Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets

Customer Reviews:

a very interesting book to page through.......2007-07-18

Kenneth Anger's hollywood babylon is the kind of book you can pick up and put down at any time.. I find it interesting to page through before or after I watch one of the older movies of hollywood's golden age.. I can't get enough of this sort of look into the dumpster of tinseltown.. the scandals and episodes that have been brushed under the carpet or just are no longer known about.. The list of characters that populate these pages are as colorful as they were glamorous.. and also at times hideous..
This is not very heavy reading but it is endlessly fascinating..

Thumbs down on the (myth-ridden) text, thumbs up on (some of) the pictures.......2007-07-12

What saves the sensationalistic - not to say trashy and in many places inaccurate - _Hollywood Babylon_ from being a total failure is the huge number of pictures, many shocking and some downright grisly (as in the picture of poor Thelma Todd lying done to death in her car), but mostly fascinating if sometimes nauseating (I'll talk about one of the worst offenders shortly). Which is a good thing, because frankly I want to take a bath every time I read the text to wash off the grime. We all know that Hollywood in its "Golden Age" was a long way removed from the image of saintly morality painted by its self-appointed guardians, the studio moguls - very many of whom had guilty secrets among them - chief among them, but Kenneth Anger seems to take a little too much delight in the sordidity and scandal for my own taste. What makes it worse is that he passes on a number of urban legends rather than do the boring work of get at the truth.

One of the most objectionable myths he fosters in this book, in my view, is the story that Jayne Mansfield was decapitated in the auto accident that took her life in 1967. This is simply not true. There is a ghastly photo in circulation on the web - I won't link to it but those who really want to know can Google for it - that makes it clear that her injuries, while fatal, did not result in the removal of her head. What you see on the car's crumpled hood in that photo (that Anger claims was Mansfield's noggin) is actually her wig. (And did we really need to see that photo of her dead Chihuahua? Ugh.)

If people want a really good book on Hollywood scandals, I strongly suggest they go find James Robert Parish's well-researched, evenhanded, brightly-written _The Hollywood Book of Scandal_ instead. (And that book doesn't contain any photos likely to make you lose your lunch, either!)

Juicy delicious!.......2007-05-19

If you think today's stars are misbehaved, wait til you read this! I couldn't put it down and read it in few days. Anger's style of writing is witty, sarcastic, and will compltely put you back into another era. The book focuses mainly on early, pre-code Hollywood up until Jayne Mansfield's death in 1967. There are so many juicy stories and even morbid details in this book, and tons of awesome pictures. (Although be warned- picture of Jayne Mansfield's car crash and dead dog are depressing and bloody). Includes everyone who was ever anyone- Clara Bow, Carole Landis, Carole Lombard, Marilyn Monroe, Valentino, Novarro, Judy Garland (who died on the toilet), Gary Cooper, William Randolph Hurst, Jayne Mansfield, Charlie Chaplin, etc. etc. etc. All the old legends are in here. Completely worth the price. I just wish there was a newer version.

great book and wonderful gossip.......2007-02-18

if your the type that is intrigued by anna nichole , michael jackson, brittney spears and paris hilton then get this book these people were the real hollywood deal the stars from the 20s 30s and 40s make todays stars seem like cub scouts. this book has it all sex , glamor , drugs all the stuff that will make you not put this book down . you couldnt make this stuff up if you tried .

VERY ENTERTAINING.......2007-01-12

I love reading the trash & gossip about the stars and this book provided it all. It was hard to put down and I was sorry when I finished it.
Great reading!

Average customer rating:

He Who Writes in Resentment Shall Make Boring Gossip

Hollywood Babylon II
Kenneth Anger
Manufacturer: E.P. Dutton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets
The Hollywood Book of Scandals : The Shocking, Often Disgraceful Deeds and Affairs of Over 100 American Movie and TV Idols
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ASIN: B00072RGFI

Customer Reviews:

He Who Writes in Resentment Shall Make Boring Gossip.......2005-12-10

There's a law against books like these. That law states that "Any Book of Tawdry Celebrity Gossip Can't Be Boring." Hollywood Babylon II breaks that law. It makes gossip look boring.

Page, after page, I read obsolete stories about Bill Tilden, "Killer" Kelly, Joan Crawford's interior decorator (the only man in her life who she didn't sleep with) and many others. The only good story was about the Alex Pentages "mop closet" case.

Most of the book is filler, with lots of photos that have nothing to do with the book. Read Bill Landis' book, and you'll see how this book came into being. Anger rushed around Hollywood, looking for bits of smut that weren't well-known. Did he interview the residents of Hollywood's nursing homes, like Jack Nicholson's character in Chinatown? Did he dredge up old copies of Hollywood Confidential?

When I first saw this book, I thought the woman on the cover was Roseann Arnold. Now I know it's Elizabeth Taylor. Anger could have insterted some good stuff on Liz Taylor, but instead he just gives us recycled photos of Taylor in her plus-size phase. And the guy on the back cover isn't Kenneth Anger at all (I think it's Bella Lugosi, of whom Anger didn't include any info either).

After reading the Bill Landis biography, I think that Anger missed a great opportunity to write on his own experiences. He lived in Hollywood durring its early years and heyday. He knew Anais Nin, Stan Brackhage and many other luminaries of music, art and letters. He and Alfred Kinsey travelled to Italy, where they uncovered Alestair Crowley's Thelema Abbey. Later, Anger lived in Jimmy Page's house, where they collaborated on an early version of Lucifer Rising. He worked with Mick Jagger on one of his short films, and Bobby Beausoliel (of Manson Family infamy) did the music for the final Lucifer Rising. All this would have made a hell of a book.

Hollywood Babylon II doesn't live up to Anger's potential. There's an undercurrent of resentment in the writing, as though Anger is always bitter about not having been a part of the elite. Much of the writing is self-indulgent, with short bursts of hatefull words of photos thrown in just to make the actors (and Hollywood in general) look bad.

Hollywood Babylon II is ruined by the author's bitterness. I guess that's why it only had one printing. I found mine in the pushcart of a used book salesman.

Average customer rating:

Exceptional quality!

Kenneth Anger (B)
Alice L. Hutchison
Manufacturer: Black Dog
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Anger: The Unauthorized Biography of Kenneth Anger

ASIN: 190477203X

Customer Reviews:

Exceptional quality!.......2005-03-30

A book like this one is long, long overdue: a quality overview of one of the 20th century's most important and influential artists.

This book is thoroughly exceptional on all levels: the quality of both writing and image are very high, and there are plenty of both. Hutchison's writing is informed and clear. She does a great job at discussing the work and (most importantly) contextualizing it within broader cultural and counter-cultural happenings. In addition to her writing there are several contributions from Anger himself, as well as short essays by notable art critics like Carolee Schneemann. Also, there is a fair amount of archival materials, such as documents, letters from Anger to various friends and collaborators and so on. Although, as the writer notes in the preface, the book is not an exhaustive deconstruction of the artist's work, it is a highly satisfying and detailed overview of an amazing body of work.

The images in this book are absolutely beautiful. It is obvious that a lot of work went into their preparation and selection. Apparently, Anger himself approved the reproduction, englarment and restoration of the images. In addition to the film stills there are plenty of archival photos and promotional materials such as posters. There is a wealth of visual stimulation in this book! It's smartly designed also, containing a lot of visual information in an attractive lay out.

Another strong point of this publication is that, in addition to covering the artist's better-known works (The Magick Lantern films) there is a fair amount of information on lesser-known projects. In addition to the Lantern films, there are sections about little known documentaries (about Aleister Crowley, Elliot Smith and more), collaborations (with Stan Brakhage for example), and the artist's more recent work (1981 - 2004).

This book is worth your time and money. It will please Anger fans as well as serving to as a quality introduction to newcomers.

Now, hopefully, the films will finally see release on DVD this year!

Anger: The Unauthorized Biography of Kenneth Anger

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Anger Hated This Book, But Read It Anyway
Watching the watcher

Anger: The Unauthorized Biography of Kenneth Anger
Bill Landis
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. 1
Kenneth Anger (B)
Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets

ASIN: 0060922141

Book Description

From the beginning of the underground film movement in the U.S. and Europe, through the fringe gay world of the '40s and '50s, to the '60s in London and San Francisco (when Anger was at his peak of fame), to the present, Anger takes the reader on a wild journey tracing the reclusive, countercultural life of America's most innovative and highly regarded underground filmmaker. Known worldwide for his bestselling Hollywood Babylon books and his cult film classics Scorpio Rising, Lucifer Rising and Fireworks, Anger's aesthetic vision influenced such directors as Steven Spielberg, Dennis Hopper and Martin Scorcese, and can still be felt years later in contemporary mediums such as rock videos. In this sensational story of one of the century's most creative and controversial iconoclasts, the reader encounters characters as diverse as sexuality expert Dr. Alfred Kinsey, avant-gardists Anais Nin and Marianne Faithfull, rock icons Mick Jagger and Jimmy Page and Bobby Beausoleil, the Manson murderer who was Anger's prot,g, and a star of Lucifer Rising. A powerful and compelling read, Anger is indispensable for film buffs and is sure to appeal to the burgeoning gay market.

Customer Reviews:

Anger Hated This Book, But Read It Anyway.......2006-09-13

Kenneth Anger deserves a much more serious and scholarly bio, but this will do for now. He's literally CURSED Landis for this work, and you can see why-- Landis has dug up lots of dirt about the controversial film-maker, and shares much about his early life (including his birth name). Reservations aside, Anger's lived such a fabulous and improbable life, and created such forward-looking and brilliant films, that the ride is a fast and furious one. Film students and fans of the counter-culture in the 50s, 60s, and 70s will love this, as I did.

Where is Anger's autobiography? Now THAT would be a trip to read....

Watching the watcher.......1998-05-21

I recommend this book to anyone interested in underground film, whether you're a maker or purveyor. Despite personal conflicts with the subject, Mr. Landis manages to provide us with an even-handed account of the life of Kenneth Anger, and subsequently, the history of underground film-making.

Personally, the most interesting chapters were those that dealt with the celebrities that crossed paths with Anger and the pretenses by which they did.

Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon II
Average customer rating:

Sleaze to the knees, but no further

ANOTHER EXCELLENT HOLLYWOOD TRIP............

Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon II

Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets

ASIN: 9994422308

Customer Reviews:

Sleaze to the knees, but no further.......2002-03-20

Little of the tackiness and snippy attitude of its predecessor is lost in Holly Baby 2. Still, this sequel suffers a bit by comparison. There is a forced effort to this collection and the material seems to be running a tad thin in places. For example, the catalog of suicides that runs on for about 60 pages plays more to form than to substance. In addition to waxing morbid, it mixes together a wide range of unrelated causes for death. Some of the suicides are Hollywood vanity tragedies; some are merely the tired, the old, and the infirm euthanizing themselves. Some of the dead "stars" are likely unknown outside their inclusion in this list. There are several sections of photos without text that don't quite convey whatever scandal it is they propose to expose. Also, the text dilutes the sting of its rebuke by including such unrelated items as the "scandal" of Elizabeth Taylor getting fat, along with some very unflattering photos to accompany. On the other hand, the expose of Joseph Kennedy (JFK and RFK's dad) is ringing, and Anger's diatribe against Ronnie Reagan is pure carbolic acid. There is enough cheese-and-sleaze here that even with its faults, Holly Baby 2 delivers the kind of kiss-and-tell voyeurism that one goes looking between its covers for in the first place.

ANOTHER EXCELLENT HOLLYWOOD TRIP...................2001-12-01

As captivated as I was by the first Hollywood Babylon ,part 2 is even better! Packed with more photos and Angers cunning (and cutting)campy wit it brings "old hollywood" to its knees (no pun intended!).A wonderful look at the behind the scenes Hollywood of the past its a great read .I cant wait for 20+ years from now somebody,somewhere does a part 3 and brings us up to date about whats STILL must going on behind the scenes.This book works for truecrime fans,hollywood/movie buffs or anybody who reads tabloids in the checkout line when they think no ones looking!!!! A fun,campy thrill ride of fun!!!!!

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Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon
Kenneth Anger
Manufacturer: Straight Arrow Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets

ASIN: B000IOG6UG

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Rapid Eye 3 (Rapid Eye)
Kenneth Anger
Manufacturer: Creation Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Rapid Eye 2 (Rapid Eye, 2)
Rapid Eye 1

ASIN: 1871592240

Book Description

Painters, cyberpunks, dog-boys, mad scientists, occultists, neoists, performance artists, film-makers, writerss, leopard-girls and voodoo horsemen. Hacking into the new virtual geography, where time and space do not exist, but where thought survives, as in art. In this age of transition and sensory overload, new ideas and organisations of perception form. To be marginalised, misunderstood, ignored, reviled. But melancholy can fuel creation. Imagination can replace fantasy. Hope can overcome fear. Different interpretations of the past and fresh approaches to art and technology can ensure the evolution and refinement of the perception of everyday life. In the virtual universe, there is no death.

Moonchild: The Films of Kenneth Anger (Persistence of Vision, 1)

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Beautiful and Insightful

Moonchild: The Films of Kenneth Anger (Persistence of Vision, 1)

Manufacturer: Creation Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Kenneth Anger (B)
The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. 1
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The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. 2

ASIN: 1840680296

Book Description

Kenneth Anger: author of Hollywood Babylon, true disciple of Aleister Crowley, former mentor to both Bobby Beausoleil and Mick Jagger, amongst others - and almost certainly the most original and talented film-maker of the 20th Century.

Moonchild presents revelatory texts on the occult, mind-altering, homo-erotic, synaesthetic and pop-culture tropes to be found within such classic underground films as Fireworks, Inauguration Of The Pleasure Dome, Scorpio Rising, Invocation Of My Demon Brother, and Lucifer Rising. Contributors inclue Mikita Brottman (author of Hollywood Hex) and Jack Sargeant (author of Deathtripping and Naked Lens).

Accompanied by a host of opulent film images, a filmography and quotes from Anger himself, Moonchild is the definitive study of one of cinema's most charismatic yet elusive innovators.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful and Insightful.......2002-05-27

Simply put, Moonchild is the most comprehensive, insightful book dealing with the genius of Kenneth Anger, avant-garde filmmaker and modern day magus. Dealing with themes throughout Anger's Magick Lantern Cycle such as myth and symbolism as well as the occult, clearly laying out their profound importance within the Anger oeuvre, Moonchild should be purchased by anyone wanting to gain true insight into the mind of Anger - what a frighteningly beautiful place - as well as a deeper understanding of his films and their highly complex, fine-tuned structures. A must have.

Bike Boys, Drag Queens, & Superstars: Avant-Garde, Mass Culture, and Gay Identities in the 1960s Underground Cinema

Average customer rating:

Rebuttal to Kirkus review.

Bike Boys, Drag Queens, & Superstars: Avant-Garde, Mass Culture, and Gay Identities in the 1960s Underground Cinema
Juan Antonio Suarez
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 025332971X

Customer Reviews:

Rebuttal to Kirkus review........1998-01-25

It is difficult to determine where to begin addressing a review as contradictory and pointless as the one offered by Kirkus of Suarez's exciting new focus on kitsch, camp, and fetishism in the Gay Underground Cinema of the the 60's.

To begin with, Kirkus misses or entirely avoids recognizing that this "slightly new conception" of the history of this cinema is an immanently Queer one, fixing as it does on those aesthetic elements which even most theorists of the avant-garde would have preferred not to let out of the closet. The Kirkus review fails to acknowledge how and why Saurez's reassessment of this tradition bears upon the object of this inquiry-- why Peter Burger's notion of the avant-garde as a rejection of decadent aestheticism is particularly problematic for the queer underground-- why Clement Greenberg's derogation of kitsch cannot possibly account for this cinema-- how Theodor Adorno's strictly negative dialectic fails to record the more positive relations established between the avant-garde and mass culture.

Though Kirkus seems to regard the first fifty pages of Suarez's book as pointless, I see them as absolutely essential. Without the context of these earlier notions of the avant-garde, Suarez's formulations would seem to have come out of thin air-- devoid of any relation to those earlier discourses formed and informed by particular socia land ideological circumstances. Instead, Suarez not only offers a new account, but also reveals how and why a number of elements particularly important to the study of Smith, Anger, and Warhol have been systematically overlooked in the theory which precedes him. Ideas never come out of thin air; it is difficult to understand how the detailed framing of a discursive context could be a waste of time.

This rebuttal itself would be meaningless if the Kirkus review hadn't preceded it.

DUKE February 1970
Average customer rating:
DUKE February 1970
Kenneth Anger
Manufacturer: Duke
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ITPO9U

4 Way Street: The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Reader
Average customer rating:

Like reliving the great days of CSN&Y

CSN&Y Articles

A riveting, exciting book

An Essential Read For All Music Fans

4 Way Street: The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Reader

Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Long Time Gone

ASIN: 0306812770
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Book Description

"Crosby, Stills & Nash are in their own special realm-triumphant harmonies, never second-hand or behind the times, always touching the chord and going to the heart."-Bob Dylan

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young have been hailed as "The American Beatles" and "Folk-Rock's Mount Rushmore." They launched a trail-blazing acoustic-electric sound in 1969 and have been captivating listeners with their music ever since. Coming together as refugees from three seminal '60s bands-the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and the Hollies-the combined talents of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young have influenced several generations of musicians while proving to have enduring appeal to fans of all ages. As rock and roll's first "supergroup," CSNY generated an enormous amount of media scrutiny-from their galvanizing appearance at Woodstock to multi-platinum, chart-topping albums such as DŽj^ Vu, from David Crosby's miraculous recovery from life-threatening addictions to the band's resurgence for enormously successful concert tours. Now, noted CSNY historian Dave Zimmer distills the best of the journalism on these four remarkable artists, ranging from group portraits to individual profiles to in-depth interviews to incisive commentary by such writers as Cameron Crowe, Ben Fong-Torres and David Crosby himself. 4 Way Street: The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Reader is an open window into one of the most popular groups of all time, offering a fascinating look at their highly charged musical relationships and how they have changed over the decades, along the way revealing a colorful chronicle of the music of an era that continues to echo into the new millennium.

Customer Reviews:

Like reliving the great days of CSN&Y.......2006-01-20

You'll be glad you buy this book, if you do! I was a little young when CSN&Y came out (only 7!), but I kept up with them through the years and always found them fascinating. This book makes you feel like you've got a scrapbook of them from "the old days." The journalism is great, especially the pieces of Cameron Crowe and the first piece about Laurel Canyon and its many musical artists. You also "get to know" the personalities because of the concise natures of the interviews. I found out a lot about my favorite, Stephen Stills. I also love the selection of B&W pictures and took them to Kinko's to copy and put on my walls! The book truly captures their magic and fire. I also have Zimmer's bio, but it's always the Reader that I go back to because you can skip around in it too. The only regret I have is that I will it was a larger book, like the size of the Rolling Stone magazine, which would really give it a scrapbook feel. Nevertheless, I'm thrilled that I found this by doing an Amazon search! Please buy; you'll be glad you did!

CSN&Y Articles.......2004-11-06

Dave Zimmer has complied articles from the thrity-five year career of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The articles are great because they are from the time the events in the band's career were actually unfolding and you don't get that filtered look of biographies that were written years later. The more interesting articles are from the early days especially ones by Lenny Kaye and Cameron Crowe. A worthwhile read for all fans of CSN&Y.

A riveting, exciting book.......2004-03-13

This book is riveting, even electrical, for anybody who wants an inside look at the music business. The selections are in interview form, so as you read, it feels like the music stars are sitting in nearby chairs as they detail inside stories, opinions and perspectives. The author/editor who put it together, Daved Zimmer, did a fantastic job, and no one came better prepared for the job. When Crosby was arrested, I saw that Mr. Zimmer was the one who the New York Times sought out for comment. Even if you are only distantly interested in CSN&Y, but are fascinated with the music biz, you will find the book hits the bulls-eye.

An Essential Read For All Music Fans.......2004-02-29

Thirty years ago my dad "accidentally" flooded the garage, destroying my carefully harvested collection of UK and US publications containing interviews with, articles about and occasional references to CSNY, who for me were "the" band of the early to late 1970's. This latest manifestation of Dave Zimmer's love for the music of, and fascination about the individuals in, the USA's first "supergroup" means I now have access again to many of those writings.

Ranging from 1970 to 2002 in terms of first publication, the articles and interviews cover the development of CSNY from a self confident, but untested, aggregation of individuals through to being elder statesmen of rock capable of selling out tours of major venues in the early 21st century. Although the primary ingredient is pieces that focus specifically on the band as a whole, Zimmer leavens the mix with items that focus on the individuals, using them to cast a more oblique and often revealing light on the activities and behaviour of the "main" band. Not surprisingly, the majority of the articles come from US publications; that said, these include both the usual suspects - primarily "Rolling Stone" and writers such as Cameron Crowe - and also less well known (at least in the UK) publications such as "Crawdaddy" and "Creem". There are, however, some significant pieces from UK publications such as "Melody Maker" and UK writers such as Roy Carr and Vicki Wickham.

Music is the central interest of Zimmer's selection of pieces. CSNY were, however, notable for the nature of their personal, as well as professional, lives and the issues are not shied away from. Some of it requires reading "between the lines", but such articles as Roy Carr's interview with David Geffen, Zimmer's own major interview with Graham Nash and the pieces on David Crosby's drug addiction deal with the issues head on.

Inevitably, there are some personal favourites that didn't survive what must have been a rigorous editing process. Dave Zimmer is, however, to be massively congratulated for delivering a consistent and coherent narrative thread and fitting together the jigsaw like pieces of 30 years of writing to present a clear and illuminating picture of one of the major popular musical outfits of the late 20th century. A worthy companion to his and Henry Ditz's "Crosby, Stills and Nash: The Biography".

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