Customer Reviews

Arthur Marx's Groucho: A Photographic Journey

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Until this week, I had no idea what I was going to get my mother for Mother's Day, my father for Father's Day. Now I know. I have read every comedy, Groucho and Marx Brothers book out there. And now comes along an unbelieveably intimate look at comedy's best - "Arthur Marx's GROUCHO: A Photographic Journey." 'Arthur Marx's GROUCHO' succeeds where no other book has in portraying the private Groucho behind the public genius... because for the first time we actually see the man. These are absolutely pheneomenal photographs of Groucho and the Marx Brothers - most of which I've never seen. Many of these photos were taken by Groucho's son Arthur in the mid-1930's and capture Groucho through the years. And they completely shatter the image of the great Groucho brooding at home. Here he is playing with his kids, celebrating holidays, laughing while making "A Day at the Races" with his brothers. Incredible stuff. This coffee table book itself is as stunning and classy as the subject matter. Gold embossed title, highest quality paper. Obvious care was taken in design and structure. Arthur Marx writes loving and humorous commentary on his legendary family. It is packed with Groucho one-liners, new stories and celeb photos. I can't say enough about it. Comedy and Marx fans will not be disappointed. You bet your life!

This book allows you to be in the Marx Family and experience what it must have been like to have a Father who was none other than the "One and Only, GROUCHO!!!"

I have nothing but the utmost respect for Arthur and thank him for sharing his memories and ALL of his fantastic photo's of his Father and Family.

If a picture is worth a million words then this book is worth at least two million ("or three for a dollar").

I have to rate this book highly, due to one thing in particular; a load of photos NEW to someone who's been buying all things Marx since the 1970's. Some of the candid, on-set shots; some of the very rare shots of Zeppo; and some shots from scenes that were later cut...these are the stuff of dreams. Crazy dreams, but dreams, nonetheless.

It just misses five stars for two reasons: a nice crop of pictures we've all seen a thousand times and, worse, a number of well-known, yet misquoted, lines.

Did someone proof this? There's not much writing, so it couldn't have taken long...and, after all, Arthur's an author in good standing.

You'd think he could take some of the money he's made off his pop over the past forty years and buy a complete set of Marx CD's. Then he could nab the quotes directly. No excuse for this.

Yet I, for one, still recommend it for the visual treasure it is. A great "coffee table book" - and on a hilarious subject that makes you long to crack it open and take it all in, as opposed to some of those paper paperweights you've typically seen gathering dust in living rooms various and sundry.

This book is simply gorgeous! Thank you Thank you Thank you to Arthur Marx and Frank Ferrante for keeping we Groucho and Marx Brothers fans near and dear to their hearts. This book has beautiful never-before-seen photos of Groucho including Groucho at play! 187 pages isn't nearly enough!! I hope we will see additional Photographic Journeys of the rest of the Marx's.

I just received "Arthur Marx's Groucho" as an early Mother's Day gift from my son and it was the most beautiful book I've ever seen. The pictures were big and clear and the story of father and son was completely moving. I recommend it highly!

The best Groucho book to come around in years. I loved it!

I've owned this book for several weeks now and it continues to have this strange affect on me: every time I pick it up, my mouth opens wide in awe and then twists into a grin that runs from ear to ear!! I just can't stop smiling! This is not your average picture book on the Marx Brothers.

Make no mistake....this book is first and foremost about the pictures and all have been STUNNINGLY reproduced. There is a richness and depth to the photos that you find in, say, coffee table photography books (Ansel Adams comes to mind). Some of the photos have been published before, but the majority of them are being seen here for the first time in book form. But even if you've seen some of the photos before, you've never seen them like this! This truly must've been a labor of love.

Accompanying the photos is a casual running commentary supplied by Arthur Marx which is at once charming, engaging, revealing and entertaining. You can almost imagine yourself thumbing through a Marx family photo album with Arthur stopping here and there to share the memories he associates with each picture.

This book satisfies on so many levels, but don't expect it to be a primer on the life and times of Julius H. Marx. For that find a copy of Hector Arce's GROUCHO (if you can!) but keep a copy of this book nearby because it wonderfully illustrates yet another facet of the man we know as Groucho.

I give this 5 stars (and 4 hard-boiled eggs!)!!!

I simply loved Arthur Marx's "Groucho." I used to be an actor and I played some of the Marx Brothers in plays in community theatre. So I've done a great deal of research. Suffice it to say, this is a lasting, poignant tribute to the world's funniest man by a first rate writer - Groucho's son Arthur.

Finally, some new material on the Marx Brothers! I've found the recent books on the Marx Bros. like Kanfer's and Louvish's interesting but not earth shattering. Arthur Marx's new book gives us the REAL Groucho in photos. It's a great look at a great comic artist...Arthur has out done himself. I saw his play on PBS and it is just as warm and revealing...

Initially the quality of the photos is striking. Then you look at the subject - a man who brings joy through his art of comedy - and some of the most emotionally moving images of Groucho emerge. And some gorgeous photos of the rest of the brothers also.

What fans of a dead artist always encounter is the lack of anything "new" out there. This fills a gap. I have been a Marx fan since my youth and have found the expenditure on this book, and the wait, worth it. The best picture book on the Marx brothers to date.