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The Avengers: A Celebration: 50 Years of a Television Classic [Hardcover]

Marcus Hearn
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
RRP: £24.99
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Book Description

29 Oct 2010 1848566727 978-1848566729 First Edition
Fifty years ago, production began on "The Avengers", a TV series that has yet to be rivalled for its wit, adventure and sheer style. Here, thanks to unprecedented access to the show's archive, is a glorious visual celebration of the show that defined 60s television, packed with rare and previously unpublished photographs, and memories from the cast and crew.

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The Avengers: A Celebration: 50 Years of a Television Classic + The Avengers Calendar 2012
Price For Both: £23.88

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Titan Books Ltd; First Edition edition (29 Oct 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1848566727
  • ISBN-13: 978-1848566729
  • Product Dimensions: 25.3 x 1.5 x 29 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 236,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'The book lays all of the images out perfectly and really presents them in a beautifully hardbound and, dare I say it, classy package. This book is worthy of the show that inspired its genesis.' --Ain't It Cool News

'Lushly illustrated and historically fascinating.' --CHUD.com

'Fans will go ga-ga for the book's off guard pics... The Avengers: A Celebration is a treasure trove for fans.' --Bizarre

'This book is a great gift for fans of British TV and a must read for anyone that loved the show. We highly recommend it and have now gained a new appreciation for an old classic ahead of its time.' --British TV Guide

'[The book] spreads out comfortably atop several gadget-stuffed bowler hats full of iconic, rare and previously unpublished photographs.' --Wired

'With the show's concentration on visual style, it is fitting that it is celebrated in this fashion. A real must buy for all Avengers fans.' --Sci-Fi Online

About the Author

Marcus Hearn is the acclaimed author of Titan's Hammer Glamour and The Hammer Story (with Alan Barnes). His other books include authorised biographies of filmmakers George Lucas and Gerry Anderson, and Eight Days a Week, the story of The Beatles' final world tour.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Supurb History in Classic Images 5 Nov 2010
Format:Hardcover
If you're expecting a detailed text book history of the making of the series, then of course this handsome coffee table hardback might not be exactly what you're looking for -- but it's unfair to castigate a book for not being something it never set out to be in the first place. Marcus Hearn's text is concise yet informative and provides an efficient chronology of the show's development (along with some of the flavour of its various transformations in style), with the aid of a blend of judiciously selected contemporary quotes and a brace of evocative behind-the-scenes descriptions; but the text really isn't meant to be anything more than an accompaniment, providing the setting and context for what are the real stars of the book: a fabulous collection of iconic images, all digitally restored from the vaults of Canal+, some of which you won't have ever seen before. Any Avengers aficionado is going to enjoy what rapidly becomes a beguiling pictorial history of a changing era; for the show evolved in such a way that each series seemed to mirror the cultural development of the sixties itself, invoking the gradual emergence of Britain from a black and white world of post-war rationed austerity with the earthy noir of series one, into the vibrancy and splendour of a `swinging' capital of consumer-driven affluence by the time series five burst onto TV screens in full colour. Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg also began promoting the show as a brand, by participating in a round of modelling sessions, fashion shows and lavish location shoots, which, in combination with the show's production stills and unit photography, now forms just as evocative a summation of the decade as the episodes of the series themselves. This book presents some of the most potent images from all of the show's major periods of change -- all beautifully reproduced on some glossy large format pages and selected from an archive of over ten thousand images. They offer a mixture of gorgeous monochrome production stills (from many of the early episodes now lost in their videotape form), sumptuous publicity shots from the classic '63 Honor Blackman era, and trendy photo shoots from the classic mid- to late-sixties period, when Macnee appeared alongside Twiggy (who was modelling Mrs Peel's Alun Hughes designed cloths) and Diana Rigg became an unwitting '60s sex symbol, pictured galloping along a beach in a pristine white catsuit. The Avengers was all about style, sophistication and class, and this lovely book is the perfect pictorial spokesman for it, even without a raft of description and text analysis.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Nice pictures - shame about the text 17 Jan 2011
By S. P. Long TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
I was given this book as a gift without having seen it - I was a huge fan of The Avengers, and have in my collection a rather old and dusty copy of the book written about the series by Dave Rogers, purchased some time in the late 80's, which included a lot of commentary and a comprehensive episode guide. I was hoping that this book would be an updated version of that. Unfortunately, it isn't...

The book is almost entirely photographs; mainly stills from the various series, with the occasional backstage shot. The book is split into chapters, one per series, and there is a brief page of introductory text about each series, but that's about it in terms of information and commentary. No information on episodes, no interviews with cast or crew - there is so much that could have been written about this classic series, but you won't find it in here.

If you want to look at pictures of The Avengers, I'd be inclined to suggest buying the DVDs and watching the episodes, which means the pictures will move and be accompanied by sounds... This book is painfully uninformative, and I really fail to see the point of it. A wasted opportunity - I really fail to see how this book justifies the word "celebration" anywhere in the title.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Mother's pride 16 Nov 2010
Format:Hardcover
As with the back catalogues of long dead musicians and shortlived musical or acting careers (Hendrix, both Buckleys, Dean etc) any new offering seeking to shed fresh light on the finite - and much analysed - oeuvre of a deeply loved iconic sixties cult TV series has a tough job to do. Quality of material has to be matched with the enthusiasm of nostalgia. Luckily, The Avengers - A Celebration has plenty of the former to more than permit the indulgence of the latter.

That so many rare and previously unpublished photographs are present in one volume is a testament to author Marcus Hearn's diligent research and the goodwill of the show's official archive. Delights include an unfeasibly young Bert Kwouk, as the enobled King Tenuphon (from 1961 episode, Kill the King), discussing his lines with director Roger Jenkins, and Diana Rigg hurtling heavies towards camera during rehearsals. There's also a touching black and white shot at the book's end, depicting our heroes strolling away, no doubt heading towards new, more colourful adventures.

Much as class room discussion in the seventies often focused on whether you fancied the blonde or the brunette from ABBA, so the discovery of many new images of the Avengers' more attractive co-stars may re-ignite a similar debate amongst those of a certain vintage. Does one prefer Honor's Blackmans, Diana's Rigg, Linda's Thorsons or even Patrick's Macnee? It's a tough call.

If you want another exhaustive reference work with extensive new interviews with cast and crew this isn't it. If you want a visual celebration of the series' original sixties run and a reminder of what a stylish and inventive decade it was, then this is the coffee table book for you. Marvellous stuff. Mother would we proud.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars saved by some fantastic photos.
this is a somewhat lightweight guide to "the avengers" series. for those who seek a more detailed book, i can recommend volumes penned by dave rogers and by mr. Read more
Published 2 months ago by jeremiah harbottle
4.0 out of 5 stars Visually Stunning
This is a beautiful book with stunning photos, some well known, others I hadn't seen before. There isn't much text and what there is does not tell us anything new but as a coffee... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Chammi
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant nostalgia
good introduction by patrick macnee backed up with a host of information and many unseen before photographs.a superb souvenir of a sixties iconic series
Published 4 months ago by paul hobson
5.0 out of 5 stars my favourite show
This book is a real tribute to the probably best TV-Show of all time!!!! Beautiful still-images from behind the camera and the set, the actors, I love it!!!
Published 16 months ago by Karin Langenegger
5.0 out of 5 stars The Avengers a celebration 50 years of a television classic
This era was most certainly the fulcrum my formative years
What a treat to look over and refelct upon those cutting edge episodes from the Sixties
and of course, to see... Read more
Published on 16 May 2011 by Mr. Christopher Hindle
5.0 out of 5 stars A delectable photo-journey
The Avengers : A celebration is no more than what it claim to be : An history of the show by browsing through pictures. Read more
Published on 29 April 2011 by Julien Pierre
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent catalogue of photos of off-screen events
My expectations were far exceeded by this book. The pictures are stunning quality and the minimal text contains an informal description of events during the production of the... Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2011 by Roger
4.0 out of 5 stars Golden Memories
Brings back memories of a classic television series from the past.
Steed improves with age & the ladies make the series click
Published on 17 Dec 2010 by Mr. Brian S. Adsett
4.0 out of 5 stars Great stories beautifully told- it can only be THE AVENGERS!
"Sophisticated as champagne. As hard as Diamonds. And as cool as a pistol barrel."

So said the publicity blurb for the first colour season of the evergreen classic... Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2010 by S. Weller
3.0 out of 5 stars STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE
On its own merits, this is undoubtedly a handsome-looking tribute to THE AVENGERS, containing a wealth of beautifully reproduced stills, publicity shots and candid rehearsal images... Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2010 by Mr. L. F. G. Ballinger
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