Book Description

Scorsese's life and work are presented through interviews with the director as well as more than twenty major celebrity figures, providing a rare look at the process and inspiration behind the films of America's premier director. Martin Scorsese: A Journey features exclusive movie stills and on-location photographs and interviews with more than twenty major film stars, including forewords by Steven Spielberg and Michael Powell. The author provides the reader with insights into Scorsese's imagination and influences, and his relationships with his family and colleagues. This updated edition also explores such directorial works as Kundun, Bringing Out the Dead, and the much-talked-about Gangs of New York. An updated chronology, filmography, and index are included. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great Book for Scorsese Fans & Students
Examines Director Martin Scorsese's career from the beginning to Cape Fear (although it seems that the book had to go to press before Cape Fear was actually released, as there's a discernable lack of substance in that chapter).

To gather wonderful tales of how Scorsese works, Kelly interviews the director's friends, family members, casts, and crews. Oh, and the Secretary to the President of Cyprus!! (See details about The Last Temptation of Christ). Quoted stories, observations, and comments all contribute to a fine portrait of one of our greatest active cinema artists. (And, to the delight of film buffs everywhere, text shows that Scorsese is first and foremost an unabashed movie fan)! Kelly's system provides the reader to form own opinions about Scorsese, rather than making a lot of critical conclusions.

In pursuit of my undergrad degree, I used this book quite a bit for research toward essays I wrote about Scorsese's films. Not at all a chore to read, it was a very enjoyable book, great for the fan as well as the film scholar.

Good index, good filmography. Brief forewards by Michael Powell and Steven Spielberg hint at more than a bit of pure jealousy!

fantastic bio!
this is one of the best, in-depth bio's that I have read. And what a subject! Martin Scorsese is a god-like director that has made such films as Good Fellas Casino and Taxi Driver. The book is filled with interveiws from fellow directors and drew/cast etc. Great format! It's like reading a behind the scene's documentry.

BUy it! ... Read more

Book Description

"To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about. If someone vomits watching one of my films, it's like getting a standing ovation."

Thus begins John Waters's autobiography. And what a story it is. Opening with his upbringing in Baltimore ("Charm City" as dubbed by the tourist board; the "hairdo capital of the world" as dubbed by Waters), it covers his friendship with his muse and leading lady, Divine, detailed accounts of how Waters made his first movies, stories of the circle of friends - actors he used in these films, and finally the "sort-of fame" he achieves in America. Complementing the text are dozens of fabulous old photographs of Waters and crew. Here is a true love letter from a legendary filmmaker to his friends, family, and fans. ... Read more

Book Description

Ismail Merchant is known for the extraordinary films he's produced with the American director James Ivory, among them A Room with a View, Howards End, and Remains of the Day. But when he's not making these lush, expensive costume dramas, he's making movies in his native India. In My Passage from India he takes us on a guided tour of how a middle-class Muslim named Noormohamed Abdul Rehman became an internationally acclaimed producer with a string of award-winning films to his credit.

My Passage from India is a fascinating look at the Bombay film industry-called Bollywood-from the 1950s through today, and how Holly- and Bollywood have intersected through Merchant's film career. Merchant amusingly recounts how his passion for movies was born in the streets of Bombay. He details his precocious wanderings from London to New York, where he first encountered his lifetime collaborator, James Ivory, and raised money for his first short film, and ultimately to Hollywood. Merchant lovingly recalls the circumstances of the movies he's shot in India, the Western stars he cast-and entertained-from James Mason to Jeanne Moreau to Vivien Leigh to Greta Scacchi, and the vast obstacles that his home country often presented-along with the movie magic that was the frequent result of his efforts.

With seventy-five photographs and a fabulous narrative, My Passage from India is a vivid memoir and colorful account of the lasting impact India has had on the thing Ismail Merchant does best: filmmaking. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Wonderful Read
My fascination for Ismail Merchant started when I read an article on him couple of years ago. Since then, my interest in reading about the man and his journey has been immense. Finally I found the right book.

It has the makings of a classic book - Its entertaining, informative, uncomplicated and is about the journey of a man whose dreams came true. I couldn't stop laughing when he mentions about the many incidents and decisions he made. I admire the common sense, persuasive skills and fearlessness of the man. I highly recommend it.

Wonderful Read!!
My fascination for Ismail Merchant started when I read an article on him couple of years ago. Since then, my interest in reading about the man and his journey has been immense. Finally I found the right book.

It has the makings of a classic book - Its entertaining, informative, uncomplicated and is about the journey of a man whose dreams came true. I couldn't stop laughing when he mentions about the many incidents and decisions he made. I admire the common sense, persuasive skills and fearlessness of the man. I highly recommend it.

A great filmaker's passage from India
Mr. Merchant is an excellent story teller. If you are looking for light, entertaining read, this book is a good investment. If you expect this book will introduce you to Ismail Merchant, it will not. It will introduce you to Ismail Merchant the producer and director of off-beat films who, with indefatigable zeal for film making, has earned the right to be included in the list of international film makers. An enterprising individual who is a self-made entrepreneur.

A more accurate title would be: An Indian film maker's passage from India. Because there is little that Merchant discloses about himself or even his trade. Living and interacting in a world of glamor and beauties, Merchant is mum about his emotions. If such a lively individual has a romantic side, the book discloses nothing. Except his childhood "innocent" infatuation with India's popular actress Nimmi in the fifties, Merchant displays or at least discloses no other "infatuation." Apparently, he never married. Despite starting his feature film career with the Householder (1962), Merchant never discloses why he himself did not decide to be a householder himself. There is an underlying shyness or uncomfortableness in revealing himself to the reader. Or being so deft and intelligent Merchant is saving his real autobiography for another time. In this book all we are allowed is a glimpse of Merchant the enterprising film producer and his incredible journey..

Unlike many Merchant-Ivory early art films, Merchant's book is entertaining and written in a vivid, uncomplicated style. If like me you are familiar with the terrain (India) and time (60s the pre-inflation golden age of India), Merchant can transport you back to those giddy times. With a touch of a maestro, he brings vivid recollections of the golden age of Indian cinema of which the West knows very little. He weaves exotic connections between India's art directors (Satyajit Ray and himself), Bombay film world and Hollywood. Surprisingly, except for Bombay Talkie and a documentary, his interactions with Bombay are very limited.. It was Bombay that triggered his love of the cinema.

Do not expect to get philosophical definitions of anything from this versatile man. He sets out to make films on Indian themes. Yet, what is "Indianness" is never commented upon let alone any attempts toward defining. Ironically, Merchant's first feature film (Householder) meets with limited success in New York, not because of any unique "Indianness" but because of universal human qualities and situations it depicts: An intrusive mother-in-law, compliant Son, a stubborn, independent daughter-in-.law and falling in love all over with spouse in her absence. Indians are not that different after all!

Many readers will not pay much attention let alone be bothered. What did bother me was the apolitical nature of Mr. Merchant. With the exception of his boyhood partition memories, no political events on any continent, including those that effect him are mentioned. Maybe art films can be separated from politics. But why is his book so apolitical is beyond me. Ironically, to this day Mr. Merchant is harassed by the corruption that pervades India's governments. Still he has very little to say about politics and its effects on people. When Utpal Dutt (actor with a leading role in his film The Guru) is arrested, Merchant approaches the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. With some manuevering Dutt is conditionally released by the West Bengal communist government. The film is made. Merchant, however, does not question the arrest. Individual rights, rule of law, abuse of government powers are never mentioned let alone questioned. (No mention of Nehru's death or Indira Gandhi's murder. No mention of the deteriorating conditions in India-- the mismanagement of public resources and the duping of the public, mobsters , the Hindu-Muslim riots taking of innocent life--all the unpleasant realities of India are meticulously avoided. Maybe it is bad marketing to expose the underbelly of India.

Yet Merchant is exposed to this underbelly in his own account while filming the Courtesans of Bombay, in the red light district of Bombay. He, first hand, encounters the exploitation of woman by hands of criminals. He witnesses switchblade fights but does nothing to expose the sad plight of the dancing women. The dance of life must go on. That the government has failed is not obvious to Merchant (I told you he was very apolitical) Is there honor in receiving the Padma Bhushan from such a failed establishment?

Okay, when it comes to socio-political realities, Mr. Merchant is neither a Charles Dickens or Mark Twain. What Merchant lacks in political depth he makes up in an effusive sense of humor which can compete with either Dickens or Twain. My Passage From India, is a great, true short story that will enthrall, in particular people familiar with the terrain and time. There is a joke or a quip embedded in every page. Like all great men Mr. Merchant undoubtedly has a great sense of humor, passion for life which, of course, includes food . I can go on and on (like Aan, Nimmi's great Hindi film which made an impression on young Merchant and goaded him to follow his calling.) But in deference to short artistic film I must stop.

I do not know Mr. Merchant personally nor am I connected in any way with Merchant-Ivory company. Nor am I am being paid to write this. Therefore, my advice is unbiased. Go ahead and buy My Passage From India Especially those who love Indian literature in English. As with the legendary Merchant cuisine (I trust his judgment on that) this book shall not disappoint. ... Read more

Book Description

Filmmaker David Lynch asserts that when he is directing, ninety percent of the time he doesn't know what he is doing. To understand Lynch's films, Martha Nochimson believes, requires a similar method of being open to the subconscious, of resisting the logical reductiveness of language. In this innovative book, she draws on these strategies to offer close readings of Lynch's films, informed by unprecedented, in-depth interviews with Lynch himself. Nochimson begins with a look at Lynch's visual influences--Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon, and Edward Hopper--and his links to Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles, then moves into the heart of her study, in-depth analyses of Lynch's films and television productions. These include Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Wild at Heart, Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Dune, The Elephant Man, Eraserhead, The Grandmother, The Alphabet, and Lynch's most recent, Lost Highway. Nochimson's interpretations explode previous misconceptions of Lynch as a deviant filmmaker and misogynist. Instead, she shows how he subverts traditional Hollywood gender roles to offer an optimistic view that love and human connection are really possible. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Disagreement with these other reviewers
While Chion's book 'David Lynch' is overly concerned with biography as is noted, it does avoid the quasi new-age readings of this work which is flawed for that reason.
As Slavoj Zizek points out (directly referring to Nochimson's book), in 'The Art of the Ridiculous Sublime: On David Lynch?s Lost Highway,' Nochimson is "focused on the flow of Life Energy that allegedly connects all events and runs through all scenes and persons, turning Lynch into the poet of a Jungian universal subconscious spiritualized libido," which is too easy a path to take in reference to Lynch's work.
Unfortunately, the best work on David Lynch has yet to be written.

The most insightful book on Lynch's work to date!
David Lynch's brilliance as a film-maker lies in his ability to transmit meaning through images rather than dialogue. Consequently, much of the body of his work is very hard to decode conventionally. Nochimson, however, gets around this brilliantly - by incorporating its linguistic indecipherability in her thesis. What she advocates when watching a Lynch movie, then, is a letting go of any hope of finding conventional meaning. Further, she defines such a conceit as inherently masculine - a phallic will-to-control that Lynch decries. Remarkably, this thesis is as equally applicable to Lynch's more mainstream work (e.g. The Elephant Man) as it is to his radical later output (e.g. Wild At Heart). If you want to view David Lynch's films in a radically innovative new light, buy this book today!

Super Duper!
This is one of my favorites. Again, not nearly as personal and spiritually engaging as "Lynch on Lynch", but near the top of the heap. Martha's adoration for Lynch, and her grounding in the worlds of both academic and personal art make for perfect doorways into the dialogue she shares with David. He's the man, and this a unique way to enter the center... As the drapes peel back, and the Francis Bacon book closes, Angelo's music blows saliva bubbles into the air, and a bunch of really nice people smoking American Spirits come ambling up the crooked walkway. They're talking 'bout coffee... They're talking about trees... They're talkin' 'bout art!

Cuts to the heart of Lynch's works
This book shows how clueless some of Lynch's interpreters have been (and still are!). If you want to "decode" Twin Peaks or Lost Highway, this book will hold your hand as you let go to 'get it'. The book is as much a corrective lens on the critique of Lynch as the author points out Lynch being towards Hollywood. Hitchcock:Bach::Lynch:Brahms -- not for casual "listening". This book may seem a bit wordy, but it does have a multitude of "points" (another reviewer must have skimmed this book!) : e.g. communities based on masculine control, disallowing feminine influence. The notes themselves offer much needed background.

locates lynch in popular heaven-hell
This is the best Lynch book, more penetrating than Lynch's own interviews. Nochimson boldly charts the universe of Lynch and gives it both mythological plausability and a solid, coherent locale: the world of visual and audio pop-culture chunks, romantically deteriorated and as intense, wispy, and spectral as cotton candy. One of the best, and most well-documented, works on an auteur since Bogdanovich's work on Hitchcock. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A prominent and influential Black American filmmaker
Even with my interest and vast reading of pioneers in the arts, I was surprised by what I found when I read The Life and Work of Oscar Micheaux. The book (non-fiction) about one of the leading Black American pioneers in the filmmaking industry, starts with a commentary from renowned actor Ossie Davis. After reading the commentary, I settled in for an unexpectedly revealing and unforgettable read. I had no prior knowledge of Oscar Michaeux. The book starts out during what was often referred to as America's "Darkest Period", the years just after the Civil War.

Oscar Micheaux was born January 2, 1884. He was the son of former slaves, a couple who had twelve other children besides Oscar. Not much is written about Oscar's childhood. The book focuses on Oscar's young adult years, when he began to bud into a talented movie producer, and the remainder of Oscar's professional career in the arts. The Life and Work of Oscar Micheaux is well researched. Memos, promotional write-ups and other correspondence between Oscar, business partners and the media are found throughout the book. It is obvious that both the author of the book, Earl James Young, Jr., and the book's editor, Dr. Beverly Robinson, did their homework when compiling the facts and other pertinent data found in The Life and Work of Oscar Micheaux.

The Life and Work of Oscar Micheaux is a biography written in a style and with an intent unlike many of today's celebrity biographies. Except for mention of Oscar's relationship with his father-in-law, the book sticks to the facts. It does not give weight to rumor or assumption. Laymen and students of the theatre alike will gain valuable knowledge from reading The Life and Work of Oscar Micheaux. Readers will learn about this pioneer in the arts whose work speaks for itself. Oscar began his career at a time with silent films were in vogue. He was one of the most prominent and influential Black American filmmakers of his day. He worked with legendary actor Paul Robeson and created his films with all Black casts, one of the only filmmakers to do so at the turn of the 21st century. His films were so well received despite effective efforts to limit the distribution channels for his films, his movies were popular with the public and allowed Oscar's company, Michaeux Film Corporation, to be successful for several years, this at a time when race riots and discrimination were blatant and rampant.

Anyone wishing to know more about the beginnings of Black Americans in the film industry, should read The Life and Work of Oscar Micheaux. As the book states in closing, "This work on Oscar Micheaux is but a first step upon which, it is hoped, other scholars may build the path to a fair place for Micheaux in the history of American films, and African Americans. This much he is due." I agree.

Ahead of His Times
Oscar Micheaux was born in 1884 and from childhood seemed to be driven to be different. Throughout his life he wore many professional hats; he was a successful farmer and author. But perhaps his most well known accomplishments were as a filmmaker. There is a fair amount of misinformation about Micheaux which this book clarifies and corrects. For example, he was not the first Black filmmaker; however, he was one of the most prolific Black filmmakers of his time with an impressive number of silent films and quite a few sound films. He was able to accomplish this in spite of a national recession and eventual depression, harsh and uncooperative censor boards, limited venues in which he as a Black filmmaker could show his films, financial hardship, and harsh criticism. Still Micheaux's innovative promotion skills, coupled with his tireless efforts helped him survive and continue producing films.

The most fascinating aspect of this book was the fact that many of the issues being faced by Micheaux and other filmmakers during his time are quite similar to those of filmmakers today. Debates about how it is the responsibility of African American filmmakers to produce quality work depicting African Americans only in their most positive light were perhaps more heated in the 1920's than they are today. This heated debate was a particular issue to Micheaux because much of his work included controversial themes and not so positive images of African Americans. While the masses of African Americans seemed to enjoy and support his work and the themes he discussed, the critics and intellectuals of his day often took issue with it.

This book paints a historical overview of the times in which Micheaux lived as well as broad overview of his life and accomplishments. For the most part, this book was an easy read packed with lots of information, but there were times when some of the technical jargon was difficult for a person who has not studied film to understand. Still I highly recommend this book for anyone that would like to learn more about a pioneer in Black film.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

The Life and Work of Oscar Micheaux: Pioneer Black Author an
Decades before film directors Spike Lee, John Singleton or even Gordon Parks showed audiences that blacks can be more than just cut-out characters and racial punch lines, visionary film director Oscar Micheaux had made movies featuring African-American cowboys, adventurers, detectives and millionaires --- more than 70 years ago.

"The Life and Work of Oscar Micheaux" became the subject of late author Earl James Young's graduate thesis because he was an admirer of Micheaux's pioneer spirit. Micheaux was the first filmmaker to offer his audience a range and diversity of African-Americans in film. Micheaux became a controversial figure raising the ire of blacks as well as whites for filming what he wanted, not what others felt he should.

Micheaux fought an uphill battle to get his films shown. White distributors would not market films by blacks, so Micheaux was only allowed to show his films at African-American theaters. In addition, Hollywood jumped on the African-American band wagon and created African-American films superior in quality to Micheaux's and other Indy filmmakers. Micheaux stayed with it but struggled until his death in 1951.

Young dedicated his research to Micheaux life, because he understood the pain of having a gift, but lacking the opportunity to give one's all to a career. However, Young died in 1993 of a brain tumor before publishing his thesis into a book.

With the permission of Young's family, Dr. Beverly J. Robinson has edited Young's thesis into a compelling and essential book for up and coming filmmakers and movie buffs about Micheaux's 40 plus films which made him hero to some and a victim to others. "The Life and Work of Oscar Micheaux" includes a complete filmography of Micheaux's films and bios of the actors who appeared in Micheaux's films --- some such as William Fountaine and Evelyn Preer who went onto star in Hollywood productions. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (3)

biographer who does not know his subject
This book is ridiculous as the writer doesn't even know his subject, Peter Jackson, in person. He was refused interviews and visits on the set of LOTR. All he knows are information through magazine articles that have been published and read many times before. He criticizes Fellowship of the Ring without a real knowledge of Tolkien or the story itself. The writer is somewhat fascinated by Jackson but a biography must contain information that has not been published in movie magazines and in tabloids. There is no information on the person, only on what Jackson has done so far in the movie business. The timeline of this biography is cut off after the release of The Two Towers, meaning there is no word on Return of the King and its worldwide success and critical acclaim. Actors are quoted without their knowledge, things are taken out of context and the style of writing is poor. While the research of the films made prior to LOTR is interesting, those are all information that is avilable elsewhere as well. A very disappointing read, if you are a true fan of PJ and LOTR.

Bad taste
Somehow it's always a little alarming to see "An Unauthorized Biography" on the dust jacket of a book, and Ian Pryor's "Peter Jackson: From Prince of Splatter to Lord of the Rings" is no exception. This crazy quilt of magazine articles is obviously a rush-job, and leaves a "bad taste" in the mouth."

Peter Jackson is best known for co-writing and directing hit movie trilogy "The Lord of the Rings." But he started off as a young Kiwi boy experimenting with a camera, and later getting together with his buddies to film the low-budget horror/SF-comedy "Bad Taste." An understated indie career led to the brilliant docudrama "Heavenly Creatures," which kick-started the career of star Kate Winslet. And from then on, he started the sprawling adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved epic fantasy, which has been embraced as a worldwide phenomena on par with "Star Wars."

Peter Jackson (who reportedly condemns this biography) is a fascinating figure in modern filmmaking. Unfortunately, since this biography is unauthorized and unapproved, Pryor has to stitch together just about every magazine article or press release ever written about Jackson. It's very unsatisfying since all of it has been said before. And the first time around, it didn't sound so.... well, smarmy.

Pryor paints Jackson in extreme colors, apparently so his adoration won't seem "fannish." But it doesn't make Jackson seem like a three-dimensional person. It makes him seem either like a saintly genius, or a creep. His personal life, friendships and interactions with actors aren't really dealt with, which makes him seem a lot more distant than he is. At least there's no dirt-dishing -- Jackson seems to have led a pretty much blameless life.

Pryor's writing style leaves something to be desired. He misspells some of Tolkien's words like "uruk-hai" (which he spells "urak-hai"). And Pryor uses overwritten gushing to cover up the book's biggest flaw: He doesn't know what Jackson is like. Pryor only describes his behavior, his words, and what other say about him -- the man himself remains an enigma at the book's end.

The saving grace of "Peter Jackson" is how it shows off the impact Jackson has had on his native New Zealand, both as a filmmaker and as a worldwide celebrity. However, this can't gloss over the opportunistic, slightly sneering tone that pervades Pryor's book. If you like Jackson -- as a director and a person -- it will make you squirm.

Fans of Peter Jackson may be hungry for more info on this beloved director. But you're better off waiting for the official (and approved) biography by Brian Sibley. Ian Pryor's "Peter Jackson: From Prince of Splatter to Lord of the Rings" has the slippery feeling of a rushed-to-print biography to cash in a filmmaker's fame.

Who Is This Guy and How Did He Pull It Off?
Before LOTR,who ever of Peter Jackson?You know the legendary story....a somewhat successful maker of 'B' monster movies(from a foreign land)gets the chance of the century,to make a titanic epic with a titanic budget from an impossible to film book. Certain personal failure is forcast which will not only end his career but will ruin one of the world's largest studios. To the stunned amazement of all,Jackson successfully makes 'LOTR' and is immently successful in ever way that can be measured....a new benchmark that all other films will be judged against. Who is this guy and how is it so few people outside New Zealand knew of him? It's a biography so you learn lots about who Peter Jackson is and where he came from. Surprisingly, the author doesn't spend large amounts of time on LOTR filming technicalities. His emphasis is on how Jackson and his filming companions went about learning film, new technologies and how to apply these to their art. What the author spends a bit of time on is the realities of Hollywood studio politics and how that affects the sort of movies we see. I found that to be fascinating. In the PJ/LOTR saga there are 2 questions for me that never got answered to my satisfaction. The first is why did the first Aragorn,Stuart Townsend, det dismissed 1 week before shooting with no replacement in sight? With all the research that went into casting, it seems like a big mistake to go looking for a new leading character in a week with so much money and chance riding on that choice. Second is the exact reason New Line decided to invest so much of it's company's success or failure into a relatively unknown producer? Usually the reason is stated that the studio head just liked what he heard and saw, but that doesn't sound like solid business practice in America and not a technique a hardnosed CEO would use.Both questions get asked in the book and are sadly glossed over. It's still a good book and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. ... Read more

Book Description

Forged from the many conversations Charlotte Chandler conducted with the director of La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, and La Strada over the course of fourteen years, I, Fellini is a portrait of one of Italy's greatest filmmakers in his own words. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A remarkable insight to the #1 genius of film in the century
This book was written with love over 14 years of friendship. Fellini speaks all, and I mean everything about his life in the movies. Charlotte Chandler records and organizes interviews with the director so that the entire piece (except one little chapter at the end) is Fellini talking to a friend, and the reader becoming that friend. I believe this to be the most beautiful biography ever written about Fellini. A touching and profound book that any film lover, and for that matter, any artist wouldn't want to miss ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Hal Prince's career is now an open book.
Carol Ilson has written a readable, interesting and informative book about the career of Broadway's foremost director/producer, Harold Prince. It covers all of his shows from Pajama Game to Parade, a forty year career. It's a book that should be eagerly read by theater-goers and anyone interested in the American Musical Theater. It has been called a "treasure trove of the theater."

A "must" for Harold Prince fans and theatre buffs.
Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Carol Ilson's Harold Prince: A Director's Journey is the definitive biographical work on one of the most successful and influential men of Broadway and American musical theatre during the decade of the 1990s. Candid, informative, insightful, occasionally inspiring, Harold Prince is very highly recommended reading for students of American theatre in general, and Harold Prince in particular. ... Read more

Book Description

Now in paperback-the Los Angeles Times best seller: the acclaimed and decidedly unauthorized portrait of the "Godfather of Hollywood."

The reviewer of the Boston Globe said point blank: "Over the years, I've read hundreds of books on Hollywood and the movie business, and this one is right at the top." As the elusive, tyrannical head of the Music Corporation of America (MCA) until the 1990s, Lew Wasserman was the most powerful and feared man in show business for more than half a century. His career spanned the entire history of the movies, from the silent era to the present, and he was guru to Alfred Hitchcock, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, and Jimmy Stewart and to a new generation of filmmakers beginning with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. For more than four years, Dennis McDougal interviewed over 350 people who knew the man with the giant dark horn-rimmed glasses-colleagues, relatives, rivals-and drew on tens of thousands of pages of documents to produce this extraordinary and first-ever portrait of a legend and his times, a book that the New York Times Book Review called "thoroughly reported and engrossing" and that the Daily News called, simply, "a bombshell." ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A history book of Hollywood
If you enjoy reading about the history of Hollywood, this is the book for you. But be forewarned, it reads like a history book and takes a real time commitment to finish. The author goes back to the beginning career of Jules Stein and booking of bands through the sale of Universal to the Bronfman's. Clearly the focus of the book is Lew Wasserman who led MCA from agency to studio with significant influences in politics.

Probably the most entertaining part of the book is the unique stories of the stars of the 40s and 50s since Wasserman was at his peak making careers. Stories are presented about Tony Curtis, Jimmy Stewart and Marilyn Monroe to name a few and are quite entertaining as well as showing Wasserman's power to destroy or make a career.

This book tries to intertwine politics, entertainment and the mafia, and while there may be a connection, sometimes he seems to reach too far and lose focus on the principals who grew MCA into the behemoth that it was. I recommend this book to anyone with an in-depth interest in Hollywood history and what it was like from mid-century.

The Last Mogul Is Alive And Well Worth Reading!
This is a great book for anyone who loves Hollywood and the history of Hollywood. It is a great read, filled with details of past deals, and well defined characters. From the early days with Jules Stein, up until the sale of the company, this is a history book which is valuable for anyone who wants to know why certain movies were made, why hollywood functions as it does, and who the true power brokers were over the past 40+ years. The only thing better than reading about Lew Wasserman would be to meet the man, and listen to his stories, including Hollywood, MCA, Universal, Jules Stein, and all of the stars who worked for him.

Often Funny
Good book, very funny and detailed. Read it
after listening to the interview on First Voice.
The interview is online at
http://www.7to7.net/mcd.html

There's a transcript for those using dial up.

--J. R.

Not For Me, But...
If you like Hollywood gossip columns, you'll like this.

We need more
An incredibly detailed and fascinating look into the world of perhaps hollywood's greatest businessman ever. I wish there was more information about the great company mca and mr. wasserman, especially something sanctioned by him. there are libraries of info inside that man that we need to know!

so far, we have added a tunafish lunch to our routine, a la lew. but we need more info, more books to balance this story. seems to me that bernard dick's "city of light" about universal pictures, "stiffed" and "hit men" about the music business and others offer snapshots from the whole film of the last mogul, but i would love to know more.

respect to lew wasserman and dennis mcdougal. ... Read more

Book Description

In an industry that celebrates extravagance and showmanship, Danish film director Carl Th. Dreyer was a rarity, a man who guarded his privacy fiercely and believed that film provided a way to understand human nature by focusing on the individual person. Best known for his 1928 film "The Passion of Joan of Arc", dominated by its emotionally harrowing close-ups of Joan during her trial, it was Dreyer who pioneered some of the seminal techniques of modern film, techniques that would later be made famous by better known contemporaries such as Sergei Eisenstein and D.W. Griffith. Now, in "My Only Great Passion", the first full-length English language biography of Dreyer, Jean and Dale D. Drum restore his reputation to its rightful place. Based on extensive and exclusive interviews with both Dreyer and the people who worked with him--including personal correspondence dating back to 1952--this biography provides the most comprehensive critical examination to date of both Dreyer's life and his approach to filmmaking. A valuable resource for film critics and historians, those in the film industry, and university cinema departments, as well as anyone with an interest in Danish art and culture, "My Only Great Passion" provides long neglected insights into the man who first raised European film above the level of entertainment and placed it in the realm of art. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Biassed as though written by great Rossellini's fan
This book seems a frivolous essay of Rossellini's art and life and must have been written by a great Rossellini's fan and destined to pour the balm on his fans' souls. But it's much too biassed to other filmmakers, considered even more prominent than Rossellini. The author devoted many words to stress the battle and dislike between Rossellini and Visconti and to demolish the latter's reputation as a director and as a man (a homosexual, a sadist, a maniac Communist....). The question is "Why?" The answer is "Ordinary envy" as the one made only three well-known movies and didn't steped out the limits of neorealism and the other stretched the neorealism to the philosophical multy-layerd parable (as "La terra trema" is) and then became one of the most prominent world's filmmakers. God will judge Mr. Galagher for his opus that succumbs even to slander (that Visconti asked Magnani to have an abortion in order to take part in his Ossessione) but I'll never take this book in my hands any more.

Fasten your seat belt
Stepping into these adventures is like getting into the passenger seat of Rossellini's Ferrari - it will take you far, fast. Rossellini was not simply one of the greatest filmmakers, he was also a modern Ulysses whose life was the stuff of fable and whose fables were his life spliced into 24 frames per second. Tag Gallagher has done a superb thing by not attempting to divorce them, and the result is a work of art in its own right that has more to say about the 20th century than a boatload of "important" novels and sententious tomes. On top of that, it's a damn good read.

The Entire Works of Rossellini, at last...
Roberto Rossellini is one of the most influencial figure in film history. A few of his films changed the way movies are made. Open City and Paisan shocked the world. Voyage in Italy changed the lives of many filmmakers, from Jean-Luc Godard to Martin Scorsese. Yet, no serious study was done about his entire body of work, before this book. Rosselini is a mysterious figure. His style changes from a decade to another. Also, many of his films, like Vanina Vanini or Blaze Pascal, are rarely screened. His carrer is also sort of tarnished because of his affair and marriage with Ingrid Bergman. In fact, most f not-so-serious movie fans know his name as only the guy who brought her to Italy. The truth is, they made some of the most beautiful films in film history: Voyage in Italy, Stromboli, Europe 1951... Gallagher, who is also known with his magnificent work about John Ford, applied the same tactics to write about Rossellini: to carefully study each film, from shot to shot. It is an impressive book. It takes a lot of time to read, perhaps, but not aslong as the author took to write (20 years). His argument is sober and careful, yet you can feel the passion behind it, just as you can feel from the later works of Rossellini himself. In studying each film with great attention, the author finds out, and explains to us, that in spite of the differences in their appearance, there is a single, unique, coherent style, logic, and genius behind this impressive body of works. It is one of the most impressive book about cinema. One regretable thing is that, most of the films disscussed in this book, we can't see them. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Something for Fans
This volume collects selected interviews covering Mr. Soderbergh's career from his first feature film through his Oscar win for "Traffic." Most of the interviews are brief, and the book an easy read; however, most readers will find it unsatisfying and even tedious. The main problem is the amount of repetition across interviews. I doubt that's the fault of either the editor or Mr. Soderbergh--probably the nature of the beast. The journalists tended to ask the same sorts of questions, and of course, Mr. Soderbergh has the same answer each time. To be sure, thought-provoking hints about the filmmaker's ideas, methods, and aesthetics occasionally surface, along with a few technical details, but there are no deep insights into the artist or his work. Still, fans of Mr. Soderbergh's work will find the collection informative enough to spend an hour or so with it. The general reader, though, would do better to pick up Mr. Soderbergh's own books--his published screenplay-with-journal for "sex, lies, and videotape" or his "Getting Away with It, Or: The Further Adventures of the Luckiest Bastard You Ever Saw," a series of conversations with filmmaker Richard Lester interwoven with more of Mr. Soderbergh's journals. Better yet, just watch the films. ... Read more

Book Description

D.W. Griffith, most famous for his controversial film Birth of a Nation, was one of the undisputed pioneers of the film industry. This illustrated monograph, first published in 1940, traces Griffith's rise from an obscure actor-poet to the most imaginitive and resourceful film producer of his time. In this facsimile edition of a classic, Iris Barry gives a critical evaluation of the man under whose aegis the basic principles of the art of motion pictures were first fully developed. As Barry writes in the book's conclusion, "...the men who make films today know who it was that taught them the basis of their craft. The American public, which for 45 years has so keenly enjoyed and supported the motion picture, has been somewhat relctuant to allow it the status of an art. Now, gradually, they too are recognizing that in Griffith they have one of the greatest and most original artists of our time."

Essays by Iris Barry. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Required Reading
The latest title in the ongoing University of Mississippi Conversations With Filmmakers series complies interviews with noted director and enfant terrible Lars Von Trier. This book is a fine addition to any film library, and shows us a great deal about Von Trier. It stops with "Dancer In The Dark" and does not cover "Dogville." As of yet, the U of M press does not issue revised or updated editions of their books, so do not expect to see a second edition. Otherwise, this book does well in digging up obscure interviews (several never published before and others translated from the original language for the first time)and establishing a solid chronology to work with. The book even contains an interview with Von Trier when he was a young child actor (the lead role, of course) on a popular television show.

It makes one happy to see the University of Mississippi press publishing this volume on a truly unique filmmaker, as opposed to pretentious bourgeois "mainstream" directors like Quentin Tarantino and Stephen Soderbergh (both who hold titles in the collection-- how regretful). One learns through reading Von Trier's philosophy on filmmaking that he is indeed a great thinker. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An intimate portrait of the fimmaker by his grandson
John Ford is THE greatest film director of American Cinema, and perhaps one of the greatest artist of the 20th century. Yet his figure remains enigmatic, part of the reason is because this mannever wanted to talkabout himslef. This biography is a well-researched piece written by Ford'sown grand son, who is also a film producer. As the director's relatibe, hehad access to most of his personal papers, as well as interviews withFord's many collaborators, which includes John Wayne, Henry Fonda, MaureenO'Hara and many others. It is a very good introduction about the man. I donot share the author's view about Ford's later works, and I have found somecontradicting facts about the making of Cheyenne Autumn when I researchedthe atchive papers of Waraner Brothers, but these are details.This bookis a bit sentimental, but so are many of the movies directed by theauthor's grandfather, so I think that's okay. ... Read more

Book Description

"Elegantly written and illustrated, brilliantly illuminating about the work . . . This is a book of which Jacques Tati would surely approve"--Margot Norman, Literary Review

A Frenchman of Russian origins, Jacques Tati, who was born in 1908, worked as a picture-framer and a music-hall mime before being drawn into the world of the French cinema and making the films that rank him with the most popular comedy actor/directors in any country. He brought to his films - Jour de Fête, Monsieur Hulot's Holidays, Mon Oncle, Playtime and others - a healthy openness to new technology in movie-making and a rigorous precision, the hallmark of many great clowns, in the execution of each scene.He made no feature films after Parade in 1974, and he died in 1982. In this, the first complete, authoritative biography of the French icon, David Bellos has had the complete collaboration of Tati's daughter, the freedom to examine hitherto inaccessible archives including film footage, videos, taped interviews and early drafts of shooting scripts.What emerges is the picture of a man at once dedicated, impassioned, and shy, more an artist than a man of business. In Bellos's dynamic, closely researched account, the man comes abundantly alive, and remains, as on screen, strangely loveable.
... Read more

Reviews (3)

Jacques Tati: 20th Century artist
David Bellos and Jacques Tati: What an odd combination. The odd thing about it is that David Bellos is a much-respected translator of French writer Georges Perec's novels, in addition to being Perec's biographer, and he's a much-admired expert on French literature. So why would he be interested in writing a biography of one of cinema's great clowns, Jacques Tati, especially when Bellos admits he is not a film fanatic and feels that if he had met Tati, he wouldn't have been able to spend more than five minutes in conversation with the man? Bellos cites his interest in Tati's artistry and his place in what the author calls "the trente glorieuses -- the 30 glorious years of rising prosperity in France from 1945 to 1975." These are the years during which Tati did his amazing work. He was not only one of the great filmmakers but also an artist who commented on humankind's interest and need for work and leisure -- with hilarious results. And his set designs have been a hit with architects around the world.

There is nothing more moderne than a Tati film. Tati made fun of the French love for le gadget: everything from Le Corbusier-style chaises longues to cars that had grills suitable for barbecuing. Jacques Tati is weak as a biography, insofar as Bellos doesn't get into Tati's head, but the book is strong when Bellos writes about Tati's films and his Kubrick-like madness in waiting for the perfect shot, perfect moment, perfect anything. Like Kubrick, Tati was an unforgiving perfectionist, and although he was a funnyman on film, Tati was quite moody and depressed during the shoots. His single-minded intensity in getting the film he wanted eventually destroyed him financially; for the masterpiece Playtime, Tati built a small modern city as a set, which caused his accountant to flip his lid. The film failed financially, and Tati never recovered from the disappointment.

As Bellos writes in his introduction to the book, he is hopeful that there will be other books on this peculiar film genius. This is only an introduction, and when one takes it as just that, this book is a must-read for Tati fans. Oh, and if you are not a Tati fan, I don't want to know you.

a serious study of tati's career
don't expect to read the normal gossip-laden biography. this is a most serious text detailing the comic genius and cinematic philosophy of the brilliant and (almost) tragic actor/director.

The itinerary of a life
Bellos presents the itinerary of a life and something more of a career, but Jacques Tati remains largely a mystery. I'll reread this biography, ignoring the narrow, academic view of intellect and flawless, postwar judgments of wartime behavior, and I'll recommend it to others. But I'll continue to hope that someone will write a life of Tati filled with scenes as revealing and eloquent as Hulot's resetting of a brick in a crumbling Paris wall. ... Read more