Customer Reviews

Little Joe, Superstar: The Films of Joe Dallesandro

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a very good book, informative, honest, which immediately inspires sympathy both for the subject (Joe Dallesandro) and the author.

Although it deals in detail with the meaning of FLESH, TRASH and HEAT (Dallesandro's major films) it does not forget the "making of", the people who made the films, and the uproar they created worldwide.

"Little Joey Superstar" is of course a very sad story. Apparently Joe feels bitterness now about being refused (by Morrissey, Warhol or his people) a career in Hollywood, after this "Trilogy". Although Morrissey (as reported in this book) seems less than genuine by denying the facts, Joe should not feel frustrated. It was quite normal at that time, that Morrissey and others, who had launched Joe's "career", did not want to lose him. If Joe had wanted to make it by himself, he could have moved to California, and tried (quickly) his luck. Beautiful as he was, he would soon have found an agent, or an influent "sponsor" (woman or gay) to push him at the right places.

Instead (after these three successful films) he made apparently all the wrong moves. He first followed the Morrissey/Warhol party to Rome and "starred" in two so-called "Warhol movies" (Dracula and Frankenstein) which were embarrassing failures.

And then he tried to make a career for himself in the Italian cinema. He should have known that apart from first class directors (like Visconti, Fellini, Antonioni or Pasolini, to name just four or them) the Italian cinema was and remains hopeless, and their films, made for interior consumption, hardly cross the Alps, let alone the Atlantic.

Yes, Clint Eastwood, Klaus Kinsky, Charles Bronson, started a career in Rome. But they were not "teen actors". They were action movie heroes, of the macho or even sadistic types. The mistake "Little Joe" made was to try the same trick, and enter in the "action movies". He was not made for that, any more than (say) Charles Bronson or Lee Marvin could have played in "HEAT" and have a stint with Sylvia Miles in the staircase.

The sad truth seems to be that "Little Joe" (away from Morrissey and the Factory) had no mentor, nobody to advise him in the complicated and merciless world of the movies. He became a "star" by accident, he had no way of continuing it by his own will. As a matter of fact, even in Hollywood, very few child or teen actors ever make it further than their success years.

Cinema is a game of actors. What you sell is a face. Morrissey knew that very well, when he kept his camera focused on Dallesandro, Holly Woodlawn, Pat Ast or Andrea Feldman. He did not want to miss one moment, not one second of their looks. He knew his job. But he also knew when the game (the innocence) was over.

It would have been very difficult for anybody (especially without proper actor's training) to start a new career. Teen idols do not last long. James Dean killed himself in his Porsche, Brando became fat. Joe Dallesandro is still alive and well, and this book does the right thing by telling us how he became what he was, and survived.

The only drawback is that it has been published in a collection of "gay" books featuring (Quote) "over 100 nude photos, including full-frontal" (Unquote). I never saw Joe Dallesandro as a "gay icon", nor thought that his acting was intended for voyeuristic purposes, or even belonged to the gay world. I thought of it as quite natural, and that (although obviously provocative) it was intended to show people "the way they are". Presenting Joe Dallesandro in a gay and kinky context does not really help his recognition as the fine film actor, he was. But probably, the author of the book had no other solution.

I can not believe the bad reviews - I feel they have a personal issue, not one with the book. No book has this complete of a listing of Joe films. The author has done a fantastic job of not just reviews the film, but giving a reason why they should be seen. Joe has had quite a life and this B movie stars book is a good read. But for a collector of movies and someone who is interested in film, this book is the bible for Joe.

This is the greatest book on Joe! Ferguson reveiws all his films (even the ones most of us haven't seen!) and adds tremendous information directly from Joe about his life and experiences. Nowhere else have I ever seen this! There are tons of great pictures, and this is the only place you can get them - many are from Joe's collection! Ferguson really knows Joe. I strongly recommend this book.

For anyone who is even vaguely familiar with the work of actor Joe Dallesandro, this is MUST reading/viewing!

Of the array of quirky talent that Warhol assembled in his stable of actors, Dallesandro was an easy STANDOUT from the rest, for a number of reasons; not the least of which was that the man was a NATURAL TALENT! Even among the critics who DESPISED Warhol's films,virtually ALL were forced to agree on one thing:Dallesandro was a REAL TALENT.

Unlike Warhol's other "Discoveries"(most of whom required almost constant "high maintenance"), for Dallesandro, acting came almost as easy as breathing. Here is a man who is that RARE THING: a BORN actor. His acting from the start(to the present)is ASTONISHING to watch:natural and unaffected(NO poser HERE)yet deeply moving and personal. The range of characters he has literally breathed life into is both diverse and fascinating to watch-never dull or mundane!

What I find intriguing is that with almost NO formal training as a "Serious" actor, he has managed to effectively create a WIDE scope of characters(everything from young hustlers to gangsters to anti-heroes to romantic leading-man types in the classic sense)and yet is NOT hailed as a truly WONDERFUL character actor by either his peers OR most of his fans. One need only watch but a sample of the WIDE body of work he has done in his long career(spanning everything from cinema to television)to realize that he is capable of almost ANY facet of the dramatic arts: from high comedy to classic drama and THEN some!

I would personally LOVE to see him offered more LEADING roles (rather than the support work he has primarily done in the latter half of his career). In this matter the book is INVALUABLE in it's thorough, indepth exploration of his work-going WELL BEYOND merely an overview of his long career(a mistake too often made in most bios of actors). Author Michael Ferguson has meticulously, lovingly assembled Joe's history in film as I have never seen it presented prior. In numerous, GORGEOUS photos, revealing & personal memoirs(Joe and the actors/directors/writers etc. he has worked with)and actual critic's reviews presented here, one with NO knowledge of Joe's work whatsoever can read this book and gain a comprehensive knowledge of why even today Joe is considered one of the pillars of New Cinema.

Lastly, what I found compelling reading was the brutal honesty Joe offers in his memoirs here:both about himself and those he has worked with. Whether discussing his family life, his memories of those he has worked with, or his life views/values, Joe truly pulls no punches. He is clearly NOT interested in trying to present himself as a STAR, or even in flattering terms. Rather, he wants to set the record STRAIGHT-cutting through the rumors and half-truths to tell it like it REALLY was/is.

Joe, you RULE!

"Gay and straight fans worldwide have been infatuated with Joe Dallesandro since Andy Warhol made him famous, and the underground films made him a sexual icon. Now, at long last, Dallesandro talks--in detail--about his life, his career and his films. More than 100 photos--including several full-frontal nudes of the not so little Joe! Softcover; 216 pages. 'Here it is at last: everything you need to know about Joe Dallesandro. A wonderful actor who forever changed male sexuality on the screen.'--John Waters, director"--© zebraz

I love this book. It is really too bad that many of these films haven't been released as some sort of "Little Joe" DVD Box Set in the United States, particularly the post-Warhol European films like "Black Moon" and "Seeds of Evil." Joe has been a hard-working actor for decades now, and he deserves this well-researched testament to his work.

Imagine. To be a cult film icon wanted by both men and women. Such a thing is rare and even though I'm not of the homosexual persuasion, I would be flattered that men thought me just as beautiful as women did! Anyway, this book is great. Joe was and is a legend and may not be the best of actors, but he is certainly an original that cannot be rivaled. I must agree with the author below, though. This book should not be touted as a "gay book". Joe was an actor, not aimed at men or women but both. I think women might find it hard to enjoy this book because Joe is made to look like a gay pin-up boy, which isn't a bad thing, mind you, but will possibly limit the reading audience of this book! Anyway, check this book out, full of great pictures, the full participation of Joe himself, and even background information on his directors and co-stars.

Joe Dallessandro (or Dalessandro, or D'Allessandro, etc.) is an actor for whom I always have had an almost obsessive passion, not simply because of his incomparable and mysterious physical beauty, which has such a sheen to it (e.g. the pellucidly luminous glow of his nipples, the impressive scale and beautiful shape of his genitals, his skin's fine complexion, the lure of his long, straight, beautifully textured hair, etc.), but because Dallessandro drew one into his acting and persona so compellingly yet in such a seemingly effortlessly low-key, unself-consciously subtle way. His acting was not deadpan, or stiff, or overly reliant on his magnificent physical attributes alone, but deeply personal and compellingly genuine. Small gests that others do not notice, a change of _expression, a look of cunning manipulation, of a kind of passive surprise, and so forth, would be hard for most actors to realise if they were scripted for them, yet Dallessandro did all of this in the semi-improvisatory manner in which his films with Warhol and those associated with him were made. Ferguson has a keen appreciation of these elusive qualities that made Dallessandro such a rivetting and fascinating actor as well as such an overwhelmingly gorgeous physical presence in his films, where he so eclipses in interest all but a few of the other actors in the casts. He deals feelingly with Joe Dallessandro's brother, who died at such a young age and whose own physical allure shares such an obviously fraternal resemblance to that of Little Joe himself.

The photos in the book are not particularly well reproduced, merely adequate in quality, but would have benefitted from being printed on glossy paper with greater photographic resolution and contrast, as some of the same photos reveal their potential on the glossy front and back covers of the book. Still, it is good to have so many photos (from those of his "beefcake" physique photo posing days of the earlier years of his adolescence onwards) of this incomparably sensuous man in one place. The author's style is enthusiastic and not particularly literary, but his real love of Dallessandro and of his work gives the book a sincerity and depth of appreciation that still, alas, are all too seldom expressed regarding Joe Dallessandro. It is quite a wonderment to learn of the many films, besides the famous ones, that "Little Joe" made over the years, and the author's appreciation of them makes one yearn to see them all, and Ferguson's success in arousing such curiosity to explore Dallessandro's legacy is one indicator of his own success as a writer!

I have lived with this book, returning to it often, and it always gives me pleasure to open it, to gaze on Joe Dallessandro's sheer physical splendour and to read his words quoted and those of the author expressed so feelingly about this icon of erotic (and other) film.

I don't know that you can fairly judge a biography or autobiography based on the subject matter. If the person interests you then you are going to find the book interesting - unless the book is just horribly written (this is often the case, sadly). However, Michael Ferguson has done a fine job of working with a man who literally stumbled into acting years ago in New York.

Joe Dallesandro (or Little Joe) was a street tough kid from New York when he wandered onto the set of an Andy Warhol film. He was cast in that film right away. I won't summarize the biography, because there's no point in doing so. However, I will say that Ferguson takes us along on a brief, but thorough walk through Joe's life to the present day. Then we get to learn about each of the films that Joe has made in great detail.

No, Joe isn't Bette Davis or Olivier or even John Wayne, but I would have liked to have had the biographical information appear in a bit more detail. That's my own peeve, but it isn't really fair, since we're talking about a guy who was doing nudity in "art" films in the 60's - a guy who played a German peasant in turn of the century Germany with a Brooklyn accent. This is not an actor who would ever win any awards for his talent, unless his talent was is body and face. And what a body and face he had for the times.

Little Joe lets us take a brief look at a Warhol creation that lived far beyond its intended artistic life. Joe Dallesandro the man is far different from the beautiful face and body on the screen. Timeless there in appearance, his real life was never what others fantasized about him. This guy is still a street tough scrapper who is just barely scraping by today.

I think the material is interesting and the writing is effective and worthwhile. If you have a nostalgic bent toward Warhol's Factory days or just liked his weird horror films or sexy films, then you'll enjoy reading this book.

A fantastic book! Author Michael Ferguson has done a superb job researching the life and career of Joe Dallesandro. You'll find out tons of things you didn't know. I especially liked the sections on Loves of Ondine and San Diego Surf, because those are two Warhol movies that very few people have ever seen. Plus, Joe Dallesandro gave exclusive interviews to the author!

I don't know what the last "reviewer" on this page was expecting. Sounds like he's got an axe to grind. I'd be more than happy to buy his copy from him and give a home to an unloved book, especially one so obviously a labor of love as Little Joe Superstar!