The Tragedie of Coriolanus: Applause First Folio Editions (Applause Shakespeare Library Folio Texts) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is Shakespeare's greatest tragedy in my opinion.Everybody talks about Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet, but Coriolanus for some reason is mostly, and unjustly, ignored.I feel that Coriolanus is the only pure tragedy among Shakespeare's works.Macbeth was a sociopath who brought all his troubles on himself;Hamlet was a confused young man who couldn't make a decision and who waited too long to get the job done; King Lear was an old fool who played games with his daughters and brought most of his problems on himself; Othello could have avoided his problems if he simply sat down and had a real conversation with his wife; and Romeo and Juliet were just a couple of immature kids who simply needed a few hard kicks in their butts.Coriolanus is different.Coriolanus was simply an honest, hard-working soldier who got the job done and told the truth, but was brought down by the guile of his enemies.That, in my opinion, is the greatest tragedy of them all.
It seems that people either love or hate this play.Many consider Coriolanus to be a very unlikable character because he is supposedly arrogant, but I disagree.Coriolanus just worked hard, told the truth, was a straight shooter, and refused to play silly games by telling people what they wanted to hear.I guess I see something different in this play than most critics and readers of Shakespeare.

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The Life and Death of King John: Applause First Folio Editions (Applause Shakespeare Library Folio Texts) Review

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(More customer reviews)KING JOHN has one of Shakespeare's best death scenes and a character, Faulconbridge the bastard son of Richard the Lion Hearted, who is a first draft for Falstaff -- and better integrated into the play's main action than Falstaff is. It's unique among Shakespeare's works in being about Realpolitik in a genuine historical context -- as if a modern American playwright should write a play about George Washington's political compromises, complete with a presentation of the real historical situations that led up to them. Faulconbridge is there to make cynical comments, and yet remain loyal to King John, who almost, but not quite, becomes a child murderer in the course of the action. Earlier, the complexities of wartime politics are revealed when a town refuses to admit either the King of England or the King of France as its rightful ruler until the two kings have fought out the question first -- whereupon the two kings decide to agree on a truce, just long enough to wipe the town out together, then go back to fighting one another. The play is a wonderful mix of history and ironic commentary, one of two plays of Shakespeare's that is entirely in verse (the other one is RICHARD II, which he wrote just before KING JOHN), and it's tragically poetic and satiric in equal measure. Shakespeare never wrote anything else quite like it. If he wrote better plays, they were also different kinds of plays: this one is unique. The Folger edition has excellent notes for beginning students; the Oxford edition is for more advanced students, and also exceptionally good.

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If there ever has been a groundbreaking edition that likewise returns the reader to the original Shakespeare text, it will be the Applause Folio Texts. If there has ever been an accessible version of the Folio, it is this edition, set for the first time in modern fonts.
The Folio is the source of all other editions. The Folio text forces us to re-examine the assumptions and prejudices which have encumbered over four hundred years of scholarship and performance. Notes refer the reader to subsequent editorial interventions, and offer the reader a multiplicity of interpretations. Notes also advise the reader on variations between Folios and Quartos.
The heavy mascara of four centuries of Shakespearean glossing has by now glossed over the original countenance of ShakespeareÕs work. Never has there been a Folio available in modern reading fonts. While other complete Folio editions continue to trade simply on the facsimile appearance of the Elizabethan "look," none of them is easily and practically utilized in general Shakespeare studies or performances.

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Classical Tragedy - Greek and Roman: Eight Plays in Authoritative Modern Translations Review

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(More customer reviews)my product arrived quickly and in good condition. the details about the product's quality were very accurate.

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A collection of eight plays along with accompanying critical essays. Includes: "The Oresteia" - Aeschylus; "Prometheus Bound" - Aeschylus; "Oedipus the King" - Sophocles; "Antigone" - Sophocles; "Medea" - Euripides; "The Bakkhai" - Euripides; "Oedipus" - Seneca; "Medea" - Seneca.

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The Second Part of Henry the Sixt: Applause First Folio Editions (Applause Shakespeare Library Folio Texts) (Pt. 2) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Henry V" and "Richard III" seem to be the most popular history plays of Shakespeare. But I myself lean towards this one. The play starts with the wedding of King Henry VI and Queen Margaret. At this point in the war between France and England, France has gained the upper hand, but England does still control Calais, Anou, Maine, Normandy, and some areas around Bordeaux. Well, the virtuous Gloucester (and the only remaining son of King Henry IV) is shocked that Anjou and Maine have to be returned to france as well. This angers York, and he thinks this is just reason to act on his claim to the crown. (In history, York was VERY LOYAL to Henry VI, and it was SEVERAL things including some threats from Margaret that made him take up arms.)

Moving on, we later see that Glouceter's wife has her eyes on the crown. Meanwhile, Margaret is growing weary of King Henry VI, and her affair with Suffolk becomes more prevalent. Act 1 ends with the dramatic scene of Pagan Prophecies and Lady Glouceter's arrest.

Act 2 begins with the comical scene of the false miracle. Though the comedy breaks when Gloucester learns of his wife's treason. York gathers his alies Salisbury and Warwick and plans his moves to seize the crown. In one of his stronger moments, King Henry VI orders the execution of those who plotted against him. Though he is smart and treats Lady Glouceter more gently. (Public Penance)

Later, we learn that England has lost all of its land in France. (Thoughin history they still held Calais, and would continue to do so even in the later reigns of King Henry VIII and his son Edward VI.)

Moving on, York, Somerset, the Cardinal, Suffolk, and Queen Margaret all accuse Gloucester of treason. He defends himself with dignity, but is arrested. King Henry VI is often rebuked for his weakness here, but he does recover to banish the vile Suffolk. Perhaps one of the greatest scenes is 3.3 when the Cardinal dies in the midst of insanity (quite possiblyover the guilt of Gloucester). Yet King Henry VI forgives him: "Forbear to judge, for we are sinners all."

Act 4 is dominated mostly by the rebel Jack Cade. He has launched an uprising against the king, and is quite theatrical and offers some comical moments. He gets far, but is eventually defeated by Buckingham and Clifford. Cade escapes, but is soon killed by Iden.

Onto the final act. York returns from Ireland in arms, but Buckingham convinces him that King Henry has consented to his demands and imprisoned Somerset. This proves not to be, and York and his sons Edward and Richard take up arms, and the war begins. York does gain the advantage here, but things aren't over. King Henry VI and Margaret escape. And Young Clifford finds his father killed by the Yorks. (And now Clifford wants revenge.) This passage on revenge combines hatred, beauty, and sorrow well.

Overall, this is arguably the strongest of the history plays.

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If there ever has been a groundbreaking edition that likewise returns the reader to the original Shakespeare text, it will be the Applause Folio Texts. If there has ever been an accessible version of the Folio, it is this edition, set for the first time in modern fonts.
The Folio is the source of all other editions. The Folio text forces us to re-examine the assumptions and prejudices which have encumbered over four hundred years of scholarship and performance. Notes refer the reader to subsequent editorial interventions, and offer the reader a multiplicity of interpretations. Notes also advise the reader on variations between Folios and Quartos.
The heavy mascara of four centuries of Shakespearean glossing has by now glossed over the original countenance of ShakespeareÕs work. Never has there been a Folio available in modern reading fonts. While other complete Folio editions continue to trade simply on the facsimile appearance of the Elizabethan "look," none of them is easily and practically utilized in general Shakespeare studies or performances.

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Applause First Folio of Shakespeare in Modern Type: Comedies, Histories and Tragedies (Applause First Folio Editions) Review

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(More customer reviews)A Crazy Scheme?
The Applause First Folio of Shakespeare should not be confused with a facsimile of the 1623 folio published by Applause in the 1990's. In the earlier facsmile, Applause used the images from
the Norton Facsimile without permission. W. W. Norton sued, and Applause withdrew the facsimile. In 2001 Applause published another edition of the first folio, this one being in modern
type. It's not specifically a facsimile edition, but it does present the Shakespeare's plays in the order they were presented in the 1623 folio. Though this edition is in modern type the spelling and punctuation of the first folio have been for the most part retained.
In his acknowlegements Freeman thanks his publisher for persisting with such a crazy scheme. Crazy? Perhaps. Audacious? Certainly. You see, Freeman is an actor, not a textual scholar and he rejects the work of textual scholars. For example, he proposes that the punctuation marks of the folio are rhetorical signals. They are the cues for the actors. This controversial proposition has been roundly criticized by many scholars, but Freeman is undaunted. I applaud his audacity. The great value of this edition is that it retains so much of the spelling and punctuation of the 1623 folio. Finally we have an original spelling edition of most of Shakespeare's plays in print.
It is important to note that this is not a complete edition of Shakespeare's writings. The narrative poems, the sonnets, the occasional poems, "Pericles," and "Two Noble Kinsmen" are not included.
It should be stated that this edition does not in every instance reproduce the spelling of the 1623 folio. Freeman's treatment of abbrivations is unsatisfactory. For example it was common practice in the 17th century to represent certain words by a special kind of abbrivation. On page lviii Freeman explains that "y" with an umlaut was usually short hand for "you," "thee," "thou,""thy," "thine," or "yours." The 1623 folio usually spells these abbrivations differently from the way Freeman describes it. The word "thou" could be represented by the letter "y" with the superscript "u" directly on top of it. The word "that" could be written with the letter "y" with the superscript "t" directly over it. The word "the" could be written with the letter "y" with the superscript "e" directly over it and so on. In Freeman's edition all the superscript letters are replaced by umlauts, so there is no way of telling what the superscript letter was, and hence no way of knowing what the word is. So when you come across the line "Thou do'st then wrong me, as (y/with umlaut) slaughterer doth" (page 441, col. 2, line 1) are you supposed to read:
"Thou do'st then wrong me, as thou slaughterer doth," or
"Thou do'st then wrong me, as thee slaughterer doth," or
"Thou do'st then wrong me, as that slaughterer doth"?
You'll have to go to a facsimile edition to find out that that the third line is the correct reading. It is also interesting to note that the word "that" doesn't appear in Freeman's list of what "y with umlaut" could stand for.
The edition should be used with caution.

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This landmark publication is printed in clear, legible type. Each play has its own comprehensive introduction as well as extensive, expert annotations. Highlighted areas show where lines have been altered over time and also shows where verse has been changed to prose in the past (but not here!) The original compositions are marked and folio clues are highlighted.

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The Life of Tymon of Athens: Applause First Folio Editions (Applause Shakespeare Library Folio Texts) Review

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(More customer reviews)Not really one of Shakespeare's better stories; it had potential, given that it's NOT a love story (my largest single objection to most of Shakespeare is that his concept of romantic love strikes me as not just mistaken, but downright pernicious, given that so many people use his concept as their model of what "love" is, and that has led to many, many emotional traumas through the centuries) but even without that difficulty to cause problems in this play, I found the plot somewhat lacking; imagine a story that begins somewhat like the movie "It's A Wonderful Life", starring Jimmy Stewart, in which the main character is a very generous man whose friends have all benefited tremendously from his liberality. Then he runs out of money, and his friends (unlike in the movie) all prove to be flatterers and false friends who do not stand by him. So he goes off and lives in the woods, wears rags, becomes a misanthrope thanks to the disappointment his faith in people suffered, and dies. The end. This is hardly an uplifting story; I realize that it's a tragedy, but it seemed to me that there could have been a LITTLE bit of uplifting turn in the plot before the hero was killed off. And what's more, there doesn't even seem to be a single memorable line in the whole play, which is all that saves SOME of Shakespeare's plots.

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If there ever has been a groundbreaking edition that likewise returns the reader to the original Shakespeare text, it will be the Applause Folio Texts. If there has ever been an accessible version of the Folio, it is this edition, set for the first time in modern fonts.
The Folio is the source of all other editions. The Folio text forces us to re-examine the assumptions and prejudices which have encumbered over four hundred years of scholarship and performance. Notes refer the reader to subsequent editorial interventions, and offer the reader a multiplicity of interpretations. Notes also advise the reader on variations between Folios and Quartos.
The heavy mascara of four centuries of Shakespearean glossing has by now glossed over the original countenance of ShakespeareÕs work. Never has there been a Folio available in modern reading fonts. While other complete Folio editions continue to trade simply on the facsimile appearance of the Elizabethan "look," none of them is easily and practically utilized in general Shakespeare studies or performances.

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The Lamentable Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: Applause First Folio Editions (Applause Shakespeare Library Folio Texts) Review

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(More customer reviews)Now that the film "Titus" is about to open, I thought I had best hear a recorded version of the complete play to keep my mind clear during what is bound to be a perversion. Of course, many consider "TitusAndronicus" a perversion anyway; and to tell the truth, I do get alittle queasy during the various mutilations that make the deaths at theend a relief rather than a shock.But accepting the play on its ownterms, you will find the reissue on tape of the 1966 Caedmon recording of (CF 277) possibly the best directed of the entireclassic series. Howard Sackler has a bunch of professionals onhand and helets them (with one exception) tear up the scenery. Poor Judy Dench, whohas so little to say as Lavinia before the plot makes her say no more, canonly make pathetic noises for most of the play until her final death cry.The evil brothers, played here by John Dane and Christopher Guinee, are notonly evil but sarcastically so--and this works on a recording as it mightnot on the stage.Perhaps Maxine Audley's Tamora is a bit too WickedWitch of the West now and then; but her co-partner in evil, Aron the Moor,is brought to life by Anthony Quayle in a role he made famous on stage,going even further in the outright enjoyment of his ill-doing. Yes, thisplay can easily raise laughs and takes an Olivier to keep the audience inthe tragic mood. (Reports are that he did it so well that some audiencemembers became ill and had to leave.)
Which brings us to MichaelHordern's Titus. Hodern is a fine actor but not a great one. He sufferswell but not grandly. I am surprised that his Big Moment--"I am thesea"--is lost among all the other images in that speech. But anyonecan direct someone else's play.This recording, soon to be rivaled byone in the Arkangel series, is definitely worth having for Quayle'sperformance alone.

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If there has ever been a groundbreaking edition that likewise returns the reader to the original Shakespeare text, it will be THE APPLAUSE FOLIO TEXTS. If there has ever been an accessible version of the Folio, it is this edition, set for the first time in modern fonts. The Folio is the source of all other editions. The Folio text forces us to re-examine the assumptions and prejudices which have encumbered over four hundred years of scholarship and performance. Notes refer the reader to subsequent editorial interventions, and offer the reader a multiplicity of interpretations. Notes also advise the reader on variations between Folios and Quartos. Prepared and annotated by Neil Freeman, Head, Graduate Directing Program, University of British Columbia.

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The Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet: Applause First Folio Editions (Applause Shakespeare Library Folio Texts) Review

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(More customer reviews)Especially for an actor, this is a great first folio edition to work with.It inserts all of the changes throughout the different editions in footnotes so that the reader has a better picture of what has been altered and what is truly original.A great script to go from, I'll definately be looking at the different plays they offer.

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If there has ever been a groundbreaking edition that likewise returns the reader to the original Shakespeare text, it will be THE APPLAUSE FOLIO TEXTS. If there has ever been an accessible version of the Folio, it is this edition, set for the first time in modern fonts. The Folio is the source of all other editions. The Folio text forces us to re-examine the assumptions and prejudices which have encumbered over four hundred years of scholarship and performance. Notes refer the reader to subsequent editorial interventions, and offer the reader a multiplicity of interpretations. Notes also advise the reader on variations between Folios and Quartos. Prepared and annotated by Neil Freeman, Head, Graduate Directing Program, University of British Columbia.

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Salome in Full Score Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a full orchestral score of this innovative opera, with which Richard Strauss shocked the opera world and surprised the avantgarde music scene in 1905.
Even after almost a century, the provocative and wildlyexciting music sounds as voluptuous, as colourful and as ruthless as hardlyany other opera written since.
Like with other publications by Dover,the printing is excellent. This is a copy of the first edition from 1905,which explains why it is so cheap. Other available editions of this scoreare either at a smaller size, or four times more expensive.

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A striking display of atmospheric color brought about by instrumental means, Salome was Strauss' first great operatic success, and now ranks among the basic works of 20th-century music-drama. This large-sized edition is nothing if not definitive-it reprints Strauss' own copy, signed by his publisher and doubtless the one Strauss used on the podium.

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Hamlet - A User's Guide (Limelight) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a book accessible to any Shakespeare reader - not just the theater or academic professional.The writing is direct & dynamic, Pennington discusses each scene & character individually, and his footnotedpersonal comments add even more to one's understanding.I particularlyenjoyed his footnote about advice he received from an 11 year old regardinghow to play Claudius and the Ghost.Something you will find here andrarely elsewhere: more than a passing mention of Rosencrantz &Guildenstern's roles, although I take exception to Pennington's view ofthem as essentionally innocent characters.I'd rate this 5 stars if he hadwritten a better analysis of the character of Horatio.Pennington balanceshis odd defense of R&G by down-playing Horatio's integrity.Hisanalysis of the Play Within the Play Scene comes to an astonishing &wise conclusion about the real victim.I've seen it nowhere else; no - Iwon't tell you here; read the book.Educators: this is an A+ supplement toa class study of Hamlet whether at the high school or college level.

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"Pennington's great experience of the play...love for it...depth of knowledge...of many productions and interpretations culminate in a book of infinite value to any actor, director and above all to any passionate playgoer...written with passion, humor and rigor...an excellent read." -Ralph Fiennes

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The Custom of the Country: Based on Edith Wharton's 1913 Novel (Applause Books) Review

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(More customer reviews)Her most "modern" novel.Undine Spragg is the heroine (?)'s name.She seems ripped from the headlines rather than a product of 1913. Wharton is such a brilliant wordsmith, a real pleasure to read.

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This brilliantly crafted stage version of Wharton's sprawling novel dissecting the New York social scene focuses on the beautiful, but predatory, Undine Spragg and the men in her life. Representing a world motivated by a heartless desire for power and status, Undine takes on lovers and husbands, discarding them when her whims of iron move her. Hitchcock has captured the satiric brilliance of the original work, while managing to transform a narrative of over 500 pages into a tightly-wrought stage piece. In the process, she provides a finely-drawn portrait of an unforgettable heroine against the background of a cruel social milieu dominated by rigid class distinctions and deeply-ingrained prejudices."A luminous adaptation."- Boston Globe

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The Bacchae (The Applause Classical Library, Featuring New) Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Bacchae" was written by Euripides when he was living in Macedonia in virtual exile during the last years of his life.The tragedy was performed in Athens after his death.These factors are important in appreciate this particular Greek tragedy because such plays were performed at a festival that honored the Dionysus, and in "The Bacchae" he is the god who extracts a horrible vengeance.The tragedy clearly demonstrates the god's power, but it is a terrible power, which suggests less than flattering things about the deity himself.
Pentheus was the son of Echion and Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, the founder of the Royal House of Thebes.After Cadmus stepped down the throne, Pentheus took his place as king of Thebes. When the cult of Dionysus came to Thebes, Pentheus resisted the worship of the god in his kingdom.However, his mother and sisters were devotees of the god and went with women of the city to join in the Dionsysian revels on Mount Cithaeron.Pentheus had Dionysus captured, but the god drove the king insane, who then shackled a bull instead of the god.When Pentheus climbed a tree to witness in secret the reverly of the Bacchic women, he was discovered and torn to pieces by his mother and sisters, who, in their Bacchic frenzy, believed him to be a wild beast.The horrific action is described in gory detail by a messenger, which is followed by the arrival of the frenzied and bloody Agave, the head of her son fixed atop her thytsus.
Unlike those stories of classical mythology which are at least mentioned in the writings of Homer, the story of Pentheus originates with Euripides.The other references in classical writing, the "Idylls" written by the Syracusean poet Theocritus and the "Metamorphoses" of the Latin poet Ovid, both post-date"The Bacchae" by centuries.On those grounds, the tragedy of Euripides would appear to be entirely his construct, which would certainly give it an inherent uniqueness over his interpretations of the stories of "Medea," "Electra," and "The Trojan Women."
I see "The Bacchae" as being Euripides' severest indictment of religion and not as the recantation of his earlier rationalism in his old age.The dramatic conflicts of the play stem from religious issues, and without understanding the opposition on Appollonian grounds of Pentheus to the new cult readers miss the ultimate significance of the tragedy.This is not an indictment of Appollonian rationalism, but rather a dramatic argument that, essentially, it is irrational to ignore the irrational.As the fate of Pentheus amply points out, it is not only stupid to do so, it is fatal.Consequently, "The Bacchae" is one of the most important of Greek tragedies.

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THE BACCHAE was not only the last and greatest of EuripidesÕ tragedies, it was very close to the last of the great Greek tragedies. The story of the play is in part about this cultural dissolution in Athens. ItÕs also about the theatre itself, and how a sane society needs strong, intelligent theatre to survive. THE BACCHAE makes a perfect first entry in the new Applause series of classic dramas, because it argues so passionately and beautifully and convincingly for the need for such a theatre, in our era as much as in EuripidesÕ. Herbert Golder in his new translation has turned an ancient play into a new one, one just as potent for an applicable to our troubled times as EuripidesÕ own.

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Giuseppe Verdi - Otello (Study Score) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is THE edition to buy and use. Ricordi is as reliable as it can be in Italian opera scores. Fantastic masterpiece by Verdi, monologue of Jago, Willow song of Desdemona, great drama spanning whole four acts... Highly recommended!

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This opera full score edition includes a colorful cover and an introductory synopsis in English of the libretto.

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Lolita: The Book of the Film (Applause Books) Review

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(More customer reviews)There's a very brief entry by Jeremy Irons, a slightly longer one by Lyne that deals with the travails of the film following its release after everyone's heroic effort to get it made, then Peter Schiff's longer introduction that covers much of the same ground in greater detail.The bulk of the book is made up of the shooting script -- the scenes as they were written and filmed -- before the actual editing and trimming, plus a lot of real estate devoted to screen shots from the film.

I said Schiff's essay gives us greater detail but "greater" is such a relative term.It's clear that getting the production funded, filmed, and marketed was a nightmare, but I'd have liked to know more about some of the pre-production decisions regarding the movie as movie -- not as so much of the public (and professionals) saw it, a rabble-rousing endorsement of pedophilia.Schiff tells us that Irons was the obvious choice for Humbert.Fine, but why?And what made Dominique Swain stand out from the thousands of other young girls whose mothers would willingly have them debauched on screen?Well -- we don't find out.

The rest of the book is in many ways more interesting than the introductory sections.It follows pretty closely the dialog and events we see in the finished product but the excisions are fascinating in themselves.What a country of blue noses we are.The scene in which HH has his first orgasm with Lolita on the Sunday living room couch is gone, for instance.

Too much forbidden sex, although Lolita may be unaware of what happens.But the climactic killing of Quilty, with all its agony and its oceans of gore, is intact.It's okay to shoot a man in cold blood, to put innumerable holes through his naked body, and to show it realistically -- but don't touch a fourteen-year-old knee.

The script presented here follows the novel far more closely than Kubrick's did.In some ways it's a weakness because a lot of what goes on in the novel isn't spelled out in the dialog, only in HH's descriptions of it, as Schiff points out.This requires that some original dialog be added, and the writers (who included at one point David Mamet) do a pretty good job of it.It's tough enough to squeeze a classic novel into the shape of a movie.Joseph Strick tried it with "Ulysses" and it was a dismal failure.Lyne's "Lolita" more closely approaches success.

I was reminded of another attempt to shape a long and complex novel into a film: "The Caine Mutiny."In the book, Captain Queeg's paranoia gradually reveals itself in a series of related incidents of enough intricacy that they simply couldn't be depicted in the movie.So, early on, during the first wardroom meeting, Queeg's neurotic behavior is adumbrated in a single statement.He's describing his experiences in the Atlantic and adds:"The way those subs ganged up on us, I thought they had it in for me persnally."To me, that represents skillfull screen writing and the script of "Lolita" shows it in abundance.

Yet, by sticking to the events of the novel as closely as it does, the script misses something.It misses the same thing that Strick's version of "Ulysses" did."Lolita" is, at base, a serious and even tragic story, but not as HH tells it.A few earnest passages aside, it's hilarious.But the script can't capture most of the comic turns taken by Nabokov's prose.What little humor there is, is confined to a few brief moments -- the mix-ups over HH's name, for instance.At the Beardsley School for Girls the headmistress addresses him as "Professor Himmler."And at the Enchanted Hunters, he coldly informs the clerk that "the name is not Humbug but Herbert -- I mean Humbert."

And, man, does this script need some of the novel's humor.Kubrick at least had a non-canonical Peter Sellers in five different roles.(Some were more successful than others.)And it had an African-American hotel porter wrestling with a fold-up cot that insisted on reverting to its more compact form.

Lyne's movie has none of Sellers' outrageous hamminess and no slapstick.And the absence of that ludic element turns the script into a somewhat gloomy love story.The moody musical score helps keep it there.So does the photography which is too often dark, foggy, and rainy, whereas Nabokov's novel was full of sunshine, beaches, vast furrowed plains, and craggy mountains.

Okay.At its base, it's a tragedy.We know that.But why remove the one element that makes it more than that?I guess, in a way, it can't be helped.HH was pretty snotty, and contemptuous of almost everyone he met, but that was all internally edited by him.Outwardly he was polite and a little distant in a proper aristocratic way.His demeanor was phony but deliberately so, and the irony of the contrast between his amused contempt and his interactional delicacy is gone.

I suppose this is about as good as it can get.There is always so much more to a work of fiction than what we see on the screen, at least as far as a classic work like "Lolita" is concerned.Hitchcock's movie of "Psycho" was actually an improvement over Robert Bloch's unimaginative story.

No comment on those who find the novel or either film version offensive because the story is an endorsement of pedophilia, or because it encourages statutory rape or something.

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Product Description:
Foreward by Jeremy Irons and preface by Adrian Lyne. Based on the novel by Vladimir Nabokov. In the introduction to the Applause LOLITA, Schiff tells the astounding story behind the most controversial movie of our time.

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Romeo and Juliet Overture and Capriccio Italien in Full Score Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an easy-to-read set of score of two of Peter Tchaikovsky's most celebrated orchestral works.As to Capriccio Italien, Tchaikovsky began composing this upon the inspiration he got when he was staying in Florence,Italy.It is a bunch of published Italian folk-tunes and popular tunesthat caught his ears during his stay in Italy.He began composing in Romein 1880 and finished it after he returned to Russia.Romeo and Juliet isone of the pieces that initially made Tchaikovsky internationally famous,composed during September and November 1869.Both Romeo and Juliet andCapriccio Italien reflect Tchaikovsky's talent in producing of uniquelyconvincing melodies and excellence in orchestration.And this score is afine companion for those wishing to pursue a detailed study ofTchaikovsky's masterpieces.

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Two of the Russian master's most popular compositions in an attractive and modestly priced reprint of authoritative Russian versions. New translation of original Russian footnotes. Overture his first masterpiece; Capriccio an evocative portrait of Mediterranean life and scenery.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Piano/Vocal/Chords) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's books like this that made me wish I had the natural talent for music, or had at least studied and practiced hard enough to develop talent. The motion picture score that Howard Shore composed for The Lord of the Rings trilogy is absolutely brilliant, and while nothing can match his magnificent orchestra, there is something unique and incredible about hearing the same music played on a simple piano -- coming from your very own fingers.
The front cover is one of the promotional posters (NOT the DVD cover as was the case with the other two piano books from the trilogy) showing Saruman from the back commanding his 10,000 Uruk-hai. If you look on the right, although it is geographically incorrect, you can see Edoras in Rohan in the distance. Inside the book are forty pages, eight of which are movie pictures. Once again, there are some gruesome orcs pictured inside, in case you have little hobbits around the house that might get scared.
The music includes:
- Gollum's Song, the end-credits song of the movie. Not very enjoyable to play, I'd say...it's a rather mournful and melancholy song.
- Evenstar, which is all-Elvish, but surprisingly doesn't provide the translation. Shouldn't be too hard to dig one up on the internet, however. The tune is pretty, the background for Aragorn's dream/vision of Arwen in The Two Towers.
- Isengard Unleashed, which begins as the soundtrack score does, with the lament for Haldir upon his untimely death in the battle for Helm's Deep. Then it moves on to the score for the Ents as they march to war. This is probably the longest in the book, maybe of all three books. Afterwards, they give the translation of the war song of the Ents.
- Breath of Life, the quiet but stirring tune/song that you hear when Aragorn lies wounded after a battle, and receives another vision/dream of Arwen that gives him a (let's all say it together now) "breath of life". Elvish lyrics, English translation at the end.
- Forth Eorlingas, my favorite one (at least to HEAR), the tune that shows the rousing of the remaining soldiers at Helm's Deep, their death plunge out the causeway, and Gandalf's near-biblical arrival to the rescue. The second-best in this book, in my opinion.
- Rohan, which was an absolutely necessary piece to include in this book. It's short, *almost* simple enough for a beginner like me to pick my way through, and beyond gorgeous. It begins with the noble theme for Éowyn, and peaks into the majestic score for the kingdom of Rohan. This one alone is worth getting the book for.
This book makes an excellent addition to your piano library, or an excellent gift for your musically-inclined hobbit-heads. Go for it.

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Product Description:
Featuring the music of Academy Award-winning composer Howard Shore, this new Two Towers folio includes eight pages of magnificent full-color photosfrom the motion picture and P/V/C arrangements of the soaring soundtrack -- all printed on high-quality antique paperstock. The titles are: The Riders of Rohan * Evenstar * Breath of Life * Forth Eorlingas * Isengard Unleashed * Gollum's Song.

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The Mystery of Edwin Drood: Vocal Selections Review

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(More customer reviews)It is hard to get a copy of The Mystery of Edwin Drood (TMOED).Really hard.Especially one that isnt ridiculously expensive.I searched for many years, and ended up paying $50 dollars for a copy.So if you see one cheap, GET IT!

TMOED is an interactive musical in which the audience finishes off the play by voting the ending.This came about since it was a Charles Dickens who-dunnit, and the author died before we learned who, precisely, dunnit.The plot is rather vague, introducing characters left and right with a convoluted story-line.But if you are looking to buy this CD, that is irrevelant.

Thats right.I am here to sell you the music.And the music is worth it.With about a billion songs on the CD, a few are fillers that are just sort of pleasant to listen to.But there are a few songs that make the CD extraordinary rather than the mundane.The reason why I bought the CD was because I had had one of the songs stuck in my head for about a year.Two Kinsman is a remarkable piece, and would be reason enough for purchasing the 25ish songs.The melodies are fresh, but the harmonies are what strike the listener as being new and bold.Other noteworthy tracks include Wages of Sin, Never the Luck, Dont Quite While Youre Ahead, and the rousing finale The Writing on the Wall.The recording is even generous, by providing most of the songs of the outcomes that the audience can vote for.So they dont just give us one ending.With an all star cast that is often forgetten, including Betty Buckly, Donna Murphy, and Cleo Laine, you cannot go wrong in buying this really wonderful recording of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

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Product Description:
This Charles Dickens novel was adapted for Broadway by Rupert Holmes in 1986, and went on to win 5 Tony Awards. 12 selections: There You Are * A Man Could Go Quite Mad * Two Kinsmen * Moonfall * The Wages of Sin * Both Sides of the Coin * Perfect Strangers * Never the Luck * Off to the Races * Don't Quit While You're Ahead * The Garden Path to Hell * The Writing on the Wall.

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