Reflections: an Oral History of Twin Peaks by Brad Dukes Ebook
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Reflections: An Oral History of Twin Peaks by Brad Dukes ebook Ebook Reflections: An Oral History of Twin Peaks currently available for review only, if you need complete ebook Reflections: An Oral History of Twin Peaks please fill out registration form to access in our databases Download here >> Paperback:::: 340 pages+++Publisher:::: Short/Tall Press; 1 edition (July 15, 2014)+++Language:::: English+++ISBN-10:::: 061596883X+++ISBN-13:::: 978-0615968834+++Product Dimensions::::5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches++++++ ISBN10 061596883X ISBN13 978-0615968 Download here >> Description: Reflections, An Oral History of Twin Peaks examines David Lynch and Mark Frosts legendary television series that aired on the ABC network from 1990-91. As the mystery of Who Killed Laura Palmer? played out on television sets across the world, another compelling drama was unfolding in the everyday lives of the shows cast and crew. Twenty-five years later, Reflections goes behind the curtain of Twin Peaks and documents the series unlikely beginnings, widespread success, and peculiar collapse. Featuring first-hand accounts from series cocreator Mark Frost and cast members including Kyle MacLachlan, Madchen Amick, Richard Beymer, Joan Chen, Sherilyn Fenn, Miguel Ferrer, Piper Laurie, Sheryl Lee, Michael Ontkean, Ray Wise, Billy Zane, and many more - Reflections explores the magic and mystique of a true television phenomenon, Twin Peaks. As interest in Twin Peaks hits arguably its highest point since 1990 (when the show first aired), the well-timed release of Brad Dukes oral history provides fans, new and old, with a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how the magic was created 25 years ago...and perhaps even more fascinatingly, how it dissipated. Dukes himself watched the show as a 9-year-old and is obviously still obsessed with the series a quarter-century down the line, so he brings an enthusiasm and knowledge to the project which informs both the breadth and depth of the book. Interviewing almost everyone involved with the show, from co-creator Mark Frost on down, Dukes weaves a spellbinding tapestry embracing everything from the nitty-gritty of recording technique in composer Angelo Badalamentis New York studio to the fast-paced Hollywood packaging of the show for nervous executives to the ineffable magic David Lynch evoked with his hardy band of fellow travelers/co-conspirators on location in Seattle.The books greatest strength is its ability to structure all of this material as something not only coherent, but narrative: we move from the heady early days of Twin Peaks breakneck first season and unexpected smash success to the troubled and still contentious drama behind season two, which failed to sustain the shows audience and resulted in the shows cancellation. At times assembling the various anecdotes to coalesce into a firm picture, at others allowing them to contradict one another as various participants recall circumstances in different fashion, Reflections creates just what its title suggests - an alluring yet fleeting examination of the rise and fall of a phenomenon. In all of this, Dukes casts a sensitive and sympathetic eye on the many elements of this wildly diverse show - exploring each character and storyline in turn. While I (like many) am not a big fan of the second half of season two (after the killer is revealed), I was nonetheless absorbed and even touched reading about the actors excited explorations of their characters. At the same time, the actors and creators themselves dont hide their disappointment with the turn of events, even as theyre not quite able to explain them. Turns out that in the eye of the storm, participants had even less of an idea what was going wrong than those on the outside. Reflections does not offer a grand reveal of what precisely killed Twin Peaks, only more clues.Among the areas Dukes is able to explore more in-depth than I (at least) have seen before: the involvement of various writers and directors, most fascinatingly the contentious and autocratic presence of German director Uli Edel (whom Russ Tamblyn hated working for), the eccentric touch of Diane Keaton, and the disastrous blood-covered script submitted by heroin-addicted Jerry Stahl; the loving detail lavished on Badalamentis scoring, with due attention paid to his numerous and usually-overlooked collaborators in the studio; Kyle MacLachlans always-controversial decision to nix Coopers romance with Audrey (supposedly because his girlfriend Lara Flynn Boyle was jealous of her attention), which is fleshed-out but not solidified - although Sherilyn Fenn entertainingly harbors no doubts about what went down; Harley Peytons increased involvement with the series to the point where he was basically running it while Mark Frost and David Lynch were off working on other projects, leading to some pointed confrontations with Lynch in particular; the personalities of various actors shining through in new and unforeseen ways - veteran actor Michael Parks gets some hilarious anecdotes about his confrontation with gal director Lesli Linka Glatter (who seems to take his condescension in stride), and Michael Ontkean surprises us as a more offbeat, soulful fellow (with a penchant to refer to himself in the third person) than we might suspect from his performance as the stable, easygoing Sheriff Truman.The most prominent figure Dukes was unable to interview is David Lynch, co-creator of the series and the most famous name attached to it. This is unsurprising - as Lynch is often loath to discuss his work - and also less unfortunate than it might seem, for that very reason: its impossible to imagine the director letting down his guard enough to offer Dukes new information, or expose his reasons for apparently abandoning the series when it was at its most troubled (he would later return, but it was too late). That said, the absence of Lynch does create a bit of a void when it comes to his side of the story, compounded by the fact that his eventual ally Robert Engels (one of the shows head writers, who eventually joined Lynch in creating the prequel film after the series was cancelled) doesnt have nearly as much to say as Harley Peyton, another head writer and eventually the shows executive producer. Peyton butted heads with Lynch in season two and says frankly, We didnt get along. The result is that Lynch comes off as rather enigmatic and even erratic, while Frost and Peyton appear more sympathetic.This relates to another subtle preference on Dukes part - he doesnt seem to consider Laura Palmers character the key to Twin Peaks, except inasmuch as her murder mystery fuels the shows exploration of other stories and characters. This perspective is both (mostly) good and (somewhat) bad as far as the book is concerned. As already noted, Dukes wideranging love of the show allows him to explore every facet with equal respect and curiosity, picking up on tidbits others might neglect. Twin Peaks was, after all, an entire world, populated with more characters than several other shows combined, a potpourri of different tones and themes and stories. Dukes delights in this and his delight is contagious. And yet by overlooking the centrality of Lauras evolution from object to subject (particularly important to Lynch, changing not just the tone of the show but the nature of his own film work), Dukes misses the role it plays in the series declining popularity and thematic confusion. To be fair, he notices the importance of the shows reveal narratively (if not thematically) and to his credit the section devoted to the second murder which reveals the killer offers much insight into the unsettling subtext of Twin Peaks and the reactions this engenders (one technician turned to Lynch after running the footage and said, I hate you!). And it closes with a compelling and provocative quote from Sheryl Lee which brings home precisely why Twin Peaks remains troubling as well as alluring two decades later.But after this point, with Lynchs absence largely unaccounted for, the fallout between him and Frost outlined only vaguely, and the development of the prequel film given short shrift, we lose sight of precisely WHY Lynch was alienated from the show and felt compelled to devote an entire movie to the character hed become obsessed with. Dukes has stated elsewhere that he doesnt like Fire Walk With Me, and that he wanted the book to focus on the series which is fine. However, his brief presentation of the film as variously a disappointment, mistake, and afterthought is unfair and imbalanced - lacking any perspective from participants like Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, and Robert Engels, who consider it their best work and the climax of the Peaks experience (as does, quite emphatically, David Lynch). This disinterest in the centrality of Lauras mystery, or perhaps a lack of information, means also that the importance of that mystery is underplayed in early chapters. Frost is frequently on record saying he and Lynch knew the perpetrator very early on, but you wont find that assertion anywhere in Reflections; on the contrary, numerous participants openly speculate that Lynch and Frost were making it up as they went along, having no master plan beyond the season one cliffhanger. This serves to undercut the notion that Lauras story matters (aside from being a MacGuffin) and overlooks its role in the series shifting fortunes. Notably, audience and critics abandoned the show not after the reveal or subsequent decline, as many in the book imply, but rather after the slowly-paced and darkly-toned season two premiere which indicated the shows new direction under Lynchs heavier involvement. Anyway, despite my frustration with this oversight, it remains a minor quibble, mostly balanced by the insight the book offers into various corners of the Twin Peaks universe.Ultimately, Reflections is not about the exact secrets of Twin Peaks creation and wild ride, but about the texture of this once-in-a-lifetime experience, something Dukes captures beautifully.