There’s much more to Hollywood, the world’s ultimate dream destination, than just glamour and illusion; Tinseltown is a city of vast extremes and big emotions, too. On the silver screen, the battle between good and evil has come to assume almost biblical proportions over the past decades, encouraged by a not inconsiderable amount of binding and tormenting. Some of the movies’ biggest stars have had to endure such treatment, all for the enjoyment of their audiences.

From Charlton Heston to Gary Cooper, from Burt Lancaster to Elvis Presley – they’ve all become ‘Hollywood Bound’ and, by the look of it, they certainly knew how to be shown the ropes. And as for the innocent starlets who were pinned down by those rapacious seducers – well, it’s probably safe to say that Jayne Mansfield’s chain-wrapped screen appearance made dialogue unnecessary.

With over 100 black-and-white photographs, ‘Hollywood Bound’ will provide you not only with hours of browsing material, but also loads of spellbinding details to pore over. Editor Tony Normand has stayed true to his stylish flair, so you can rest assured that every page of this book looks stunning.

However, if you’re one of those rope enthusiasts who just can’t get enough bondage, you might be interested in knowing that German publishing house Taschen is also launching a richly illustrated tome on ‘the beauty of tight binding’.

And who said reading a book is boring?

Photos: Reel Art Press, (2/4) The Cobal Collection