
2.A Chip off the Old Bloch
3.How I Met the Blob
4.The “Milk” of Human Kindness

Tributes
1.The Gentle Monster – The Life of Boris Karloff
2.Vampire in the Shadows – The Life of Bela Lugosi
3.Xanadu: A Castle in the Clouds – The Life of Orson Welles
4.Time After Time – The Life of Miklos Rozsa
6.Between This World and the Next – The Twilight Zone

Documentaries
1. Under The Stars of Egypt: The Making of Kreating Karloff

Reviews
1. Movie:The Dark Knight
2. Movie: Peter Jackson’s King Kong
3. DVD Release: Peter Jackson’s King Kong Revisited
4. SoundtrackCDs: Tribute Film Classics: Mysterious Island, Fahrenheit 451 and “Walking Distance”, Varese Sarabande’s North By Northwest
5. Documentary: Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann
6. SoundtrackCDs: Monstrous Music: The Blob and The Intruder
7. SoundtrackCD: Howard Shore’s Return of the King
8. Rock Musical CD: Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds

Interviews
1.The Thunder Child Interviews Steve Vertlieb
2.The Return of Steve Vertlieb: The Thunder Child Interviews Steve Vertlieb Again
... Read more

Product Description
This film biography contains every one of Welles' projects, including those which were abandoned, complete with full cast lists, credits, synopses and production notes. It covers both his acting and directing, including films such as "Citizen Kane", "Compulsion" and "The Lady from Shanghai". ... Read more