Book Recommendations

Noir City Annual

Various (Editor: Smith, Imogen Sara) - Noir City Annual 16

Longtime contributor Smith takes over the editor’s role this outing. As always, diverse topics, a few unfamiliar gems, and late appreciations.

“Stoner Noir”, from the very title, one realizes most will be later films. Highlight, Lebowski.

“No Exit” makes a case for one of Orson Welles forgotten films, “The Trial” with Anthony Perkins, filmed before the actor was doomed by typecasting. Other Kafka adaptations are discussed, acknowledging how difficult the author has been to turn into cinema. No mention of the superb 2024 series.

“Architects Of Illusion” – Classic era art directors and set design, what a great choice! From those who were blessed with handsome budgets, to those who scraped by with loose change and imagination.

An essay on Roger Touhy, Chicago gangster. And the movie somewhat based on him. Added to my to-find list, no matter how poor.

“Ripped From The Headlines!” details the original, fact-based incidents that sparked subsequent films, which most Noir fans have screened.

Likewise, “Guns For Hire”, a survey of hired assassins. Hitmen. There are far too many stories about the triggermen, so there will be missing gems. This is a nice smattering.

Profiles include Jean Hagen, Walter Matthau (really? yes, really), Bob Rafelson (focusing on late works).

Usually, I make a list of reviews ruined by spoilers. Lazy writers who equate a synopsis with a review. Editor Smith seems to have checked those tendencies. Bravo. There are countless newcomers who have not viewed all films, and don’t need those ruined with gushed endings.
 
Re: Noir City Annual

Zaharoff said:
Various (Editor: Smith, Imogen Sara) - Noir City Annual 16

“No Exit” makes a case for one of Orson Welles forgotten films, “The Trial” with Anthony Perkins, filmed before the actor was doomed by typecasting. Other Kafka adaptations are discussed, acknowledging how difficult the author has been to turn into cinema. No mention of the superb 2024 series.
Click to expand...

I like the film The Trial with Kyle MacLachlan and Anthony Hopkins. Soderbergh's Kafka was a mess. Michael Haneke adapted The Castle which I have yet to see.
 
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Thrower on Franco

Thrower, Stephen - Flowers Of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco, Volume 2

Monumental book on the cinema of Jess Franco.
This explores the films from 1975 – 2013. Reviews, opinions, running times, various versions.
Masses of photos. Screengrabs, stills, private snapshots.
Backstories, locations, ongoing events and changes in the film industry.
For the casual viewer, maybe not, although the price has always been reasonable, if not downright tempting. For buffs who like Franco, or just appreciate him, this is essential.
Personally, I took my time with this, taking a year to read front to back.
It is easy to get overwhelmed, and discouraged, as when Franco and crew make lesser films, usually owning to financial necessities.
 
Necronomicon Book Two

Various (Editor: Black, Andy) - Necronomicon Book Two

This set rectifies an omission from the first book straightaway. Jess Franco. The first section details how heavily influenced Franco was by de Sade, referencing several films. Following is a lively interview with Franco.

“Abnormal Ward” explores earlier films of Hisayasu Sato, often voyeuristic prowls by damaged observers amidst indifferent back alley cruelty.

“Strange Images Of Death” is a real high point in this collection. Paralleling the Polanski version of Macbeth with the Tate murders. Of further reading for the Manson events, find Ed Sanders’ “The Family” followed with “Helter Skelter” by Vince Bugliosi.

“Tits, Ass and Swastikas” serves as an introduction to Nazispliotation. For my money, it would be easier and more efficient to watch the breezy, sleazy documentary, Fascism On A Thread.

Less popular than his more celebrated works, Russ Meyer’s Mudhoney is presented as an early take on the demise of the American Dream in “Rope Of Flesh”.

Final section, “Female Vampires”, checklists the earliest with Gloria Holden, onto Hammer, then Franco and Rollin. Le Fanu’s “Carmilla” is pretty much the inspiration for many of the early films. With Franco and Rollin, one offers blood and carnality, the other dreamlike sensuality.

A good followup to Volume One, used copies usually affordable.
 
Martin Newell

Newell, Martin - This Little Ziggy

“Music-biz success is comprised of five basic ingredients: right sound; right place; right time; right look and right age. The first four of these, you might have some influence upon, but talent often takes a long time to develop and the whole of that time, the clock is ticking away.” mn

The writer refers to these adventures as fiction, and I politely disagree. These essays are memoirs, recollections, perhaps tidied or distorted, jumbled or massaged. There is a ring of truth throughout. So, fiction? Not totally. (Note: I refer to my own essays as fables, but most are pretty accurate.)

Travel stories of a soldier’s son, across England, and also Singapore, back when travel was exotic.
Teenage kicks. The wrong crowd, drugs, acting out, drugs, baffling females, drugs. Police.

Followed by salvation. Joining a covers band, The Mighty Plod, Colchester’s finest.

This is the heart of an extremely entertaining read. Mistakes, pitfalls, perils for a struggling young band.
Newell possesses a droll sense of humor and a skeptical view of fame and the music business.

Hunt around, you might listen to their demo songs on a global video site.
 
Martin Newell

Newell, Martin - The Greatest Living Englishman

Followup to This Little Ziggy picks up immediately after events of that memoir.
Time frame runs roughly twenty years, from 1974 to 1995.
The fatigued demise of The Mighty Plod to the “The Off White Album”.
In-between are creative adventures, as well as the slog of the ups and downs.
This entertaining book relies on diaries and journals, and feels fairly accurate.

I am long familiar with Newell the musician. In the early 1990’s, coworkers at the record shop, bemused by a lizard tea party, opened The Brotherhood Of Lizards compact disc and played it. “Lizardland” became part of in-store rotation for a few months. I bought that, then later, “The Greatest Living Englishman” on CD, followed by more titles on small labels and from JAR.

For curious buyers, this book is exorbitantly priced at mainstream book dealers. Avoid those.
Martin sells this book direct on Bandcamp. He gave me permission to include the link.
https://thecleanersfromvenus.bandcamp.com/merch/the-greatest-living-englishman
Martin is a “cottage industry”. Support him and others like him, rather than second-hand souls.
Goodnight, Illya.
 
Succubus (Necronomicon)

Lucas, Tim - Succubus (Necronomicon)

It is not Franco’s most important film, nor his best, nor the most accessible.
Nevertheless, it is the transition film, the pivot.
Where he was given carte blanche, meaning a pile of money, to make whatever kind of film he wanted.
Never before, and never again, would Jess Franco be handed so much artistic freedom.
Writer and film historian Lucas takes a deep, deep dive into a singular film.
Comparing and contrasting the two different versions, French and American.
And no, the dubbed version is not the lamentable ripoff.
An experienced soul, steeped in culture, fashioned the US dub.
For fans of this director, this is key to understanding a moment in his career where doors opened.
For those who do not know Jess Franco, or dismiss him as a porn hack, this is not the book for you.
Packed with photos and footnotes, a great addition to one’s cinema library.
γνῶθι σεαυτόν
 
Whispers

Various (Editor: Schiff, Stuart David) - Whispers

Juicy sampling from one of the most acclaimed Horror fanzines from the 70’s and 80’s.
Opening with Karl Edward Wagner, closing with Ramsey Campbell.
In between: Fritz Leiber, Robert Bloch, Hugh Cave, Brian Lumley, Robert Aickman, many others.
Illustrators include Tim Kirk, Lee Brown Coye, Stephen Fabian.
These predate the Splatterpunk run, and are similar to classic Arkham House.

“The Closer Of The Way” makes a great in-joke from the genre’s top prankster.

The taped interview provides all the clues one needs in “Dark Winner”, a bitter competition that extended beyond the grave.

“Ladies In Waiting” manages to be suspenseful, sensual, and horrifying. Never relax on dusty sheets.

Whether the gentleman’s club or explorer’s club, the setting abides. Leather chairs, fireplace, a tumbler of single malt, cigars. And a yarn. “Antiquities” combines Egypt, cats, the exotic female, rural misdeeds.

“The Goat” features the malicious, know-all neighbor. Who knows what occurs behind doors, what was buried in your past, the slips unseen by everyone else. Sneering blackmail or exposure.

Issues of the old, stapled-together Whispers can hard to acquire. The HC compilations are generally affordable and will quench your thirst for old school horrors.
 
The Descent

Probert, Kate - The Descent

Asthmatics, those plagued by claustrophobia, nyctophobia, or being a main course.
Neil Marshall’s 2005 shocker is one to avoid.
This book is a fine companion for those who want to know more about the participants, locations, facts.
Facts becomes a dodgy area, since writer Probert received a parcel from “Tasha”, supposedly member of the original cave party on which the film is based.
Before officials obliterated all traces and concealed mountain openings.
This is highly readable and the author is enthusiastic.

I grew up in Appalachia and caved for over a decade. I saw the film during its run, knew it was not filmed in Appalachia, but that was OK. Sent DVDs to old companions.
One of our tricks for finding “new to us” caves was to look for warm mist rising from openings. Spring or fall, early mornings were best times, when the air was cool but the cave system was warmer.
Good luck. Tell others where you might be. Although we never did.
 
Plan 9

Coldiron, Katharine - Plan 9 From Outer Space

Excellent, in-depth analysis of a bad film, ridiculed, scorned, yet regarded fondly.
Scene by scene, Coldiron breaks down poor scenes, incompetent dialogue, amateurish mistakes.
Ed Wood desperately wanted to make films, but he simply did not have the chops.
Time and again, the author points out where Wood could easily have salvaged a scene. But no.
For all that, she enjoys watching this film, and others from this director.
She has no use for Hollywood formula, tentpoles, white bread, similar to my own tastes.
One point struck me, Plan 9 has NEVER been shown in Wood’s intended aspect ratio, which would have cropped boom mics, tops of sets, other errors.
An enjoyable read for those who have a taste for “bad cinema”, and delight in being surprised.

440px-PlanNine_08.jpg
 
The Science of Weird Shit: Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal, by Chris French (MIT Press, 2024)
The author is a psychologist who believes that most people who experience 'anomalous' or paranormal phenomena are not necessarily frauds or idiots, but are sincere in relating their experiences. Because the phenomena (ghosts, alien abductions, miracles, etc.) are incapable of proof that satisfies science, he asks what else might cause such sincerely held beliefs? It is an even-handed and fair-minded book with some fascinating case studies. Recommended!
 
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