The Silver Screen Oasis

I will start a new thread when Mr. Eyman comes, but I wanted to open this prior to his arrival for discussion of his books.

What Eyman books have you read? What do you think of his work?

I have read Speed of Sound and Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford. I am currently reading his book on Lubitsch.

I am not big on DVD commentaries in general, but I pulled out my Criterion DVD of Trouble in Paradise and realized that he did the commentary on it. I plan to listen to it later today.

I've read just the two books he did on Ford so far, but the Lubitsch book is on my must-read list. What is Speed of Sound about? I've also read a few news articles, too, by the way. I guess he and Peter Bogdanovich are two of my favorite biographers in this arena that I have read so far.

The commentary on Trouble in Paradise was very elegant. I watched/listened with a friend who knew less than zero about Lubitsch and ended up a fan because of it.

His commentary on My Darling Clementine was also very interesting, too. He has a very elegant way with words that makes it pleasant to listen to him, and he's not grouchy or negative but seems very passionate and positive about his subjects, at least so far that I've heard and read. I respond to that better than to some other more skeptical types that are out there. And yet he seems fair, not one to gloss over.

Miss G

I haven't read any books by Eyman, but I went to the library after reading that he will be a guest at the Oasis. I have just started reading his bio of Louis B. Mayer. My library also had Print the Legend (John Ford bio), but I've decided to read the Mayer bio first since MGM is my favorite studio of the golden era. So far, so good.

Thanks, jon, for this incredible opportunity!

Sandy K

MissGoddess wrote:I've read just the two books he did on Ford so far, but the Lubitsch book is on my must-read list. What is Speed of Sound about?

Speed of Sound is an amazing book -- it's about the conversion from silent film to talkies. This was like an earthquake in the motion picture business, but seems to get short shrift -- before Eyman's book, most of what I knew about it was from the last chapter of several silent movie books. And, of course, Singin' in the Rain.

One of the things he does brilliantly is weave the technical, the personal and the cinematic into a seamless narrative -- it's like three books in one. It's where the Douglas Fairbanks quote in my signature came from.

MissGoddess wrote:His commentary on My Darling Clementine was also very interesting, too. He has a very elegant way with words that makes it pleasant to listen to him, and he's not grouchy or negative but seems very passionate and positive about his subjects, at least so far that I've heard and read. I respond to that better than to some other more skeptical types that are out there. And yet he seems fair, not one to gloss over.

Miss G

I didn't know he'd done a commentary for MDC as well, but I ordered it from Amazon after reading that. Looks like he did one for Stagecoach as well. Thanks!

I think you're dead on in your assessment of his approach -- he talks about it in the beginning of Print the Legend. He says:

"I have attempted to resist the oppressive moral vanity of our age, in which biographers adopt the role of prosecutor and profess disappointment over human failings that occur nearly as frequently among biographers as they do among artists. ... To spend hundreds of pages documenting every instance of ill temper or alcoholic outburst strikes me as pointless as writing about fish and reporting with outrage that they are cold and wet.

Any artist who arouses clean, uncomplicated feelings will almost certainly turn out to be unworthy of serious attention. Human beings are not clean and uncomplicated, and John Ford was a very human being."

That strikes me as a very good attitude for a biographer, especially when dealing with a subject like Ford.

Mr. Eyman's comments on the DVD of My Darling Clementine is IMHO is a bit rough on Ford in regard to his ability in being able to direct/ not direct ladies. I believe that Ford directs women as well as men.

Good afternoon Jon,

Unfortunately, my local library doesn't have the book and can't find it anywhere in the county's system, so I guess I'll head over to Amazon and look for it there. Any idea of a time frame for Mr Eyman and will there be some way to chat live with him? Thanks so much.

As always,

Hollis

Hi again Jon,

Success! A used hardcover copy w/jacket in very good condition for $3.99 + $3.99 shipping. Sounded like a can't miss deal, so based upon your recommendation, I ordered it. Only problem is that it ships from California. Having never ordered from Amazon before, any idea of shipping time? The site says from 1-4 weeks. I thought maybe you or someone else might have some experience. Thanks again.

As always,

Hollis

Hollis,

Unfortunately, Amazon does not sell used books directly, so you're buying from an Amazon vendor. There's no way to estimate the time -- hopefully it will be soon.

I'm glad you're going through the trouble to participate in our experiment. It's users like you that make the work that goes into this site worthwhile.

As I wrote in another thread, I have also read "Speed of Sound", a masterful book on the advent of the talkies and I very much agree when Jon states that:

"One of the things he does brilliantly is weave the technical, the personal and the cinematic into a seamless narrative -- it's like three books in one."

I recently bought "The Lion of Hollywood" and I plan to begin reading that book ASAP.

I'll also check the commentary on the Criterion Edition of "Trouble in Paradise".

Does anyone know besides "Trouble in Paradise" and "My Darling Clementine", which I don't own yet, what other films on DVD have commentaries by Mr. Eyman?

jondaris wrote:I didn't know he'd done a commentary for MDC as well, but I ordered it from Amazon after reading that. Looks like he did one for Stagecoach as well. Thanks!

I think you're dead on in your assessment of his approach -- he talks about it in the beginning of Print the Legend. He says:

"I have attempted to resist the oppressive moral vanity of our age, in which biographers adopt the role of prosecutor and profess disappointment over human failings that occur nearly as frequently among biographers as they do among artists. ... To spend hundreds of pages documenting every instance of ill temper or alcoholic outburst strikes me as pointless as writing about fish and reporting with outrage that they are cold and wet.

Any artist who arouses clean, uncomplicated feelings will almost certainly turn out to be unworthy of serious attention. Human beings are not clean and uncomplicated, and John Ford was a very human being."

That strikes me as a very good attitude for a biographer, especially when dealing with a subject like Ford.

I forgot about the Stagecoach commentary, too. It was also illuminating and entertaining.

Looks like I should probably pull out Print the Legend and flip through it again for a "refresher"---that perceptive quote completely slipped my memory, and it's key to how he approaches his prickly subject.

Bravissimo!

ken123 wrote:Mr. Eyman's comments on the DVD of My Darling Clementine is IMHO is a bit rough on Ford in regard to his ability in being able to direct/ not direct ladies. I believe that Ford directs women as well as men.

Really? I don't remember that, though he did make me laugh over some of Linda Darnell's dialogue. I recall a statement about "men without women", but I do feel Ford was one of the most astute directors when it came to depicting women. Maybe he said those comments because Clementine (or rather, the actress) is a bit of a bore.

[quote="jondarisSpeed of Sound is an amazing book -- it's about the conversion from silent film to talkies. This was like an earthquake in the motion picture business, but seems to get short shrift -- before Eyman's book, most of what I knew about it was from the last chapter of several silent movie books. And, of course, Singin' in the Rain.

One of the things he does brilliantly is weave the technical, the personal and the cinematic into a seamless narrative -- it's like three books in one. It's where the Douglas Fairbanks quote in my signature came from.[/quote]

I see I have at least three of his books to get, now: the Lubitsch book, the Mayer book and Speed of Sound. Note to Mr. Eyman: If you have too many more volumes in the pipeline I may go broke.

feaito wrote:
Does anyone know besides "Trouble in Paradise" and "My Darling Clementine", which I don't own yet, what other films on DVD have commentaries by Mr. Eyman?

Stagecoach, Feaito.

And I think he's doing one or two for the Ford at Fox box set coming up.

Thanks April. I had missed that part of Jon's post.