Customer Reviews

Hollywood Horror: From Gothic To Cosmic

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is one of the most familiar faces from Hollywood: huge, boxy forehead, heavy lidded eyes, railroad-track surgical scars, and bolt through the neck. Frankenstein (or more properly, Frankenstein's monster), in a gorgeous, detailed black and white photo (which for all the fussing over its production would have been called a glamour shot if the subject were someone else) stares from the cover of _Hollywood Horror: From Gothic to Cosmic_ (Harry N. Abrams) by Mark A. Vieira. In his Acknowledgements section, Vieira thanks his dad for letting him watch horror movies "on the Early Show, the Late, Late Show, and everything between." He also thanks him for making trips so he could buy _Famous Monsters_ magazines. One cannot doubt that he has a lifelong enthusiasm for his subject, and the format of his book makes this clear. It has large, glossy pages filled with black and white images of celluloid nightmares, and most of them are by the studio photographers (some of them famous, like Ernest Bachrach) who were responsible for the stills that would sell the film to the public. Although for many the pictures will be the show, Vieira's intelligent text and cataloguing of the films is worth reading on its own.

Vieira has chronologically divided the genre into the Gothic, Psychic, Atomic, and Cosmic. Boris Karloff's career stretches over them all, starting from his Frankenstein role, for which his costume weighed all of 48 pounds. Dracula and Frankenstein made lots of money, with violence and the sexuality (both of which seem wonderfully understated in our times) before the Production Code came out drew the "grandstanding censure of women's clubs, clergymen, and politicians." The Psychic section of the book is largely given to the films of Val Lewton, who refused to go along with any previous horror formula. Cutting in mere suggestions of horror into a love story about normal people was just what budget-conscious RKO went for. The Atomic years were a reaction to the atmosphere of the Cold War, and routine horror films "began to portray science as a tool more evil than Dr. Frankenstein had ever anticipated." The first of many films to show how nuclear devices could bring forth monsters was 1953's _The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms_, with a custom-designed dinosaur awakened by an atomic test. Vieira ends with the Cosmic films, paying most attention to a movie monster that is among the most realistic ever, and which has caused more serious analysis than even Frankenstein's monster: HAL the computer from _2001_. The years tick by and we have yet to make a machine nearly as smart (or fortunately, as diabolical) as HAL.

The final portion of the book also includes films that are quite dissimilar from the monster movies covered in other pages. In a book like this, one will always think of films that ought to have been included or excluded, but Vieira is calling the shots. He has included _Psycho_, which is not really a monster film but has plenty of terror. For real scares, read about how Alfred Hitchcock treated Tippi Hedren during the shooting of the filming of the climactic sequence of _The Birds_, or how Frank Sinatra treated Mia Farrow while she was making _Rosemary's Baby_. Also here are _Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?_ and _Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte_, in which the real monsters are the actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, aging grandes dames of cinema, who were at each other's throats onstage and off. There are some eccentric choices here, but Vieira's book is a fine-looking survey of a genre of films that, like so many of their monsters depicted, just does not die, and if it does, it comes back with surprising transformations.

I bought this not quite knowing what to expect. I was not disappointed. The author has obviously done his homework and presents a history of american horror in an organized and enlightening manner. The book is organized in a chronological manner with film periods broken up into 4 categories. Plenty anecdotes from actors, directors and crew flesh out behinde the scenes detail. The book is filled with beautiful photographs from the films and productions making it a continued pleasure to flip through.

A must for any movie buff or horror fan!

Mark A. Veira has assembled an outstanding collection of photographs to decorate this gorgeous coffee table book. These dazzling images alone would be enough to recommend this hefty volume but he also provides a fascinating account of the history of the horror film up to the end of the sixties and the death of the production code by which time fullly realized gore (think Night of the Living Dead) took over. The cover of the book features Boris Karloff and that is as it should be. His career spans the period of this book and his work over the years exemplifies the changes in the horror movie. The account of him throughout this volume bears a fitting tribute. The only shortcoming of this book is the space devoted to such movies as 2001: A Space Odyssey, but everyone will have an opinion on a movie here or there that should have been omitted or added. A fine volume.

The horror movie has evolved from its origins in German Expressionism to our current day of graphic gore.Mr.Vieira is both entertaining and informative as he guides us along this shadowy path.We are offered behind-the-scenes anecdotes of the actors,directors,writers,producers and even the composers of some of the film scores.Quite fittingly we are given a glimpse of Universal's make-up wizard Jack Pierce.His painstaking creations persist more than sixty years later(even though we are told they did not look good in color).
All of the major as well as the lesser known works are covered.They are arbitrarily grouped under the titles of"The Gothic","The Psychic","The Atomic",and "The Cosmic".These unifying headings help the author to correlate relevant social and historical events with metaphorical images(eg 1950's Aliens as Cold War invaders).The section devoted to Val Lewton was especially enjoyable.I was able to better appreciate these artfully done low budget horror movies when viewing the recently released DVD collection.
I would highly recommend this book to the enthusiast and to the casual fan.Mr.Vieira obviously has a passion for this genre and it is infectious.An added bonus is the sumptuous black and white photographs many of which are rare studio stills.This is a book I was sorry to finish but I know I will be referring to it often in the future.

Vieira's history of American horror films is immensely entertaining - both lavishly illustrated and complusively readable. His preface profiles three major contributors to the horror genre - producer Irving Thalberg, actor Lon Chaney and director Tod Browning and one infulential studio - Universal. Sections are divided into four catergories which cover the various aspects and time periods of the horror genre. "The Gothic" covers films released during the silent era, the 30s and early 40s that dealt with supernatural creatures (like "Dracula" and "Frankenstein"). "The Psychic" covers the horror period of the 40s in which films took on a more cerebral tone ("Cat People," "The Picture of Dorian Gray," "The Uninvited"). "The Atomic" deals with the 50s sci-fi trend ("Creature From The Black Lagoon," "Them"). And finally, "The Cosmic" includes film of the later 50s and 60s (like "Rosemary's Baby" and "Psycho").

Vieira discusses each film and includes all kinds of juicy behind-the-scenes details such as censorship issues, casting, contrasting style techniques of directors and producers, special effects and public reception of the films. One of the major pluses of the book however are the glorious black and white photographs. Many of these have never been published and it is apparent that they have been chosen with care. Horror fans will love this book!

I read everything published on the horror movie genre, and a lot of it is repetitive (there is almost nothing new to be unearthed after so many decades), but Mark Vieira has written anecdotes and observations that are fresh and lively. With a slightly wicked delight in gossipy tales of professional jealousy and schadenfreud, he has also gotten access to the clearest most beautiful pictures I've seen on the subject. His interest and knowledge of photography is outstanding. Where did he get the juicy tidbits of personal knowledge he relates about the great figures of genre filmmaking?

Despite so many book already written on the subject of the classic Horror film, author Mark Vieira's book on the subject is a nice read nonetheless.
Instead of a full history on the genre, Vieira instead focuses on the evolution of the Horror film in Hollywood from it's permutations in the 20s through the late 1960s.
The book offers an excellent history on the importance of this genre and the impact of these films and there stars.
Veteran Horror fans may feel a sense of deja-vu but the author compensates with LOTS of rare photos, all beautifully restored and many quite interesting. It's also nice to see the number of quotes from the genre luminaries that are included within that provide much anecdotal humor and insight into there movies.
Easily one of the best genre publishings this decade, a fan could do worse than purchase his or herself a copy.

The motion picture camera was invented to record reality. But it also records created reality. Photographers soon learned how to manipulate images in a way that created magic. It seems more real than writing, and was also used to create propaganda because naive viewers imagined what they saw was real and not created. This still goes on today, as in some "nature" films. Horror films continued the ghost and other scary folk tales of yesteryear. They can symbolize the fears than can't be mentioned, but which can be overcome in the end.

These films seem to live on when other of that era are gone (or banned). TV in the1950s revived them for low-cost entertainment (p.7). But now they are rarely shown on broadcast TV, not even at Halloween. I once read an article that gave an explanation for these horror films of the 1930s. Frankenstein's Monster represented the man-made Great Depression that harmed people. Only by uniting could they end the power of that creature. Dracula represents a powerful and evil foreigner who sought to bleed the people (p.93). This represented the Kaiser (1897) or Hitler (1930s). The end of WW 2 saw the end of these old characters and the rise of new threats from atomic energy of science (the 1950s). Godzilla represented the destruction of atomic bombs. These films had a human interest story to keep the plot interesting. But no song and dance as in some other films (westerns, mysteries, dramas). Films are products that attract the money of customers.

This book is interesting and provides a history of Hollywood horror films. In effect it tell you what the audience bought and what that measures. Part I "The Gothic" is based on Old World folk tales. Part II "The Psychic" tells of films that used everyday settings. Val Lewton's films are featured. Part III "The Atomic" tells of the films that used this new force to create stories. Part IV "The Cosmic" includes various films since the 1950s (creatures from Outer Space). Will such films ever be popular again? I think not. The widespread availability of TV new has shown so much real horror since the 1960s that it killed off the appeal for horror films. Your opinion may vary. Was "Kiss Me Deadly" really a horror film (p.133)? See it for yourself, and read the novel.

The 'Acknowledgments' explain the background for this pictorial history. This book will tell you more than you probably want to know about films that you are not likely to see even on TV. Would they be shown if they were still interesting but few are. I once read that the "legends" about vampires and werewolves were mostly created by a Hollywood writer (p.98). The 1941 film "The Wolfman" was one of the best films. Was "Targets" really the last Hollywood horror film (p.238)? Vieira doesn't mention the release of "Night of the Living Dead" occurred in March 1968 (p.241). Where is he getting his information from? [They could have used larger print for this book.]

This book is not only beautiful to look at, it is so beautifully written! The text gives great insights into the genres of classic horror films and fills them with little-known details of how the films were made. Vieira understands that films are made by people and he explores the personalities behind some of the most indelible cinematic creations ever. For any fan of horror films, this is a must own, must read!