2 MORE
Moody booze and bumper biopics…
EDDIE MULLER’S NOIR BAR: COCKTAILS INSPIRED BY THE WORLD OF FILM NOIR
★★★★☆
A ‘drinking companion’ for film-noir fanatics, this beautifully illustrated and erudite book is a must for dames, heels and blowhards everywhere. Muller takes 50 noirs and pairs them with classic cocktails (Robert Mitchum’s Out of the Past gets a Paloma, for example) or even ones he’s concocted. His enthusiasm for the genre is matched by his love of high-end drinks (he gladly teaches you how to assemble your own well-stocked bar). Skillfully blending the obvious with the obscure, it’s an ideal primer for ‘Noirvember’.
JAMES MOTTRAM
CLEOPATRA AND THE UNDOING OF HOLLYWOOD
★★☆☆☆
The legacy of budgetbusting epic Cleopatra (1963) has already been a compelling subject for documentaries, as well as a making-of book by producer Walter Wanger. This newest breakdown of the production highs and lows and off-screen affairs is too erratic to surpass those. Author Patrick Humphries has a tendency to steer the discussion towards other films, or people with zero involvement in Cleopatra’s making. The end result often reads like someone reciting a Wikipedia page and clicking on every hyperlink.
JOSH SLATER-WILLIAMS