The Whole Durn Human Comedy

The Whole Durn Human Comedy
Author: Joseph McBride
Publisher:
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2022-03
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9781839983313

The Coen Bros. have attracted a wide following and been rewarded with Oscars and other honors, and some of their films are cult favorites and boxoffice hits, such as FARGO, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. Yet the team of filmmaking brothers remains misunderstood in some circles. Ethan and Joel Coen deliberately unsettle conventional expectations and raise disturbing questions about human nature while mischievously mixing film genres and styles. Their films display shocking tonal shifts as they blend comedy and drama and, most controversially, comedy and violence. This potent mélange of themes and stylistic approaches makes the Coens' films adventurous, unpredictable probes into contemporary social anxieties; as brilliant satirists they are heirs to Preston Sturges and Billy Wilder. But they resist easy definition and raise the ire of some critics who like films to fit more comfortably into preexisting formats. Film historian and critic Joseph McBride -- author of acclaimed biographies of Frank Capra, John Ford, and Steven Spielberg, along with critical studies of Orson Welles, Ernst Lubitsch, and Wilder -- jousts with the Coens' detractors while defining the filmmakers' freshness and originality. The quirkily individualistic Coens are the kind of personal filmmakers the increasingly conglomerated American cinema rarely fosters anymore, and this critical study illuminates their artistic personalities and contributions.

The Human Comedy

The Human Comedy
Author: Galt MacDermot
Publisher: Samuel French, Inc.
Total Pages: 118
Release: 1985
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780573681677

Funny: The Book

Funny: The Book
Author: David Misch
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2012-04-01
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1557839662

Funny: The Book is an entertaining look at the art of comedy, from its historical roots to the latest scientific findings, with diversions into the worlds of movies (Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers), television (The Office), prose (Woody Allen, Robert Benchley), theater (The Front Page), jokes and stand-up comedy (Richard Pryor, Steve Martin), as well as personal reminiscences from the author's experiences on such TV programs as Mork and Mindy. With allusions to the not-always-funny Carl Jung, George Orwell, and Arthur Koestler, Funny: The Book explores the evolution, theories, principles, and practice of comedy, as well as the psychological, philosophical, and even theological underpinnings of humor, coming to the conclusion that (Spoiler Alert!) Comedy is God.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Author: Mary Roach
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2004-04-27
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0393324826

A look inside the world of forensics examines the use of human cadavers in a wide range of endeavors, including research into new surgical procedures, space exploration, and a Tennessee human decay research facility.

Bad Monkey

Bad Monkey
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2013-06-11
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0385350074

Coming as an Apple Original series from Ted Lasso Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and starring Vince Vaughn • A wickedly funny novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Squeeze Me in which the greedy, the corrupt, and the degraders of what’s left of pristine Florida—now, of the Bahamas as well—get their comeuppance. “[A] comedic marvel … [Hiaasen] hasn’t written a novel this funny since Skinny Dip.”—The New York Times Andrew Yancy—late of the Miami Police and soon-to-be-late of the Monroe County sheriff’s office—has a human arm in his freezer. There’s a logical (Hiaasenian) explanation for that, but not for how and why it parted from its shadowy owner. Yancy thinks the boating-accident/shark-luncheon explanation is full of holes, and if he can prove murder, the sheriff might rescue him from his grisly Health Inspector gig (it’s not called the roach patrol for nothing). But first—this being Hiaasen country—Yancy must negotiate an obstacle course of wildly unpredictable events with a crew of even more wildly unpredictable characters, including his just-ex lover, a hot-blooded fugitive from Kansas; the twitchy widow of the frozen arm; two avariciously optimistic real-estate speculators; the Bahamian voodoo witch known as the Dragon Queen, whose suitors are blinded unto death by her peculiar charms; Yancy’s new true love, a kinky coroner; and the eponymous bad monkey, who with hilarious aplomb earns his place among Carl Hiaasen’s greatest characters.

Comedy Rules

Comedy Rules
Author: Jonathan Lynn
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2011-08-18
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0571277977

Jonathan Lynn's credits include creating and co-writing the long-running comedy series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, as well as hit films Clue, My Cousin Vinny, Nuns on the Run and The Whole Nine Yards. With experience as a comedy actor, writer and director, here Jonathan Lynn shares valuable and hilarious lessons in all aspects of creating great comedy, all illustrated with brilliantly insightful and revealing anecdotes about his work and the legedary actors, writers and comedians he's worked alongside.

The Human Comedy (Complete Edition)

The Human Comedy (Complete Edition)
Author: Honoré de Balzac
Publisher: e-artnow
Total Pages: 10701
Release: 2019-09-17
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN:

The Human Comedy is the title of Honoré de Balzac's multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration (1815–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848). Balzac organized his works into 3 groups: "Etudes de Moeurs au XIXe siècle" (Studies of Manners in the 19th Century) + "Etudes philosophiques" + "Etudes analytiques". Balzac wrote that the "Etudes de Moeurs" would study the effects of society and touch on all genders, social classes, ages and professions of people. Meanwhile, the "Etudes philosophiques" would study the causes of these effects. Finally, the third "analytical" section would study the principles behind these phenomena. Contents: The Ball at Sceaux The Purse Vendetta A Second Home Domestic Peace Paz Study of a Woman Another Study of Woman The Grand Breteche Albert Savarus Letters of Two Brides A Daughter of Eve A Woman of Thirty The Deserted Woman La Grenadiere The Message Gobseck The Marriage Contract A Start in Life Modeste Mignon Beatrix Honorine Colonel Chabert The Atheist's Mass Pierre Grassou Scenes From Provincial Life Ursule Mirouet Eugenie Grandet The Vicar of Tours The Two Brothers An Old Maid The Collection of Antiquities The Lily of the Valley Two Poets A Distinguished Provincial at Paris Eve and David Scenes From Parisian Life Scenes from a Courtesan's Life A Prince of Bohemia A Man of Business Gaudissart II Unconscious Comedians Ferragus The Duchesse de Langeais The Girl with the Golden Eyes Father Goriot Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau The Firm of Nucingen Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan Bureaucracy Sarrasine Facino Cane Cousin Betty Cousin Pons The Lesser Bourgeoisie Scenes From Political Life An Historical Mystery An Episode Under the Terror The Brotherhood of Consolation Scenes From Military Life A Passion in the Desert Scenes From Country Life Sons of the Soil The Magic Skin Christ in Flanders Melmoth Reconciled The Unknown Masterpiece…

The Magic Skin

The Magic Skin
Author: Honoré de Balzac
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2018-09-27
Genre:
ISBN: 9781727357745

The Magic Skin (La Peau de chagrin) is set in early 19th-century Paris and tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy. Although the novel uses fantastic elements, its main focus is a realistic portrayal of the excesses of bourgeois materialism. Balzac's renowned attention to detail is used to describe a gambling house, an antique shop, a royal banquet, and other locales. He also includes details from his own life as a struggling writer, placing the main character in a home similar to the one he occupied at the start of his literary career. The central theme of La Peau de chagrin is the conflict between desire and longevity. The magic skin represents the owner's life-force, which is depleted through every expression of will, especially when it is employed for the acquisition of power. Ignoring a caution from the shopkeeper who offers him the skin, the protagonist greedily surrounds himself with wealth, only to find himself miserable and decrepit at the story's end. (source: Wikipedia)