Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Glass Houses, November 20, 1998
By A Customer
Ordinarily, an ineptly written biography is bad because: 1) the author whitewashes the subject's life and treats the subject as a saint, or 2) the author has a personal grudge and uses the book as fuel for his anger, which results in dubious "fact" reporting. In this case, we get the worst of both worlds. Bogdanovich has taken it upon himself to tell the "real" story of Dorothy Stratten--that is, his reality-impaired version of it. As a result, one half of the book consists of Peter rhapsodizing endlessly over Stratten's beauty ("an angel in the shape of Aphrodite"), her kindness, and in general, her sainthood. The poor girl is not even allowed one moment in which she is permitted to be a mere human being; the only traces of Dorothy in the book are found in her poems. However, this is mere trivia compared to the other half of the book, which consists of Bogdanovich's angry diatribe against Hefner, who exploited Stratten by peddling nude pictures of her, and somehow this caused her murder(?). Apparently Paul Snider, the small-time hustler who married Stratten, and later murdered her, is so small-time that he can't take the majority of the blame for his crime. This is just one example of the muddled logic that encompasses Bogdanovich's retelling of the Stratten tragedy. A lot of the book falls into the "too much information" category, not to mention the "glass houses" category. For instance, why is it "exploitation" when Hefner publishes nude photos of the 21-year-old Cybill Shepherd from the movie that was DIRECTED BY PETER BOGDANOVICH, but Bogdanovich is an "artist"? Why is it "sleazy" for Hef to publish centerfolds of Stratten, but Bogdanovich can describe every last detail of his sex life with her, and it's a "sensitive" portrayal of her? Why is everyone at the mansion willingly participating in old Hef's sleazy orgies, but Peter was somehow "tricked" into it? (And while we're on the subject, explain "how" one is tricked into it.) Why are all the men who drool over Stratten's beauty and make passes at her scorned as "wolves" by Bogdanovich, but when Peter himself makes his move (by which time Stratten is married) he is somehow the Noble White Knight in Shining Armor who has come along to save her from her loveless marriage? And lastly, why is it that everyone who comes in contact with Stratten is so "possessive" and "demanding" and that all-purpose word, "exploitative", but Bogdanovich's constant hovering, coaching, directing and dictating is acceptable? At one point in the book, he loses sight of her for one second and by his own admission, "reacts as though she had been kidnapped". This type of possessiveness is downright pathological. The truly frightening part of the book (and also the most unintentionally amusing) is that Bogdanovich, Hefner and every other Mansion regular in the book revile Snider, because he is--you guessed it--sleazy, exploitative, and has the personality of a pimp. Apparently "pot calling the kettle black" is a relative term here. Bogdanovich, without any apparent sense of irony, observes that Snider was as out of place as a "carnival barker at a ballet". This in a group of people that includes Al Goldstein, the publisher of "Screw" magazine. Observant readers will soon realize, sadly, that Snider's greatest sin among the Hef Hangers-On was NOT being pimp-like, but being small-time. Indeed, Bogdanovich's blatant overtures to Dorothy Stratten, as well as his decision to cast her in his "closed-set" movie, indicate only too well how inconsequential Snider's status was as "Mr." Stratten. In any case, the book is not the story of Dorothy Stratten; it's the story of Peter Bogdanovich's bitterness, selfishness and guilt over his part of the tragedy. He is not one to admit his guilt feelings, however; he turns it outward on his former friend Hefner and makes outrageous accusations that are completely unproven. For that matter, even Stratten's own journal contains no revelations of the sort that Peter is claiming. No matter; the point he wishes to make is that he tried to SAVE her from this virtual prison, but poor Dorothy became a victim anyway BECAUSE OF HEF. At this point, it becomes difficult, if not impossible to sympathize with Bogdanovich, since he is so insistent on blaming everyone else in the tragedy, while conveniently ignoring his own transgressions. This is definitely one biography that shouldn't have got past the stage of being in Peter's private journal. Peruse only at your own peril.
|
|
|
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hypocritical and biased, August 22, 1999
By A Customer
I did enjoy this book even though I thought it was hypocritical and biased. The reason I read it was due to my interest in Dorothy Stratten from the Pulitzer prize winning "Village Voice" article about her life & death by Teresa Carpenter. I also remember way back when she was a rising star, the infatuation of my teenage brother with her (along with many other males). At the time, she was the biggest thing to ever hit Playboy. Not since Pamela Anderson Lee, has a Playboy Playmate stirred such promise for a successful career. However, I think this biography is somewhat hypocritical and another reviewer here points that out as well. From these writings, Peter Bogdanovich accuses the Playboy sex machine and Hugh Hefner of being a driving force in her death. I disagree, I think she was just discovered by the wrong person in the form of her sleazy future husband and murderer, Paul Snider. I wish a reputable modeling agency would have discovered her instead, not only would she probably still be alive, but I think she had the star quality that would have made her a huge celebrity. All of this would have come without the stigma of having posed nude for men's magazines; Bogdanovich points out that this leaves a blemish on you even after death. It is no wonder that even though she's been dead for nearly two decades, Playboy and others are still peddling her naked pictures. I appreciate that Bogdanovich did not publish any of these photos of her or Paul Snider out of simple respect. The photos of her that do reside in this book are when she has a most natural and angelic appearance, without the tons of makeup and hair bleach regulary used by Playboy. The cover photo is exemplary of this. It is sad to think what could have happened if a reputable modeling agency discovered her. Although I thought Bogdanovich tried to respectfully preserve her memory, I think he exposes some pretty intimate sexual moments which is not in the best of taste. Also, what made him think that he was any different than any of the other male "Hef regulars" at the Playboy mansion that came on to her as well? He just succeeded where they didn't. Perhaps an 18 year old girl would respond to a man more than twice her age if he was rich, powerful and giving her a starring role in his upcoming movie. I do think he was madly and pathologically in love with her from these writings. However, I will also give him credit for trying to provide the essense of who she was. He made me realize that she was not just another blond bimbo posing nude for Hefner, but a very sensitive, shy, bright and unique young woman with an ethreal beauty that put her in extreme situations of great limelight to exploitation and eventually death.
|
|
|
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Yet another manipulator, June 8, 2000
By A Customer
It's really a shame that Dorothy's entire life was spent searching for a father figure: she found plenty of them--Hef, Peter, Paul. She never had a chance to find herself. I am sure Peter loved her, in the way he could possibly love a little girl, so perfect and beautiful and adoring, but not yet a woman. Peter Bogdanovich is narcissistic and egotistical. Dorothy didn't need another man to mold her and make her the perfect woman. She needed to get away from all of them and discover HERSELF. Who SHE was. Spend time with her family--the sister who had her taken away too soon and then marries her sister's lover. The tragedy the Stratten family has endured is palpable, but I believe Peter Bogdanovich had as much a part in her death as Paul did. He was the lover who enraged Paul. Not that there had to be one--Paul had made up his mind any number of scenarios that Dorothy had no control over--and that weren't true. But instead of letting her get on with her life, Peter instantly sweeps her up into a romance she wasn't ready for and it probably cost her her life. She was manipulated her whole adult life for the pleasure of men. I'm sorry she never knew, as I have now, an adult, healthy loving relationship. I think about the horror she went through that last night of her life, and wonder how these "men" can wash her blood off their hands.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
DVD ~ Mariel Hemingway
DVD ~ Audrey Hepburn
![Galaxina [HD DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51uD-gzuH3L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Stephen Macht
by Steven Watts
by Andrew Yule
