piccoline's review against another edition
4.0
Cavell's reading of these films is challenging and delightful. If you've any appreciation for the old screwball comedy/romance movies discussed in this book (It Happened One Night, The Philadelphia Story, The Awful Truth, Bringing Up Baby, etc.) you would do well to pick up this book and watch the films in concert with reading it. Cavell demonstrates wonderfully what a sophisticated and philosophically astute reading can add to already enjoyable works of art.
And if you haven't seen the films, well, here's a good excuse to correct that oversight!
And if you haven't seen the films, well, here's a good excuse to correct that oversight!
sistermagpie's review against another edition
4.0
My one regret after reading Stanley Cavell's Purstuis of Happiness was that I hadn't seen all the movies recently enough to always remember what specific moments he referred to at every moment. The movie I know the best, The Awful Truth, was also the one essay that included a synopsis. I do now want to go back and watch the other films keeping in mind everything I read about them.
It definitely gave me a new way to think about the genre--and exciting way that makes me want to see all the movies again and appreciate them even more. It confirms my feeling that these movies are some of the most optimistic, joyful, and also intelligent comments on romance and marriage as an ongoing negotiation between two equals that are never boring.
It definitely gave me a new way to think about the genre--and exciting way that makes me want to see all the movies again and appreciate them even more. It confirms my feeling that these movies are some of the most optimistic, joyful, and also intelligent comments on romance and marriage as an ongoing negotiation between two equals that are never boring.
belinda's review
3.0
This book has been very influential in film theory and is definitely worthwhile reading if you have an interesting in the Classical Hollywood period. Cavell makes some really insightful points and identifies a number of common themes and ideas in the screwball comedies of the '40s. However, I found it pretty hard-going - the language is very flowery and Cavell approaches film theory from a philosophical and literary background, which is vastly different to the semiotic, ideological and psychoanalytical approaches more commonly used when analysing film. Pursuits of Happiness is a necessary read for those studying Classical Hollywood but not necessarily an enjoyable one.
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