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May 11, 2025 9 mins
A deeply reported, perceptive, and celebratory biography of beloved actor James Gandolfini from a prominent critic and film historian.Named one of the most anticipated books of the year by the AV Club
Based on extensive research and original reporting, including interviews with friends and collaborators, Gandolfini is a detailed and nuanced appraisal of an enduring artist.
More than a decade after his sudden passing, James Gandolfini still exerts a powerful pull on television and film enthusiasts around the world. His charismatic portrayal of complex, flawed, but always human men illuminated the contradictions in all of us, as well as our potential for grace, and the power of love and family.
In Gandolfini, critic and historian Jason Bailey traces the twinned stories of the man and the unforgettable roles he played. Gandolfini's roots were working class, raised in northern New Jersey as the son of Italian immigrants, and acting was something he loved for a long time before he could see it as a career. It wasn't until he was well into his bohemian twenties that he dedicated himself to a life on the stage and screen.
Bailey traces his rise, from bit parts to character roles he enlivened with menace and vulnerability, to Tony Soprano, the breakout role that would make him a legend, and onto a post-Sopranos career in which he continued to challenge himself and his audience.Read lessThe ultimate guide to the Rambo phenomenon-from bestselling novel to Hollywood blockbuster to all-American hero, legend, and icon-written with the full cooperation of Rambo's creator, bestselling author David Morrell . . .
From the beginning, Rambo was more than a character in a 1972 novel by David Morrell. He was the culmination of the author's personal encounters with veterans returning from the Vietnam War. The 1982 movie adaptation of First Blood reflected the novel's powerful insights into a troubled veteran's post-war experience. Then in 1985, the film's explosive sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II transformed the character into something shockingly different. With a focus on blood-and-guts action-and the beefed-up muscles of Sylvester Stallone-Rambo became an invincible one-man army. A new kind of hero for a new day in America. A full-blown pop-culture icon as controversial as he was crowd-pleasing-blasting his way through the most influential action film franchise in Hollywood history . . .

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