ALL FOR THE BEST: HOW GODSPELL TRANSFERRED FROM STAGE TO SCREEN Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy ALL FOR THE BEST: HOW GODSPELL TRANSFERRED FROM STAGE TO SCREEN? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on ALL FOR THE BEST: HOW GODSPELL TRANSFERRED FROM STAGE TO SCREEN. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

ALL FOR THE BEST: HOW GODSPELL TRANSFERRED FROM STAGE TO SCREEN ReviewI'm not a huge fan of Godspell, though I do admit that the time and the place of NYC in the early 70s holds a huge fascination for me, which is why I decided to read this book. Not knowing much about the history of the making of the film, I can't say I walked away from this very brief, yet very tedious read knowing a whole lot more.
The book is filled with mostly anecdotal information, told by a group of very earnest performers who consider this the high point of their careers. (For good reason; the only actors who went on to have anything resembling a career were Victor Garber and the late Lynne Thigpen.) Unfortunately, none of their stories are terribly interesting, coming off instead as the kind of self-reverential anecdotes one puts up with from a friend reliving past glories out of sheer politeness. I put up with it from friends. I don't expect to pay money to read them.
The book also has a very, very loose narrative timeline. Whole sections are skipped, and while I'm pretty sure one couldn't fill 500 pages with the history of Godspell the Movie, it's really given quite short shrift, likely because this was just one of those films that doesn't have a backstory worth telling. Everyone loved each other, loved working with each other (which I don't buy for a minute) and they mostly have nothing but good things to say about each other. That gets boring real fast and when any sort of dissention is hinted at (especially between the performers and director David Greene, who sounds like a complete incompetent and egotist), the interviewees pull back, choosing to cloud their memories with the fog of nostalgia. Everything was magical. That's nice for a scrapbook, but in a narrative, it gets boring very quickly.
The writing style is fairly amateurish. Run-on sentences lead the pack, and Martin never met a descriptor he didn't put to work overtime. I will say I was relieved, after having read the introduction (also written by Martin and mostly about him and having zero to do with Godspell), that he wisely chose to keep himself (if not his opinions) out of the meat of the book. I'm not sure if it was edited, since this is somewhat of a vanity press, so I don't know how much they can afford to hire an actual editor or just depend on the author to deliver a fully finished product. I've read other books by BMM that have varied wildly in quality, so I suspect it's more of a "come as you are."
There has also obviously been very little research done outside of the anecdotal interviews. No one seems to really remember any hard facts (or it's very possible the proper questions just weren't asked in the first place). There is no real information here. At one point, I counted at least three anecdotal remembrances about Lynne Thigpen, none of which had anything to do with Godspell. The author also admits he couldn't find out how much the film grossed during its theatrical release. While the internet has certainly proven itself a useful tool for anyone doing research, sometimes you actually have to get on the phone and make some calls to get information. Don't assume because it's not on google, it doesn't exist. That's just one example of many pieces of information that were missing.
I usually love when I watch a documentary and come away from it wanting to learn more about the topic or person at hand, and then go dig up a book about it. I shouldn't have the need to dig up a book about the book I just read in order to learn more.
ALL FOR THE BEST: HOW GODSPELL TRANSFERRED FROM STAGE TO SCREEN Overview

Want to learn more information about ALL FOR THE BEST: HOW GODSPELL TRANSFERRED FROM STAGE TO SCREEN?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now