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WITHNAIL & I: FROM CULT TO CLASSIC
BOOKS
★★★★☆ TOBY BENJAMIN TITAN BOOKS
More potent than a dozen Camberwell carrots, Bruce Robinson’s endlessly quotable 1987 tale of two out-of-work actors – played by Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann – wheezing through the back-end of the 60s remains one of the great masterpieces of British melancholic comedy. Writer Toby Benjamin understands this innately and pours his heart into this compendium of Withnailia.
The highlights are his incisive interviews with a rant-heavy Robinson, the two leads and Ralph Brown (Danny the dealer), not to mention key behind-the-scenes folk including DoP Peter Hannan, who all offer richly evocative insights. The book also scores with unique behind-the-scenes images snapped by photographer Murray Close, rare stills (notably the deleted fencing scene) and other memorabilia, including letters, handwritten notes and script extracts from the time of production. How delicious, as Uncle Monty might say.
Benjamin’s decision to sprinkle in contributions from a random assortment of comedians, directors and musicians proves more uneven – Charlie Higson and Peep Show co-creator Sam Bain are thoughtful, but much of the remainder feels like filler. It also seems strange that the author gives journalist Martin Keady the chance to write on the titular cult-to-classic thesis; surely that task belonged to Benjamin himself? Yet from a Q&A with the actor who screams, ‘Get in the back of the van!’ to a tribute to Withnail’s beaten-up MkII Jaguar, this is a lovingly eccentric nod to a perfect film.
THE WES ANDERSON COLLECTION: THE FRENCH DISPATCH
★★★★☆ MATT ZOLLER SEITZ ABRAMS
That Anderson has made another film (Asteroid City) in the time it’s taken Seitz to publish this elegant tribute to his last one is testament to the meticulous scrutiny it dedicates to the fastidious auteur. Essentially a series of essays on every facet of the comedy’s conception and production, its attention to detail even extends to the plaid slippers that greeted Liev Schreiber when he arrived at Angoulême for the shoot.
1971: 100 FILMS FROM CINEMA’S GREATEST YEAR
★★★☆☆ ROBERT SELLERS THE HISTORY PRESS
When it comes to movie releases, argues Sellers, ‘1971 is pretty hard to beat.’ That’s subjective, but when you have films such as A Clockwork Orange, Duel, Dirty Harry and The French Connection all released in the same 12 months, it’s hard to argue against. Sellers gives short, pithy accounts of each film, with non-English-language movies such as A Touch of Zen getting a look-in. But the book lacks the coffee-table feel the subject deserves.
EDITH HEAD: THE FIFTY-YEAR CAREER OF HOLLYWOOD’S GREATEST COSTUME DESIGNER
★★★★☆ JAY JORGENSEN RUNNING PRESS
Glamming up burros and horned toads as a child sowed the seeds for a lifetime in film finery for the influential Edith Head, one that would win her eight Oscars over a distinguished career that spanned seven decades. This elegant, lavishly illustrated survey reveals how she made her name, constructing a persona as a bobcut-sporting, sunglasses-wearing ‘dress doctor’.
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Glorious glamour and formidable glutes…
GEORGE HURRELL’S HOLLYWOOD: GLAMOUR PORTRAITS 1925-1992
★★★☆☆
Few contributed more to the chimera of Tinseltown glamour than portrait photographer George Hurrell, whose seductive snaps of Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer and other legends saw him become Rembrandt to the stars during Hollywood’s golden era. He could be a prickly sod in person though, something the author – Mark A. Vieira – of this glowing but not uncritical tome witnessed first-hand. The glorious imagery speaks for itself, though the text will likely only appeal to scholars and collectors. Sharon Stone, Hurrell’s last subject, supplies the affectionate foreword.
ARNOLD: COLLECTOR’S EDITION
★★★★☆
This tribute to the life and career of Arnold Schwarzenegger tracks his rise from bodybuilder to actor, politician and activist. The Austrian Oak’s achievements have been well-catalogued by artists and photographers such as Andy Warhol and Annie Leibovitz, whose work is showcased in this behemoth collection by Taschen. The second volume gives Arnold in his own words, through interviews and testimonies. If the price doesn’t put readers off, then the size might – requiring the muscles of Arnie himself to lift.