Background
FREARS, Stephen was born on June 20, 1941 in Leicester. Son of Doctor Russell E. Frears and Ruth M. Frears.
(First published in 1889 and never out of print, Jerome K ...)
First published in 1889 and never out of print, Jerome K Jerome's classic of humorous literature continues to delight new generations of readers.The book follows three friends, Harris, George and Jerome himself, accompanied by the ever-mischievous (and actually fictitious) dog Montmorency, as they skull up the Thames from Kingston in Surrey as far as Oxford. However, the book is far more than a travelogue. It uses incidents from the journey as jumping off points for some virtuosic set pieces, as hilarious and relevant today as they were in the late Victorian period when boating was becoming the "next big thing". Stephen Lambe dissects Jerome's masterpiece, placing it in context as a brilliantly sustained piece of observational comedy. But he also examines the River itself, and by using both modern and period photographs presented in full color, examines how the Thames has developed over the last 120 years. The result will be indispensable to fans of the book who want to know a little more about the context in which it was written, and also to all those that have an interest in the development of England's most important and famous waterway.
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( With his detective agency facing hard times, Charlie Br...)
With his detective agency facing hard times, Charlie Bradshaw moonlights as night manager at a Saratoga Springs hotel. Victor, his partner, snaps pictures of the happy tourists. But not all the tourists are happy with this self-styled Saratoga Snapper. When one "candid" subject runs Victor down and steals his camera, Charlie gets caught up in a dangerous scheme worthy of Saratoga's colorful past. It proves that passions still roil in this quiet resort town.
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( Harper’s Bazaar is America’s longest-running fashion ma...)
Harper’s Bazaar is America’s longest-running fashion magazine, revered for its style-setting contributions to fashion, photography, and graphic design. Under the direction of Glenda Bailey in this decade, the magazine has maintained its position as a prominent cultural icon. Bailey is known for commissioning dazzling visual features that frame fashion in the context of contemporary pop culture and aesthetics. Shot by well-known photographers and featuring supermodels and supercelebrities, Bazaar’s fashion photography is always beautiful—and entertaining. Harper’s Bazaar: Greatest Hits is a collection of more than 300 photographs that chronicle the best fashion of our time. A celebration of fashion, a romp through a riotous and eventful decade, and a banquet of contemporary imagery, Harper’s Bazaar: Greatest Hits is also a glamorous object in itself. Praise for Harper's Bazaar “So if you love pop culture and you love fashion, you'll want to pick up a copy of Harper’s Bazaar: Greatest Hits, a new book that’s packed with both.” —Cosmopolitan.com “The images, taken by some of the world’s greatest photographers, are awe-inspiring.” —ARTINFO “It’s been 10 years since editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey took the reins at Harper’s Bazaar, and the magazine is celebrating the milestone with a splashy coffee table book. Harper’s Bazaar: Greatest Hits (Abrams) illustrates Bailey and creative director Stephen Gan’s tenure through more than 300 colorful images, organized chronologically. The mag’s memorable moments also include essays from luminaries like Patti Smith and our own Arianna Huffington, who wrote about the politics of fashion prior to the 2008 presidential election.” —Stylelist.com “This book is a fashion lover’s dream.” —WhoWhatWear.com
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FREARS, Stephen was born on June 20, 1941 in Leicester. Son of Doctor Russell E. Frears and Ruth M. Frears.
Studied at Gresham's School, Holt, Trinity College, Cambridge.
Late in the 1970s, writing in the admirable reference magazine Film Dope, Bob Baker said, “To put it plainly, ‘Cold Harbour’ was the best (i.e., the clearest, most moving, most resonant). The same will very probably apply to 'One Fine Day’ in 1979. Probably one should wish for Frears to return to the big screen. Unfortunately there’s no guarantee—indeed, there’s the contrary—that he would find anything like the opportunities and relative freedom of expression that he has with television.”
Well, the opportunities have come. Almost casually, in 1985, My Beautiful Laundrette (made for TV) was promoted to the status of a festival movie with theatrical openings. Its ironic view of mixed races and mixed sex in a London under Mrs. Thatcher made for a hit. Then, after the Joe Orton biopic and the modern agitprop of Sammy and Rosie, Frears became an “A” list director in Hollywood. However, the results have been odd: to these eyes, the smart, brisk, sexy Dangerous Liaisons is a lot less interesting than Forman’s Valmont. Despite its fine acting. The Grifters seemed to derive from memories of film noir more than it grasped a real America or the Jim Thompson novel. Hero was, quite simply, a failure.
Thus, there is still a case to be made for the quality and character of Frears s TV work done in England. Moreover, after Baker’s observation, Frears was still to do Bloody Kids, the two Walter films, and Saigon—Year of the Cat. The TV work points to the director’s virtues, and needs: he surely understands the English class system, the varieties of place in Britain, and the various subterfuges that block candor (this is true even for Saigon, which has important English characters).
In Britain, Frears established valuable creativeties with a few writers—notably Peter Prince, Alan Bennett, David Hare, and Hanif Kureishi. Also, the modesty of those ventures—in terms of budget and schedule—is close to Frears s own personality: he is one of the least self-important of directors.
( Harper’s Bazaar is America’s longest-running fashion ma...)
(First published in 1889 and never out of print, Jerome K ...)
( With his detective agency facing hard times, Charlie Br...)
( Successfully treat most cardiac conditions. )
Director: (stage) Waiting for Godot, 1964, Inadmissable Evidence, (television) A Day Out, 1971, Match of the Day, 1972, Sunset Across the Bay, 1973, Playthings, 1975, Early Struggles, 1975, Last Summer, 1976, Cold Harbor, 1977, Three Men in a Boat, 1978, Long Distance in Formation, 1979, Going Gently, 1980, Bloody Kids, 1980, December Flower, 1984, Loving Walter, 1987, The Snapper, 1993, Fail Safe, 2000, The Deal, 2003, (films) The Burning, 1967, Gumshoe, 1972, Bloody Kids, 1979, Saigon-Year of the Cat, 1983, The Hit, 1984, My Beautiful Laundrette, 1985, Prick Up Your Ears, 1987, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, 1987, Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door, 1987, Dangerous Liaisons, 1988, The Grifters, 1990, Hero, 1992, Mary Reilly, 1995, The Van, 1996, The Hi-Lo Country, 1998, High Fidelity, 2000, Liam, 2000, Dirty Pretty Things, 2002, Mistress Henderson Presents, 2005, The Queen, 2006 (Runner-up award for Best Picture of the Year, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, 2006), Chéri, 2009. Actor: (television) Unforgettable Richard Beckinsale, 2000.
By now, it is clear that Frears does need to understand the world of his stories, and that he is frankly dependent on writers. Of course, his problem is that the British cinema does not often enough mount ventures worthy of him. But he does not want to commit to America, and he has said that he is not really happy in America when working. In so many w'ays he is a throwback to those classic studio directors who pretend to be assigned. In which case, British TV was his studio. As years pass, things like A Day Out, Sunset Across the Bay, One Fine Day, and Walter will look like models of “small” cinema—rich, honest, and touching—whereas The Gnfters and Dangerous Liaisons wall lie seen as rather empty entertainment.
Frears s talents—his love of people, his sense of humor and pain sitting side by side, his skill with actors, and his deftness as a storyteller—are deserving of some large subject. It will be European rather than American. And it might be that his best chance is to provoke Alan Bennett into some final, convulsive tale. They both need that sort of danger. Until then, let him do more things like The Snapper—from a Roddy Doyle novel—small, quick, cheap, funny, raucous, and overflowing with life, a film that might have been made in the space (and on the budget) of one Dustin Hoffman tantrum.
Frears is still open to just about anything: a droll, rather lazy essay on British cinema; a return to live TV drama with Fail Safe; a couple more Irish films—The Van and Liam. He even had a modest American hit, based on a Nick Hombv book. But please don’t forget Mary Reilly, a famous failure but a remarkably frightening film, very well acted by Julia Roberts and John Malkovich. It all goes to prove his characteristic deflection of high praise (which he deserv es) that, after all, he’s likely to do anything.
Married Mary K. Wilmers in 1968 (dissolved in 1974).