Month: November 2019 (Page 4 of 6)

The PopCulteer
November 15, 2019

Your PopCulteer is neck-deep in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide (more entries coming later today), so instead of a long essay or anything, we’re going to bring you some graphics showing you just a smidgeon of the really cool things happening in Charleston this weekend.

This way, I can not kill myself working too hard.

It’s a trade-off, but not being killed is a state I enjoy existing within, so that would be my pick.

Below you will find just a few suggestions, but if nothing here strikes your fancy (which would mean you have a mighty finicky fancy), do a little research on your own and find something. Or just stay at home and sit on your butt watching endtimes documentaries on Amazon Prime. Just do something.

But don’t forget to check back here for The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide.  Here’s the graphics. I got stuff to do…

All Weekend Long

Friday

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Star Wars Memories: My Time In The (Death Star) Trenches
by Craig Miller (Author), Gary Kurtz (Foreword)
Independently published
ISBN-13: 978-1696218702
$24.99

Next up is a gift that will be a pure delight for long-term Star Wars fans. It’s an in-depth, first-person account of what it was like to be inside the Lucasfilm machine before it was really an operational machine.

Craig Miller was the original Director of Fan Relations at Lucasfilm, working on Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. As part of that job, he was a publicist, a writer, an editor, and a producer.

Miller wrote press material and articles, created and ran the Official Star Wars Fan Club, oversaw a staff who opened and responded to the seeming tons of fan mail the films received, worked with licensees, created a telephone publicity stunt that accidentally shut down the state of Illinois’ phone system, was the producer on projects ranging from episodes of Sesame Street to commercials for Underoos (“underwear that’s fun to wear”), operated R2-D2, and spent weeks hanging out on the set of The Empire Strikes Back.

In Star Wars Memories he talks about all of that and more, including Mark Hamill barbecuing him a burger in London, having lunch in a Sunset Strip restaurant with Harrison Ford while he rolled and smoked a joint, and watching Carrie Fisher introduce The Empire Strikes Back’s British production crew to tacos.

In the words of Gary Kurtz, producer of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, “Star Wars Memories gives a look at the original Star Wars films and Lucasfilm from Craig Miller’s unique perspective. This isn’t another ‘making of’ book with the same stories and information that have appeared in other books and countless magazine articles. It’s a book of stories you haven’t heard before; an insider’s look from someone who, himself, is a fan and found the whole experience joyful and exciting. These stories are told in a way that brings you in and makes you feel like you were there.”

Star Wars Memories: My Time In The (Death Star) Trenches is a fun trip down memory lane for folks who loved Star Wars before it was a Disney property and a marketing behemoth. Travel back to the days before “special editions,” prequel and sequel trilogies and streaming services and relive the early days of Star Wars, back when it belonged to the nerds.

You can order this privately-published book from Amazon.

All Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever
by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton, Wallace Wood and others
DC Comics
ISBN-13: 978-1779500717
$49.99

Next up in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide is the perfect gift for the die-hard fan of DC Comics’ Golden Age characters, and for fans of great Bronze-Age superhero comics. All Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever collects every issue of the mid-to-late 1970s revival of All Star Comics, the legendary 1940’s title that featured The Justice Society of America.

With almost 450 pages of great, full-color superhero adventures, this book trains its focus on the adventures of the Earth Two superheroes, who back in the days before the Crisis On Infinite Earths, occupied an alternate universe where the original superheroes of the 1940s had aged in real time, and were ready to pass on their hero gigs to a new generation of superheroes.

In this book we’ll not only see the original versions of The Flash, Green Lantern, Superman Batman, Wonder Woman, Doctor Fate and others, but they also team up with younger heroes, Power Girl, Star Spangled Kid, The Huntress and a grown-up Robin.

The book was conceived by Gerry Conway, but early in the run he turned the writing reins over to Paul Levitz, who made his mark on this book and The Legion of Super Heroes. Most of this book features the art team of Joe Staton and Bob Layton, but the first third of the book is either inked or completely drawn by the legend, Wallace Wood.

These are all master storytellers at the top of their game. The legacy of the original DC superheroes are done proud as we get to see them deal with how to be a superhero once you move beyond middle age. We even get to see the death of Bruce Wayne. A nice addition to this collection is the issue of DC Special that told the story of why the original Justice Society did not just swoop in and end World War II. That story established plot points that are still being mined by DC Comics today.

Let’s check out the publisher’s blurb…

The adventures of the Justice Society of America, the world’s first super-team, continues in the 1970s adventures.

THE JUSTICE SOCIETY RETURNS!

In 1940, the Justice Society of America debuted, appearing for the first time in All-Star Comics only to eventually fade into obscurity. Enjoying a much-demanded revival in the 1970s, the super-team of Superman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Doctor Fate, and Wildcat were joined by younger heroes Power Girl, Huntress, Robin, and the Star-Spangled Kid.

For the first time ever, this historic run of the Justice Society of America is collected in one massive volume, featuring the writing talents of Gerry Conway (Batman, Wonder Woman, Animal Man) and Paul Levitz (Legion of Super-Heroes, JSA), and the art of Joe Staton (Superman, JSA)!

Collects All Star Comics #58-74, DC Comics Special #29, and Adventure Comics #461-466.

This great collection of superhero stories is great for fans of the genre. You can order it from any comic shop or bookseller using the ISBN number, or get it cheaper from Amazon. And check out the page below, with the first appearance of Power Girl…

We’re doing book recommendations all day today in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide, and we’re starting with an in-depth look at one of the great Hollywood love stories.

I’ll See You Again: The Bittersweet Love Story and Wartime Letters of Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond
by Maggie McCormick
BearManorMedia
Three Volumes

This series of three books is the pefect gift for lovers of the golden age of Hollywood and especilally for fans of Jeanette MacDonald. This is a meticulously researched project. Author, Maggie McCormick had access to over thirty years worth of correspondence between Jeanette McDonald and her husband, Gene Raymond and their freinds and family, along with several drafts of MacDonald’s unpublished autobiography and other rare documents.

As the publisher’s blurb says:

During the Golden Age of Hollywood, actress/singer Jeanette MacDonald and actor Gene Raymond were touted as one of the happiest couples in show business. In recent years, many sources claimed their marriage was a sham. This three-volume series examines the truth about the Raymonds’ relationship, often in their own words, from unpublished letters and various drafts of Jeanette’s unpublished autobiography.

This comprehensive look at MacDonald and Raymond is split into three volumes, each of which runs well over 400 pages.

Volume 1: The War—and Before
ISBN-13: 978-1629334363
$39.95 paperback
$49.95 hardback

Volume 1: The War—and Before traces the lives of Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond, from their modest beginnings through their meeting, marriage, and their activities during World War II.  It shows how they each worked hard to gain worldwide fame, found love, and created an idyllic home together, despite interference from Gene’s mother.  Always patriotic, both Raymonds gave their all during World War II, both overseas and on the home front, but to the detriment of their marriage and careers.  The picture on the cover was from the Raymonds’ last photo shoot before Gene was sent overseas in 1942.  It was taken on the outdoor steps at their home, Twin Gables.  The book includes photos from Jeanette and Gene’s collection and utilizes personal letters, private documents, and various drafts of Jeanette’s unpublished autobiography.

Volume 2: The Letters
ISBN-13: 978-1629334486
$39.95 paperback
$49.95 hardback

Volume 2: The Letters is made up of transcriptions of surviving correspondence written by Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond during World War II, giving an insight into their everyday lives.  Their wartime letters are touching, full of tenderness, concern, humor, and, occasionally, passion.  They shared their mundane everyday experiences and asked each other for advice.  One can tell that they respected each other, as well as loved each other.  Like all couples, they didn’t get along 100% of the time.  They were human and it is that human side that is so endearing.  The cover shows Jeanette at home, with a photo of Gene in uniform on her desk, along with the American and British flags.  While he was in the Army Air Force, she proudly displayed his picture and discussed his service in interviews.  As Gene’s letters prove, he was equally proud of Jeanette’s service on the home front.  The book includes a few photos from the Raymonds’ personal collection.

Volume 3: After the War
ISBN-13: 978-1629334509
$39.95 paperback
$49.95 hardback

Volume 3: After the War examines Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond’s lives following World War II, when changes in the entertainment industry affected their careers.  Many planned projects never materialized, some of which are described in detail, showing the disappointment that the Raymonds encountered.  The strain and frustration they faced in their careers, as well as the continued interference from Gene’s mother, put stress on their marriage.  They often were apart, due to their work and Gene’s service in the Air Force Reserve.  Additionally, Jeanette had numerous health problems, which led to her untimely death.  Although Gene remarried nine years after he was widowed, he never stopped loving Jeanette.  He kept her legacy alive by playing an active role in her fan club, taking flowers to her crypt, and promoting her career in TV and print interviews.  The third volume addresses some of the erroneous information published in other books, web sites, and blogs, and includes the bibliography for the series.  As with the other volumes, it includes some photos from the Raymonds’ collection and utilizes personal letters, private papers, and various drafts of Jeanette’s unpublished autobiography.  The cover depicts the Raymonds walking in their gardens, a wistful image reminiscent of the end of Jeanette’s favorite film, Maytime.  It shows how happy they were to finally be together after the war, unaware that, in less than twenty years, they would be separated by death.

I’ll See You Again: The Bittersweet Love Story and Wartime Letters of Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond is a deep dive into one of the more fascinating and long-lasting Hollywood marriages, and is the perfect gift for the fan of classic movies, endearing love stories or in-depth audobiographies. Available from any bookseller, using the ISBN number, or you can order it online directly from the publisher, or Amazon.

O, Mountaineers! Noted (or Notorious) West Virginians
by Danny Kuhn
Favoritetrainers.com
ISBN-13: 978-0989169691
$16.95

Next up in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide we have a just-released book from Danny Kuhn that is the perfect gift for any proud West Virginian, and might also be nice for anyone who needs to be reminded how cool our oft-maligned state can be.

O, Mountaineers! Noted (or Notorious) West Virginians is a fun read, a book filled with short, conversational essays about famous (and infamous) West Virginians. This includes notable figures from history up to celebrities from today, all of whom were born, lived, or died in The Mountain State. Kuhn’s writing style is lively and engaging, and the book presents a wealth of material on a bit of a niche subject in an extremely entertaining manner.

Let’s check the publisher’s blurb:

West Virginians, whether by birth, residence, or death, have reached the pinnacle of success in almost every field, including entertainment, business, science, the military, politics, and sports. They include a shoe salesman who “brought down” the father of the atomic bomb, two of Hollywood’s biggest stars who came to play ball, a legendary stripper, one of Washington’s spies, and a couple of the most famous criminals of the twentieth century. You will find historical figures such as “Stonewall” Jackson and John W. Davis, but also contemporary notables Jennifer Garner and Brad Paisley. There is even an apple…and a horse. Many are household names; others, though influential, you will meet here for the first time. Some stories are inspirational, some disturbing, but all fascinating. Join the party, Mountaineers!

This is just a terrific read and a real treat for anyone with any interest in West Virginia. Better yet, it look like this may just be the first volume of many. Kuhn writes in his introduction that many notable West Virginians didn’t make the cut for this volume due to his need to keep the page count at a reasonable length. We may have more O, Mountaineer! books coming our way in the next few years.

O, Mountaineers! Noted (or Notorious) West Virginians should be available to order from any bookseller, using the ISBN number above, or you can take the path of least resistance and get it from Amazon.

For the next entry in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide I’m turning the reigns over to Mrs. PopCulteer, the host of Curtain Call on The AIR, Mel Larch.

Each week Mel brings listeners the best of musical theater on her show, and Wednesday at 3 PM on Curtain Call The AIR will bring you three hours of cast albums that feature three hot shows currently running on Broadway. It’s oe of our most popular shows, and Mel has some gift ideas for fans of musical theater.

You can hear Curtain Call at The AIR’s website, or on this singularly sensational embedded player…

Now I turn the PopCult reins over to Mel…

Do you have a musical theatre fan on your holiday gift list? Tickets for Broadway or touring productions can be difficult or expensive to acquire, but an Original Cast Recording can be a great way for them to experience a new show or a new interpretation of a classic. This year, our Curtain Call gift picks include cast recordings of the shows that won the Tony for Best Musical and Best Revival of a musical, along with another new musical based on a beloved Tim Burton film.

Hadestown: Original Broadway Cast

No one musical dominated the Broadway landscape in 2019 like Hamilton did in 2016, but Hadestown came pretty close. The show began its journey to Broadway over a decade ago with Anaïs Mitchell’s concept album, featuring guest vocals from Ani DiFranco, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Ben Knox Miller (The Low Anthem). In the years that followed, Hadestown had fully staged productions at Manhattan’s New York Theatre Workshop, Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre, and the National Theatre in London.

Hadestown opened in April 2019 to critical acclaim and went on to win 8 Tony Awards, including Best Score and Best Musical. This intertwining of two mythic tales–that of young lovers Orpheus and Eurydice and King Hades and his wife, Persephone–combined with a score influenced by indie folk, pop, and blues takes you on a hell-raising journey to the Underworld and back.

Hadestown: The Original Broadway Cast recording was produced by Grammy winner David Lai (the 2009 West Side Story cast recording) alongside Todd Sickafoose and the show’s composer Anais Mitchell and represents the Broadway show in its entirity. It features performances by Reeve Carney (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark), Tony nominees Eva Noblezada (Miss Saigon), Patrick Page (Spring Awakening) and Amber Gray (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812), and Andre De Shields (The Wiz) in his Tony winning performance as Hermes. This deluxe 2-CD set comes with a 64 page booklet that includes the full libretto and breathtaking production photos.

If going to the mall this time of year makes you feel like you’re on the Road To Hell, you can click the title above to find it at Amazon.

Oklahoma! 2019 Broadway Cast Recording

When Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! opened on Broadway in 1943, it reinvented the American musical as we knew it. Now, over 75 years later, director Daniel Fish’s production, which is currently running at New York’s Circle in the Square Theater, reimagines the show for the 21st century. Stripped down to reveal the darker psychological truths at the heart of the show, this Oklahoma! tells the story of a community circling its wagons against an outsider and the violence of the frontier that shaped America. By turns funny, sexy, dark and even terrifying, Fish’s upending of the sweet romance of farm girl Laurey and cowboy Curly allows this classic show–and our country–to be seen in a whole new light.

Long story short, this production–which won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Revival of a musical–ain’t your Grandma’s Oklahoma!

This cast recording is produced by Dean Sharenow and Daniel Kluger. Kluger also created the new, stripped down orchestrations of this classic score and you will hear them on this recording, along with performances by Rebecca Naomi Jones, Damon Daunno, Patrick Vaill, Mary Testa, James Davis, and Ali Stroker with her Tony winning performance as Ado Annie. This CD only runs 59 minutes, but does include 2 songs not usually recorded in Oklahoma! cast recordings. If the musical theatre fan on your gift list would enjoy something a little daring, click on the title above to find this recording of Oklahoma! at Amazon.

And if you really want to give them an early holiday present, you can give them tickets to the Charleston Light Opera Guild’s current production of Oklahoma! on November 15, 16, & 22 at 7:30 PM and November 24 at 2:00 PM. All performances are at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center Little Theatre and this production is done as a “traditional” staging of the show. Tickets are available online HERE:

Beetlejuice Original Broadway Cast Recording

It’s showtime! The ghost-with-the-most comes to the stage in this edgy and irreverent musical comedy based on Tim Burton’s dearly beloved film. BEETLEJUICE tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager obsessed with the whole “being dead thing.”

Lucky for Lydia, her new house is haunted by a recently deceased couple and Beetlejuice, a delightful demon with a real zest for life, played by two-time Tony Award nominee Alex Brightman (School of Rock). When Lydia calls on Beetlejuice to scare away anyone with a pulse, this double-crossing demon shows his true stripes, unleashing a (Nether)world of pandemonium, and the biggest sandworm Broadway has ever seen.

Produced by Matt Stine, the show’s director, Alex Timbers, Eddie Perfect (who received a Tony nomination for his score for Beetlejuice) and Kurt Deutsch, this recording features 18 songs on one disc. The show’s score also includes Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) and Jump In The Line which were musical highlights of the original Burton film.

You don’t have to say Beetlejuice three times to get this cast recording. Just click on the title above.

All three of these shows are currently running on Broadway and these cast recordings would make great gifts for the musical theatre lover on your holiday shopping list. You ca hear highlights of all three of these shows from 3 PM to 6 PM Wednesday on The AIR.

Curtain Call can be heard every Wednesday at 3 PM, with replays Thursday at 8 AM and 8 PM, Friday at 10 AM and Saturday at 6 PM. An all-night marathon of Curtain Call episodes can be heard Wednesday nights, beginning at Midnight, and an additional marathon can be heard Sunday evenings from 6 PM to midnight..

In honor of Steven Allen Adams’ Ska program, NOISE BRIGADE, joining the lineup on The AIR today, our next entry in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide is Pick It Up,-Ska In The 90′s, a documentary that Steven talks about in the first episode of his show.

Pick It Up! is a documentary film about the rise in popularity of ska music in the 1990s led by bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, No Doubt, and Sublime. The goal of the film is to tell that story from a wide variety of points of view

The film is narrated by Tim Armstrong, who was a memberof Operation Ivy, one of the pioneers of Third Wave Ska, and later was lead vocalist and guitarist for the band Rancid.

The film features exclusive interviews with members of tons of Third Wave Ska bands, including a few who moved on beyond Ska later in their careers. You’ll hear from members of The Aquabats, Blink-182, Buck-O-Nine, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Fishbone, Less Than Jake, The Mad Caddies, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, No Doubt, Oingo Boingo, Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, The Selecter, Skankin’ Pickle, The Skatalites, Smashmouth, The Specials, Sublime, The Toasters, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, and dozens of other super rad ska related people. It’s cool to see some of the pioneers of Second-Wave (Two-Tone) Ska and New Wave included in the mix.

This is the perfect gift for the lover of Ska on your shopping list, or for any impressionable kid whose mind you want to shape into becoming a connoisseur of fine, danceable and diverse rock music.

You can order the movie on DVD or Blu Ray at the movie’s store page. It’s expected to ship on November 18, but you’ll also get a downloadable copy that may be available sooner (but which is a pain to wrap). The Blu Ray has over 90 minutes of bonus material inlcuding deleted scenes, outtakes and more.

Check out this trailer…

TuesdayThe AIR is proud to welcome a new show, NOISE BRIGADE, a showcase for Ska Music hosted by our old friend Steven Allen Adams, to our schedule. For the time being, NOISE BRIGADE will share the Tuesday 2 PM timeslot, alternating weeks with Nigel Pye’s Psychedelic Shack. Eventually Steven plans to take the show weekly, and when that happens, Psychedelic Shack will move to Mondays.

Also Tuesday on The AIR we deliver new episodes of Radio Free Charleston and The Swing Shift to our loyal listeners. You may point your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay on this page, and  listen to this happy little embedded radio player…

Steven is a major-league Ska aficianado, and he’ll be treating our listeners to the best of Third Wave, modern and even Two-Tone Ska music,. He did the show elswhere before, but now he’s on The AIR. It’s great to have Steven on board here at The AIR, and it’s great to have a dedicated Ska program back on our internet station’s schedule, two years after Dexter Checkers stepped down from Ska Madness due to health issues.

To help welcome Steven to The AIR family, later today we’ll feature an item in The 2019 PopCult Gift Guide that Steven talks about in his show. Check PopCult around Noon to see what I’m talking about.

NOISE BRIGADE will alternate weeks with Psychedelic Shack Tuesday’s at 2 PM, with replays Wednesday at 11 AM, Thursday at 8 AM and 10 PM, Friday at Noon, Saturday at 10 AM, Sunday at 4 PM and Monday at 7 PM.

We also have a new Radio Free Charleston at 10 AM and 10 PM Tuesday. This week we’re bringing you another show made up entirely of audio taken from raw video that we shot for the RFC video show. This time you’ll hear The Big Bad from May, 2012, Hellblinki from May, 2010 and The Dad Horse Experience from November, 2010…all of them recorded live at The Empty Glass, presented with between-song banter, song fragments and other cool stuff.

As with our last video archive show, the YouTube version includes the raw video from which the audio was derived. It’s not color-corrected or heavily-edited, but if you want to see one camera angle of the performances, you can.

Radio Free Charleston can be heard Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM, with replays Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 9 AM and 7 PM, Saturday at 11 AM and Midnight, Sunday at 1 PM and the next Monday at 8PM, exclusively on The AIR.

If you can’t listen to the stream on The AIR, we are now uploading the RFC radio show to YouTube (by popular demand). So you can listen to it here and watch the video, if you want…

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Next up in the 2019 PopCult Gift Guide are two great restored movies that are currently available at a bargain price at Barnes & Nobel. Criterion is a company that releases high-quality, remastered and restored movies on DVD and Blu Ray with tons of bonus features. They always do a fantastic presentation and their product is usually more expensive and well worth the price.

The Criterion Collection is a veritable movie museum, preserving masterpieces of cinema for generations of movie fans, many yet to be born. Their editions of films feature the best possible picture and sound, and are the ultimate presentation of significant examples of filmmaking.

For a very short period, Barnes & Noble has their Criterion releases for 50% off, which brings them down to normal prices. Two of those releases are well worth pointing out because they’re great gift ideas, and one of them was shot here in West Virginia.

Our Gift Guide recommendations for today are the Criterion Collection releases of John Sayles’ Matewan, and Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz. Both of these films are available as DVDs or Blu Ray sets.

Matewan

A fantastic gift for anyone with an interest in real West Virginia history, Matewan is both a great movie by a master director, and a much-needed lesson of a shameful part of our state’s story.

Written and directed by John Sayles, this wrenching historical drama recounts the true story of a West Virginia coal town where the local miners’ struggle to form a union rose to the pitch of all-out war in 1920. When Matewan’s miners go on strike, organizer Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper, in his film debut) arrives to help them, uniting workers white and black, Appalachia-born and immigrant, while urging patience in the face of the coal company’s violent provocations.

With a crackerjack ensemble cast—including James Earl Jones, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell, and Will Oldham—and Oscar-nominated cinematography by Haskell Wexler, Matewan taps into a rich vein of Americana with painstaking attention to local texture, issuing an impassioned cry for justice that still resounds today.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director John Sayles, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Audio commentary from 2013 featuring Sayles and cinematographer Haskell Wexler
Two new documentaries on the making of the film featuring Sayles, producer Maggie Renzi, production designer Nora Chavooshian, and actors Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham, and David Strathairn
New interview with composer Mason Daring
Short documentary on the impact that Matewan’s production had on West Virginia
New program on the film’s production design featuring Chavooshian
Trailer
PLUS: An essay by critic A. S. Hamrah

All That Jazz

With legendary choreographer/director Bob Fosse back in the spotlight due to the recent FX series, Fosse/Verdon, new fans need to see Fosse’s own, fictionalized, account of his life.

The preternaturally gifted director and choreographer Bob Fosse turned the camera on his own life for this madly imaginative, self-excoriating musical masterpiece. Roy Scheider gives the performance of his career as Joe Gideon, whose exhausting work schedule—mounting a Broadway production by day and editing his latest movie by night—and routine of amphetamines, booze, and sex are putting his health at serious risk.

Fosse burrows into Gideon’s (and his own) mind, rendering his interior world as phantasmagoric spectacle. Assembled with visionary editing that makes dance come alive on-screen as never before, and overflowing with sublime footwork by the likes of Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, and Ben Vereen, All That Jazz pushes the musical genre to personal depths and virtuosic aesthetic heights.

SPECIAL FEATURES

New 4K digital restoration, with 3.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Audio commentary featuring editor Alan Heim
Selected-scene audio commentary by actor Roy Scheider
New interviews with Heim and Fosse biographer Sam Wasson
New conversation between actors Ann Reinking and Erzsebet Foldi
Episode of the talk show Tomorrow from 1980, featuring director Bob Fosse and choreographer Agnes de Mille
Interviews with Fosse from 1981 and 1986
On-set footage
Portrait of a Choreographer, a 2007 documentary on Fosse
The Soundtrack: Perverting the Standards, a 2007 documentary about the film’s music
Interview with George Benson from 2007, about his song “On Broadway,” which opens the film
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Hilton Als

Click the movie titles for links to the Barnes and Noble sale prices. Once the sale is over, you might come close to the bargain deals at Amazon. Both gifts are perfect for the sophisticated film fan on your holiday shopping list.

A few weeks ago Mark Evanier wrote in his blog about the Blackwing Palamino Pencil, which was the weapon of choice for people like Chuck Jones, Stephen Sondheirm and John Steinbeck.

Blackwing pencils were originally introduced by the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company in the 1930s. Their cult following included several insanely talented artists and writers.

Despite this following, they fell victim to cost cutting measures in the 1990s and were discontinued. But, that didn’t stop devotees from paying as much as $40 per pencil to seize unused stock. In 2010, a new company drew from nearly a century of experience in the pencil business to access the best materials in the world and bring Blackwing back for a new generation of writers, musicians, and others seeking a more natural existence.

Today, a portion of every Blackwing sale benefits music and arts education at the K-12 level.

As an artist who is in the midst of transitioning back from digital art to real physical art after dealing with hand paralysis for a few years, I decided to order some and try them out.

I was very impressed by the quality of this pencil, and how easy it is on my hands. You can see work I created with their basic soft-graphite pencil HERE and HERE, so I’m recommending a cool starter set that you can order directly from the new Blackwing company. These pencils are not cheap. The ones I got ran around two bucks a pop, but they are worth every penny. The Blackwing Starting Point Set is the perfect way to introduce the artist or maker in your life to the world of Blackwing.

EACH SET INCLUDES:
4 Blackwing pencils with a range of Soft, Balanced, Firm and Extra-firm graphite
2 Point Guards that keep your pencil from breaking on the go
1 Black Long Point Sharpener that uses a two-step process to first sharpen the wood before precision sharpening the graphite
2 packs of our Replacement Erasers to ensure your pencil is always functional

You can order this set for just under $35, direct from Blackwing, and you can browse their store for other pencils, accesories and limited edition sets. Their pencils can also be found at Amazon and Dick Blick.

If the person on your holiday shopping list becomes a fan, you can give them new Blackwing Palamino pencils every year! Recommended for artists, writers and musicians.