David Parkinson, The Rough Guide to Film Musicals (Rough Guides, $14.99 paper). A decently written, unexpectedly sensible primer that walks you through the long and winding road that leads from The Jazz Singer to Chicago. Some films are undervalued, others overrated, but for the most part Parkinson plays it down the center, steering clear of the twin ditches of academic theory and camp silliness. If Sweeney Todd has you wondering whether there’s more to the genre than Busby Berkeley, this is a good place to find out what it’s all about (TT).
Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City
