Jane Austen in Hollywood (review)

Book Reviews | Regular Feature analyzing the careers of key actors and by presenting a series of brief close readings of "Landmark Movies," such as John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate (1962), John Cassavetes' Faces (1968) and Peter Yates' Bullitt (1968). The issues surrounding the evolution of gender representation are dealt with extensively, without descending into a miasma ofconvoluted argumentation and academic jargon. Lost Illusions is the ninth volume in Scribners' series on American film history. Although the primary author is David Cook, director of the Film Studies Program at Emory University, the last three chapters were written by Douglas Gomery, William Rothman, and Robin Blaetz. Documentary films are dealt with by Rothman and the avant-garde is the subject of Blaetz' chapter. Douglas Gomery—one of the leading experts on the exhibition side of the film industry—provides a concise overview on the subject. Particularly informative is that part of his chapter that deals with how cable television, beginning in the 1970s, redefined "movie watching" in the United States. As stated in Cook's preface the "lost illusions" center around two premises that he claims informedAmerican cinema from the mid-60s through the mid-70s—a liberal political consensus created by the anti-Vietnam War movement and the Watergate scandal —and that, in response to these crises, Hollywood aspired to address socio-political issues on a permanent basis. Cook concludes that this was little more than an illusion, or ephemeral indulgence of members of the industry, and that the blockbuster syndrome signaled by Steven Speilberg's Jaws (1975) and George Lucas' Star Wars (1977) returned Hollywood, with a spectacular vengeance, to its mainstream roots. This is a thesis that few would dispute. However, by overly reflecting the editorial theme in Scribners' series—that of focusing on a detailed history of the business aspects of the film industry and the repercussions of technological advances—Cook downplays the presentational style of the "product" created by Hollywood for the public's consumption—thereby creating an informed but rather dry read. For instance, aside from the industry's need and desire to generate profits, the mass appeal of blockbuster films is not fully explored. In addition, by rattling off numerous snippets of technical information as related to multifarious films, there is little for the reader to conceptually latch onto, especially a younger, general reader whose exposure to most of those films would probably be limited—even the film expert would need a near total recall aptitude to make all the linkages. Since the subtitle of Lost Illusions specifically refers to Watergate and Vietnam, and, as noted above, Cook makes specific claims in the preface relating to these topics and their influences upon American film, the reviewer was rather disappointed regarding the author's timidity in engaging that topic in the body of the text. Furthermore, on one of the few occasions when Cook does directly engage the issue, this reader believes the author may have overstated his point a tad when he refers to Alan Pakula's All The President's Men (1976) as being "extraordinary in its evocation of police-state-like menace"—was that a tattered old brownshirt Deep Throat was wearing? And, lastly, the sections ofCook's bookthat deal with fringe elements of the industry—pornographic films for example—are useful. But Cook's real strength is connecting the key technological developments upon the filmmaking process, such as how the introduction of Steadicam created a revolution in the industry. This is particularly outstanding in his analysis ofthe hedge scene in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980). Michael S. Shull Towson University ShullMS@aol.com Linda Troost, and Sayre Greenfield, editors. Jane Austen in Hollywood. The University Press of Kentucky, 2001. 241 pages; $27.50. Intradiegetically or Extradiegetically A Jane Austen cartoon-figure stands in her high-waisted dress and waits to walk into a Hollywood movie debut as the reporters and photographers clamor about her. The book's cartoon cover and title—Jane Austen in Hollywood—are misleading, as this is a serious collection of fourteen essays concerning the recent film interpretations —both Hollywood and British—of Jane Austen's novels. Between 1970 and 1986 seven feature -length Jane Austen films...