Hail, Hail, Euphoria! by Roy Blount Jr

Hail, Hail, Euphoria! by Roy Blount Jr

Seventy-seven years ago a slim, agile, quick-witted, self-assured young man, identifying with but transcending his ethnic minority, was summoned to save a nation from financial ruin. As the nation's new president he brought together a team of rivals, a band of brothers. And those brothers' names: Pinky, Chicolini, and Lt. Bob Roland. And that leader's name: Rufus T. Firefly. It was a movie, and what a movie: "Duck Soup", the Marx Brothers at their most intense, in their finest hour. In "Hail, Hail, Euphoria!" Roy Blount, Jr. takes us through the history and making of "Duck Soup", examining the comedic genius of the Marx Brothers with the insight and appreciation of a true fan. Though first released in theaters nearly eighty years ago, "Duck Soup" continues to impress audiences and serve as an important cultural reference. In "Hannah and Her Sisters", Woody Allen's character, Mickey Sachs, is considering suicide when he happens to see a bit of Duck Soup and has an epiphany: How can anyone even think of killing himself when this world affords such high-low comedy as the Brothers' spectacular musical number, "The Country's Going to War", in which the call to arms involves, among many other rousing elements, takeoffs on gospel ("All God's Chillun Got Guns") and the Virginia reel. There is nothing anywhere else in the history of American culture quite like Harpo's contribution to the do-si-do. You can't write a whole book about how funny a movie is. But this is a movie that can be discussed and probed in many directions. The parallels to current politics are obvious, and then there are links to be made involving Woody Allen and mirrors ("the Duck Soup" scene in which Harpo pretends to be Groucho's reflection is famous, but there's a little-noted Allen mirror scene whose autobiographical resonance is startling), George W. Bush and projectiles, Margaret Dumont and moms, Groucho and Karl, Jews and Irishmen.

"Hail, Hail, Euphoria! is the most lyrical, insightful, scholarly, illuminating and celebratory 144 pages I've ever sat down withThis book is a stream of fun." -- Wall Street Journal "Roy Blount Jr. knows from humor. In [Hail, Hail, Euphoria!], he sets out to remedy the lack of a scene-by-scene commentary on the Marx Brothers' greatest movie, the sublimely nonsensical Duck Soup." -- Washington Post "An essential read for Marx Brothers fans, those curious about the melding of war and humor in film, and browsers looking for a good read." -- Library Journal "Readers will enjoy the stories behind this iconic film and the careers of the Marx Brothers." -- Booklist "Roy Blount Jr. deconstructs the Marx Brothers' magic." -- Los Angeles Times

Humorist, sportswriter, poet, performer, lecturer, dramatist, and author of seventeen books, Roy Blount Jr.'s writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, and National Geographic. His work has also been anthologized in such collections as The Best of Modern Humor and The Ultimate Baseball Book. He lives in western Massachusetts and New York City.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780061808173
ISBN 10	0061808172
Title	Hail, Hail, Euphoria!
Author	Roy Blount Jr
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Year published	2011-12-12
Number of pages	160
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable