(Limelight). Screenplay to John Lahrs successful dramatization of The Orton Diaries that chronicles the last eight months of Joe Ortons life; his growing theatrical celebrity; and the corresponding punishing effect it had on his relationship with his friend and mentor Kenneth Halliwell; who murdered him on August 9; 1967; and then took his own life.
#1850413 in eBooks 2010-06-30 2010-06-30File Name: B00CS11NK0
Review
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Uneven; 3.5 StarsBy R. AlbinAn interesting and fairly well written book on an insufficiently appreciated aspect of Weimar intellectual life. In the aftermath of WWI; Hamburg supported the first private university in Germany. Both its setting and unusual history led to some distinctive features. One of its founders was the art historian Aby Warburg; a member of the famous Jewish banking family. Other prominent faculty; notably the younger and ultimately famous art historian Erwin Panofsky; and the great historian and philosopher Ernst Cassirer; were also Jews. Levine presents the University of Hamburg experience as a distinctive effort; with both interesting political and philosophical dimensions; to develop a humane; cosmopolitan culture appropriate for a republican German society. The narrative develops this theme and touches on quite a few other interesting topics. The distinct traditions of relatively cosmopolitan; mercantile Hamburg; the difficult position of Jewish intellectuals in German life; the fate of the important Neo-Kantian movement in philosophy are all discussed. The gradual erosion of this version of German life under the stresses of interwar German history is laid out well.Despite these positive features; aspects of the book are somewhat unsatisfactory. Parts are somewhat overwritten. Its not necessary to repeatedly quote Pierre Bourdieu when making a commonsense point. There are some factual errors. Gustav Stresemann; for example; was not pursuing fulfillment of Versaiiles. Isaiah Berlins mistaken criticism of Cassirers wonderful Philosophy of the Enlightenment wasnt a reflection of Cold War ideology but rather his general cluelessness about the German aspects of the Enlightenment. In general; Levine does better with her discussions of the art historians Warburg and Panofsky than her analysis of Cassirer. This is disappointing as he is definitely the most interesting figure. Analysis of his philosophy is relatively superficial and some of discussions of his work are misleading. In particular; she mischaracterizes his last book; The Myth of the State. Focusing on the opposition of myth and reason; which is part of the book; her description leaves out the fact that most of the book is an interesting historical analysis of philosophical concepts of the state. Reaching back to Cassirers notorious debate with Heidigger; she concludes that Cassirers approach was unable to rebut the mythic approach taken by individuals like Heidigger. This is incorrect for the simple reason that Cassirer had no need to make such a rebuttal. When The Myth of the State was written in the mid-1940s; the consequences of pre-rational thinking were very; very clear. Cassirers concern in this book was not to rebut pre-rational thinking but rather to explain its recrudescence in modern Germany.11 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Nachleben of the Hamburg SchoolBy Lex IconWith illuminating insights and gorgeous prose; Emily Levines "Dreamland of Humanists" is a great read and a good think. Were it not for this meticulously researched; passionately endearing; and truly thoughtful work; I would never have known or even begun to comprehend the Hamburg School as a singular movement in Western intellectual history that shined so brightly if briefly between the chaos and catastrophe of two world wars.That a reader like me with only a passing familiarity of the period in question could come to appreciate such an unlikely confluence of ideas; identities; and institutions is a testament to the authors clarity; conscientiousness; and craft as well as her contagious fascination with and sincere reverence for her storys protagonists: Aby Warburg; Ernst Cassirer; and Erwin Panofsky.And true protagonists they are; brought to life not only through the synthesis of their ideas but also the narrative arcs of their lives. The writer cares about these people and so the reader comes to care about them; too. More than pieces of an academic puzzle; Warburg; Cassirer; and Panofsky are explored here both as Humanists and as human beings.Every fine work of scholarship offers to the reader who reaches its end a special reward. In this case; that reward is the satisfaction of the works self-referential success. Just as Warburgs library; in Fritz Saxlrsquo;s interpretation; was a ldquo;problem libraryrdquo; dedicated to the "Nachleben der Antike;" the afterlife of antiquity and the survival of ideas from the past; "Dreamland of Humanists" is itself so devoted to the "Nachleben of the Hamburg School" and to the enduring appreciation of the minds of the men who defined it.