barbie16's review against another edition
4.0
Upon Ava Gardner's death, Artie Shaw (her second husband) was quoted as saying that Ava Gardner's death was her fault "she did it herself with all the drinking, smoking and carrying on". Well first off what an A-HOLE for making that kind of public statement about a woman he was married to, shows his true colors! I'm in the camp that people can't be completely blamed for their addictions. Yes Ava Gardner was an alcoholic who overdid it in the partying department which caused her to age quite quickly (yes people when you drink too much you age QUICK) but that statement from Shaw is just too harsh.
I really enjoyed Server's biography. He does a good job of covering Ava's entire life without overdoing it with vast detail. She was an interesting person. She didn't ever seem to care for acting although it paid the bills and she was pretty good with her money. She was shy and self conscious (which seems ridiculous) so when she came to Hollywood she started drinking, and never really stopped. All of her marriages were failures, including Frank Sinatra, although many times it is apparent that he was the love of her life. The two of them were almost too alike, both too jealous, too insecure to handle being with the other. Of course the alcohol they both consumed did not help. It's very sad to me that two people who truly love each other couldn't get past their "issues" to make it work. Their relationship is proof that sometimes no matter how much you love someone, love is not enough.
Despite only being married three times, Ava definitely got around besides. She just lived a wild and fast life. Her most famous affair, after Sinatra, was the bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin. It was with him she got involved with bullfighting and famously hurt her face. I believe this is when she felt her beauty took a turn for the worse and Ava became so self conscious she'd freak out if pictures were taken of her.
But man I wish I could have seen this woman in her prime - many many times she is referred to as the most beautiful woman you'd ever see. I don't even think the photographs included in this book do her justice.
I think Ava sold herself short and the few movies I've seen of her she is fantastic. I wish she could have taken herself and her talent more seriously rather than just basking in the attention she got because of her beauty. Server definitely did a great job in showing us that Ava had her flaws but she was a good person even if she didn't believe it.
I really enjoyed Server's biography. He does a good job of covering Ava's entire life without overdoing it with vast detail. She was an interesting person. She didn't ever seem to care for acting although it paid the bills and she was pretty good with her money. She was shy and self conscious (which seems ridiculous) so when she came to Hollywood she started drinking, and never really stopped. All of her marriages were failures, including Frank Sinatra, although many times it is apparent that he was the love of her life. The two of them were almost too alike, both too jealous, too insecure to handle being with the other. Of course the alcohol they both consumed did not help. It's very sad to me that two people who truly love each other couldn't get past their "issues" to make it work. Their relationship is proof that sometimes no matter how much you love someone, love is not enough.
Despite only being married three times, Ava definitely got around besides. She just lived a wild and fast life. Her most famous affair, after Sinatra, was the bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin. It was with him she got involved with bullfighting and famously hurt her face. I believe this is when she felt her beauty took a turn for the worse and Ava became so self conscious she'd freak out if pictures were taken of her.
But man I wish I could have seen this woman in her prime - many many times she is referred to as the most beautiful woman you'd ever see. I don't even think the photographs included in this book do her justice.
I think Ava sold herself short and the few movies I've seen of her she is fantastic. I wish she could have taken herself and her talent more seriously rather than just basking in the attention she got because of her beauty. Server definitely did a great job in showing us that Ava had her flaws but she was a good person even if she didn't believe it.
nealalex's review against another edition
3.0
Interested me more in Artie Shaws's music than in going back to any of Ava Gardner's films, but worth it for her off-screen story, and tales of the film world. On The Killers: "Siodmak always knew what he wanted and worked very quickly. There was no rehearsal before the actual shooting began. Siodmak's interest was in staging and camera placement. He did not discuss motivation with the actors or give line readings." On The Naked Maja: "Filming was in the Italian style, without direct sound recording (dialogue to be postsynchronized). Many of the other actors she performed with either spoke no English or had accents too thick to be understood. Sometimes the other actors did not speak their lines on camera but simply mouthed gibberish or counted numbers; you didn't so much interact with the other players as watch and wait for their lips to stop moving.
shawngray's review against another edition
4.0
There was about a year or two in my mid twenties that I was hooked on old movies on AMC. Came across Ava Gardner and realized I had a huge crush.
More...