Dark Carnival

Rating:
Summary: A top-notch biography of a difficult subject
Review: Director Tod Browning, best known for his films "Dracula" (1931) and "Freaks," was a surrealist for the masses. In his films he used characters with mental and physical abnormalities to illustrate the plight of humanity diminished by modernism. He was one of the first horror auteurs in America, and filtered elements of the fantastic from European film makers like Robert Weine and F.W. Murnau. As an artist, he was uneven, and as the subject of a biography, he is all but unknowable, but David J. Skal does the best he can. Some sections of the book (especially the ones covering Bela Lugosi and the making of "Dracula") retread earlier work by Skal. Browning is also not the best subject for a biographical treatment, since he left almost no letters or personal effects. Instead of resorting to guesswork or pop psychology, however, Skal (with his collaborator Elias Savada, a film historian) wisely focuses on the content of Browning's films. The best sections of the book deal with Browning's frequent silent movies collaborations with Lon Chaney, Sr., and the making of, and subsequent furor over, the film "Freaks." This is a top notch book that should appeal greatly to film buffs, lovers of silent cinema, Hollywood historians, cultural critics, and horror fans of all stripes. (And compleatists and trainspotters will be happy to know that the filmography is both detailed and exhaustive.)

Rating:
Summary: A top-notch biography of a difficult subject
Review: Director Tod Browning, best known for his films "Dracula" (1931) and "Freaks," was a surrealist for the masses. In his films he used characters with mental and physical abnormalities to illustrate the plight of humanity diminished by modernism. He was one of the first horror auteurs in America, and filtered elements of the fantastic from European film makers like Robert Weine and F.W. Murnau. As an artist, he was uneven, and as the subject of a biography, he is all but unknowable, but David J. Skal does the best he can. Some sections of the book (especially the ones covering Bela Lugosi and the making of "Dracula") retread earlier work by Skal. Browning is also not the best subject for a biographical treatment, since he left almost no letters or personal effects. Instead of resorting to guesswork or pop psychology, however, Skal (with his collaborator Elias Savada, a film historian) wisely focuses on the content of Browning's films. The best sections of the book deal with Browning's frequent silent movies collaborations with Lon Chaney, Sr., and the making of, and subsequent furor over, the film "Freaks." This is a top notch book that should appeal greatly to film buffs, lovers of silent cinema, Hollywood historians, cultural critics, and horror fans of all stripes. (And compleatists and trainspotters will be happy to know that the filmography is both detailed and exhaustive.)

Rating:
Summary: It was cultivating but it seemed to lack the writers touch
Review: It started off good then i started to loose intrest. it felt like it needed a few more adjitives.

Rating:
Summary: where else?
Review: Will you find this much detail about Browning. That alone gets Skal's effort the highest rating. Fascinating material.