Book Description

With the international success of Breaking the Waves (1996) and Dancer in the Dark (2000), Lars von Trier has established himself as one of the most provocative and daring film directors working in cinema today. A central figure in the conception of Dogma 95, he made the movement's most controversial film, The Idiots (1998), and has played a leading role in the recent resurgence of Danish cinema. Yet despite his success and notoriety, von Trier remains something of an enigma. Famous for not playing the game, he has been hailed as the new Godard by some and an attention-seeking charlatan by others. Jack Stevenson uncovers the manic genius of Lars von Trier, assessing his life, work, and critical reception. The book follows von Trier from his early life as a troubled son of "cultural radical" parents through to his student days at the Danish Film School, diligently spent making films that were as innovative and disturbing as his later features have proved to be. Illustrated ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Cannes it be true?
This is a very enjoyable, well researched book. Any fan of Lars von Trier will enjoy reading this even if it means re-reading information they may have come across in the past. Though the Cannes film festival has been a repeated rite of passage for the director, this book obsessively follows von Trier's relationship with the festival as if it were the only event that mattered in his career. Nevertheless, Stevenson does go to great lengths to cover all aspects of von Trier's life, professional and personal in equal measure.
Overall, this is an excellent book that provides a witty, insightful view into the mind of a very important artist. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the first full-length study of the woman who has always been the exception in Hollywood film history-the one woman who succeeded as a director, in a career that spanned three decades. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

too snooty for me
I think Judith Mayne read the dictionary before she wrote this book. The average reader will not like this book. She makes classic cinema seem like it's surgery. I am a big fan of Dorothy Arzner and classic films, but this book's pretentious vocabulary makes it too laughable. It's just a 1930's movie for goodness sakes! ... Read more

Amazon.com

This roller coaster ride through Quentin Tarantino's life and work is based on over 100 in-depth interviews with friends, colleagues and family and was written with the invaluable support of Quentin' mother, Connie.Perceptive and compelling, Quentin Tarantino: Shooting from the Hip penetrates the eccentric world of Hollywood's hottest movie director.It is essential reading for everyone wanting to understand Tarantino the man, and the phenomenon. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellant Novel
Excellant biography. Its objective, funny, interesting, and well researched. A must read not only for fans of the hot shot director, but for anyone interested in the process that goes into making movies. My only quarrel is that it ends before the making of From Dusk Till Dawn or jackie Brown. ... Read more

Book Description

"Donalson's pioneering text . . . will become an indispensable resource for general students, undergraduate and graduate students, and the general reader. It will be a major contribution to American and African American film studies and popular culture." --Wilfred D. Samuels, Associate Professor of English, University of UtahHollywood film directors are some of the world's most powerful storytellers, shaping the fantasies and aspirations of people around the globe. Since the 1960s, African Americans have increasingly joined their ranks, bringing fresh insights to movie characterizations, plots, and themes and depicting areas of African American culture that were previously absent from mainstream films. Today, black directors are making films in all popular genres, while inventing new ones to speak directly from and to the black experience.This book offers a first comprehensive look at the work of black directors in Hollywood, from pioneers such as Gordon Parks, Melvin Van Peebles, and Ossie Davis to current talents including Spike Lee, John Singleton, Kasi Lemmons, and Carl Franklin. Discussing 67 individuals and over 135 films, Melvin Donalson thoroughly explores how black directors' storytelling skills and film techniques have widened both the thematic focus and visual style of American cinema. Assessing the meanings and messages in their films, he convincingly demonstrates that black directors are balancing Hollywood's demand for box office success with artistic achievement and responsibility to ethnic, cultural, and gender issues. ... Read more

Book Description

Preston Sturges was the great writer and director of Hollywood screwball comedies of the thirties and forties. Sullivan's Travels, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, and The Great McGinty have become film classics, demonstrating brilliant, inventive writing and directing. At the height of his career, Sturges had not only won an Academy Award but was also one of the most highly paid executives in the country.

The only account of his life in his own words, Preston Sturges by Preston Sturges unveils the source of his extraordinary creativity: a life that was every bit as antic and unconventional as his movies. From growing up in Europe with a mother whose best friend was Isadora Duncan to making his way among the beau monde of New York -- including a marriage to Barbara Hutton's cousin Eleanor -- Sturges drew on a wealth of madcap experiences to create films of unprecedented comic originality. Working with her husband's wonderfully descriptive journals, Sandy Sturges has woven a captivating narrative that reveals a man of remarkable intellect, energy, and warmth. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Learn about the man, not about the work
The strange title and author attribution of this (auto)biography of movie writer/director Sturges is revealed in the last paragraph, and I won't give it away here. Trust me to say that this is a fascinating look into Preston Sturges' life as it is revealed by the man himself. Revealing? For example, the time spent by Sturges working on his six Hollywood classics (starting with "The Great McGinty" and ending with "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek") are briefly covered in approximately 50 pages. Instead of concentrating his life into the three years that made him famous, Sturges spreads his story out equally to all years of his life, spending an equal amount of time on his toddlership. Fortunately, Sturges' life is interesting and by the time you arrive with him in Hollywood, you may agree with him that it's not necessarily as high a pinnacle as it may seem.

What you discover here is that Sturges, while a gifted writer and director, was something of a strange chap. His early life, while providing him many of the anecdotes that he would later incorporate into his movies, weren't necessarily guiding him to the silver screen. By tricks of simple fate, Sturges avoided a career as a perfumer, a broker, and an inventor. And, before Hollywood, there was a chance that he would have stayed a playwright on Broadway. For a man with the drive for success and money, though, no place but Hollywood in those years had quite the means to deliver the goods.

There's a few pictures to round out the book and a nice bibliography. As a starting point to discovering more about Sturges' work, this is a great book. About that work, though, one must look elsewhere.

Excellent companion volume to Curtis's bio
The best biography (to date) of Preston Sturges is "Between Flops" by James Curtis, but this well-edited edition of Preston's own unfinished autobiography makes a wonderful companion volume to that vivid bio.

Sleeping Beauty
A great autobiography that anyone who is a Sturges fan will love. He writes extremely well, and the life he tells about is a fascinating one. Why this book is not more widely known and discussed is a mystery. Had Sturges never made a movie (and he devotes little space to that aspect of his life), or if anyone reading the book would happen to not know who Sturges is, the book would hold up just as well. His wife Sandy did an excellent job of editing Sturges' journals and writings to come up with what will one day become known as literary classic that will stand alongside his film masterpieces.

A Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous.
Preston Sturges was one of the greatest comedy directors of all time, but most people have no idea who he was. This book is basically Sturges' autobiography. Ironically, he died before he ever had a chance to finish and publish his life story. However, using what he had written, various letters, and notes, his daughter Sandy collected his writings and edited them into this delightful book. I was fascinated and extremely amused reading about the exploits of the gifted (and wealthy) young Preston. His childhood was anything but usual, what with globetrotting and famous dinner guests and all; and the story of how he became a movie director is most interesting and entertaining. Full of wit and charm, this book is sure to entertain; not unlike a Preston Sturges' film. ... Read more

Book Description

Thomas Dixon has a notorious reputation as the writer of the source material for D.W. Griffith’s groundbreaking and controversial 1915 feature film The Birth of a Nation. Perhaps unfairly, Dixon has been branded an arch-conservative and a racist obsessed with what he viewed as "the Negro problem." As American Racist makes clear, however, Dixon was a complex, multitalented individual who, as well as writing some of the most popular novels of the early twentieth century, was involved in the production of some eighteen films.

Dixon used the motion picture as a propaganda tool for his often outrageous opinions on race, communism, socialism, and feminism. His most spectacular production, The Fall of a Nation (1916), argues for American preparedness in the face of war and boasts a musical score by Victor Herbert, making it the first American feature film to have an original score by a major composer. Like the majority of Dixon’s films, The Fall of a Nation has been lost, but had it survived, it might well have taken its place alongside The Birth of a Nation as a masterwork of silent film. Anthony Slide examines each of Dixon’s films and discusses the novels from which they were adapted. Slide chronicles Dixon’s transformation from a major supporter of the original Ku Klux Klan in his early novels to an ardent critic of the modern Klan in his last film, Nation Aflame. American Racist is the first book to discuss Dixon’s work outside of literature and provide a wide overview of the life and career of this highly controversial twentieth-century southern populist. ... Read more

Book Description

The long, colorful career of producer Walter Wanger (1894-1968)represents one of Hollywood's greatest untold stories. Married to actress JoanBennett, he is perhaps best remembered for shooting his wife's lover in aBeverly Hills parking lot and for his involvement with the catastrophicCleopatra. But Wanger was also an intellectual sophisticate whose astute skillsas a producer have received remarkably little attention. A socially consciousmovie executive responsible for such film classics as Queen Christina with GretaGarbo, John Ford's Stagecoach, Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, and DonSiegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, he exemplified the figure of theglamorous, independent Hollywood producer. Matthew Bernstein's lively and exhaustive study utilizes archival correspondenceand interviews with film industry veterans, including Joan Bennett, directorRobert Wise, and writer-director-producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Wanger'stempestuous career serves as an incomparable window into the process offilmmaking during the heyday of the studio system. Bernstein defines theflexible nature of the term "producer" in golden-age Hollywood and demonstrateshow Wanger's efforts to produce films independently were often compromised bythe omnipotent studio system. This comprehensive biography offers new insightsinto the producer's influence in the history of American cinema, and it makesfor fascinating reading. ... Read more

Book Description

John Meredyth Lucas, son of silent screen star and screenwriter Bess Meredyth (Ben-Hur, The Sea Beast, When a Man Loves, Don Juan) and stepson of renowned Hungarian-born director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, Mildred Pierce, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Life with Father), came of age in Hollywood during the 1930s. Lucas went on to an impressive career of his own as a writer-producer-director. He made films with Hal Wallis, Ross Hunter, Walt Disney, and others, and he wrote, produced, and directed such classic television series as Mannix, The Fugitive and Star Trek.

Completed shortly before his death in 2002, Lucas’ memoir is filled with never-before-told recollections of many Hollywood greats and features previously unpublished photographs. With Lucas, we go behind the scenes, onto the studio lots and into the parties with family friends John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Errol Flynn and Jack Warner, to name just a few. It’s a boy’s-eye-view of Hollywood in a time of glamour, decadence, and the golden years of filmmaking. ... Read more

Book Description

From Walter to John to Anjelica, there are three generations of Oscar winners in the remarkable Huston family.This is their story. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Huston, not a city in Texas
Hollywood (and much of the United States, for that matter) was built by powerful families. The Zaibatsus of early Hollywood -- the Barrymores, the Zanucks, the Gish sisters -- gave us some of the finest films ever made, as well as a template for film production that has survived for eighty years.

Add to this list the Hustons. In many ways, they represent the last half of the Twentieth century in Hollywood. This book brilliantly captures the power, fame, and scandals in which the Huston's were involved. The prose is informative without sacrificing readability, and the book is thoroughly researched. I recommend it for anyone interested in the Hollywood Studio System and how it changed after the 1940s. Fantastic reading on an important subject. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Derek Jarman in book form
If you can't get enough of Jarmen's films, you may love this book.It's hodgepodge: half autobiography/half manifesto.It reminds me of much output by ACT-UP and Q Nation members.(I guess it's called Outrage! in Britain.)Because the West has become less AIDS-phobic and gay-friendly, this book may feel incredibly dated.Because it is true to life, parts may make you uncomfortable.For example, Jarmen retells how he rejected a man once and I felt soooo bad for the guy.This book also mentions public lice, black and white female impersonators fighting and other stuff.This is not easy reading.Still, for those who love Paul Monette, Tony Kushner, Robert Ferro, or their kind, this will be a book that you may want to have or read. ... Read more

Book Description

In this pathbreaking new book, Mary P. Nichols challenges this, arguing that Allen's work, from Play It Again, Sam to Deconstructing Harry, is actually an attempt to explore and reconcile the tension between art and life. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A good review of the artistry of Woody Allen
As a big Woody Allen fan I really enjoyed reading Mary P. Nicols "Reconstructing Woody". Nicols is a professor of political science at Fordham University, and this book is basically her in-depth study or "thesis" on the cinematic art of Woody Allen. She digs deeply into 12 of Allen's films, namely "Play It Again Sam", "Annie Hall", "Interiors", "Stardust Memories", "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy", "Zelig", "The Purple Rose of Cairo", "Another Woman", "Crimes and Misdemeanors", "Manhattan Murder Mystery", "Bullets Over Broadway" and "Mighty Aphrodite". She looks at the artisty and craftsmanship of Allen's works and gives her own interperetations as to their deeper meanings, uses of symbolism, and Woody's obvious homages to classic art and literature. She also points out what I've told people all along...that whether he is using comedy or drama as his vehicle, Woody Allen is master storyteller who creates characters of great depth! The chapters on "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and "Stardust Memories" are especially intriguing and enlightening, so much so that Nicols has actually deepened my appreciation of those films. (Not that they wern't favorites already!) I would have liked to have seen what she had to say regarding "Manhattan" or "Broadway Danny Rose", but for some inexplicable reason they were not included. Now that four more Woody Allen fims have been released since the publication of this book, it would be nice to see Nicols do a follow-up which could cover "Deconstructing Harry", "Celebrity", "Sweet and Lowdown", "Small Time Crooks" and some of the older titles that were overlooked here. If Amazon ever offers such a book, I'll be the first here to buy it!

Thesis
Nichols has basically written the equivalent of a term paper on the films and life of Woody Allen. That is not to say that the book is dull or only a collection of non-emotive facts about Allen. It delves deep to examine the many facets of his life and the films that he has created. For anyone who really appreciates Woody Allen's films, this would be the book for you.

The Best Woody Ever
Nichols has made an exemplary contribution to film studies by integrating that mushy discipline with the rigor of political philosophy. She's surely smarter and better than Woody, but with her help we can see what is best about his art as moral and philosophical illumination.

A profound and provocative meditation on life and art.
Professor Mary Nichols's "Reconstructing Woody" is a profound and provocative meditation on life and art that gazes at these issues through the lens of Woody Allen's films. Nichols's treatment is unique for its insight and readability. Moreover, she succeeds in establishing three truths in her book: 1. That film is as complex, philosophic and insightful a medium for reflecting upon life as any other literary genre, combining especially the novel's ability to recreate a detailed world and drama's ability to have visual impact. 2. That the literary/dramatic reflection of life in art is not simply "reflective" or "passive," but instead represents the artist's ability to see the world through "a" world. If that artist is thoughtful and talented enough, then we do ourselves a service by trying to enter into his or her lens to view our own world. Nichols persuasively demonstrates that Allen is an artist of that rank. 3. That (and this is a very old issue in the Western world) the "sophisticated criticism" of certain intellectuals may, in fact, be less profound than the art it tries to explain. Allen himself has clearly and funnily portrayed this in his films, and Nichols, by presuming that Allen has something to teach her and us, has produced an intellectual commentary that does not distort or render shallow his dramatic corpus. In short, in confronting Allen's art through Nichols's book, the reader will emerge with a greater ability to appreciate a worthy artist's work and the world that that work represents. ... Read more

Book Description

Biographer Patrick McGilligan interviews legendary stars and directors of Hollywood's Golden Age in FILM CRAZY.

Patrick McGilligan, the acclaimed biographer of George Cukor, Robert Altman, Jack Nicholson, Fritz Lang and Clint Eastwood, has interviewed many of Hollywood's biggest stars and most important directors.In FILM CRAZY, McGilligan shares some of his fascinating interviews with screen luminaries from his salad days as a young journalist working the Hollywood beat.He rides the presidential campaign bus with Ronald Reagan, visits Alfred Hitchcock on the set of the Master of Suspense's last film, "Family Plot," meets George Stevens at the Brown Derby and conducts the last interview with the director of "Shane" and "Giant." Other interview subjects captured for posterity include rough-and-ready pioneer directors William Wellman and Raoul Walsh; likeable actor Joel McCrea; actress - and the only female director of her era - Ida Lupino; French legend Rene Clair; and lowly-contract- writer-turned-studio-mogul Dore Schary.FILM CRAZY is a must for film students, scholars and professionals. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Pay no attention to the previous reviewer
This is an enjoyable collection of interviews with legendary American movie directors, actors, and writers.It's filled with anecdotes, reminiscences, regrets, gossip, and enlightening glimpses into how movies get made.If all of this sounds dull to you, and if you don't care what people such as Dore Schary, Joel McCrae, Ida Lupino, Alfred Hitchcock, Ronald Reagan, William Wellman, and Robert Stevenson (you might not know the name, but you sure know his work) had to say, then by all means, skip this one and leave it to film lovers who will appreciate it.

Dull and disappointing
McGilligan must have been too young and star-struck when he did these interviews because he just lets the old-timers go on and on ad nauseam. The pieces have little shape or focus and the conversations are riddledwith cliches, predictable.A mess of a compilation.Did no one edit this? There are so many great film interview books, don't bother with this one. ... Read more

Amazon.com

David Lean directed a number of grand films, among them "The Bridge Over the River Kwai", "Lawrence of Arabia," "Dr. Zhivago," "Ryan's Daughter," and "A Passage to India." Despite the length and breadth of these movies, he meticulously arranged virtually every shot. The results, of course, are some of the most enduring works ever put on film. This tribute to Lean, who died in 1991, is told in Lean's own words and in the words of those who knew him best. It is a comprehensive look at the director and his often combative relationships. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Engrossing and Illuminating
A simply marvellous biography of a cinema titan. It's the product of many conversations between Lean and the author, a great film historian and no mean director himself, having made the gorgeous Silent Era documentary "Hollywood" (is that ever coming out on DVD?!). For this reason the tone is very chatty, with so much quotage from Lean himself that it's nearly an autobiography; and Brownlow's knowlege of real-world production lets him know just what questions to ask. It rather reminded me of "Hitchcock/Truffaut", another filmmaker-to-filmmaker conversation. Mind you Truffaut didn't bother quite so much with Hitchcock's love affairs, but one can always skim. It looks intimidatingly massive but this is more because of the lavish illustrations than excessive wordiness. Great read, inspiring and full of useful tidbits.

Covering All Phases of a Fascinating and Complicated Genius
Kevin Brownlow touched all bases of David Lean's life, providing insight into the films and his unconventionally fascinating life, making this one of the finest film biographies I have ever read about a cinema giant about whom I had longed to learn more about. Brownlow divides Lean's career into two distinct phases, 1) the British period in which he worked at home and captured the true essence of his people and, 2) the international phase in which the master film craftsman lived in hotels and moved from one country to another in producing a series of internationally spectacular movies such as "Lawrence of Arabia", "Doctor Zhivago" and "The Bridge on the River Kwai."

Brownlow begins with Lean's roots as a restless youngster in the London suburb of Croydon. His lack of curiosity and penchant for traditional school learning coupled with the stolen hours he spent sitting inside darkened theaters in a state of fascination revealed where his adult years would be spent.

Once that Lean began following his dream he quickly became established as Britain's foremost film editor. In that context Brownlow expunges a canard that was carried all the way to obituaries after the great director's death in 1990 that Noel Coward gave the aspiring director a leg up in teaming up with him to co-direct the brilliantly done war film about the British Navy, "In Which We Serve," in which Coward also starred along with Celia Johnson and John Mills. It turned out that Coward's move proved to his personal benefit as Lean did most of the directing and Coward was concerned mainly about his own scenes, after which he would generally leave the set, entrusting the basic direction of the film to Lean. We also learn that Lean, unlike Sir Carol Reed and other prominent British directors, turned down a chance to begin his directing career on low budget "quota quickies," deciding instead to wait for a major opportunity, which came with "In Which We Serve." Later that same year one of Lean's greatest films, the epic love story "Brief Encounter" with Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson, hit the screens and the young director's career was away in a flourish.

After achieving prominent worldwide status as a great international director, Lean's sensitivity resulted in overreacting to the criticism of tart New Yorkers at a Round Table session at the Algonquin Hotel. Lean was sharply criticized for "Ryan's Daughter," which American critics such as Richard Schickel and Pauline Kael believed was well below the high standard he established with "Brief Encounter" and continued with other films. According to Brownlow, Lean was sufficiently wounded to take a sabbatical before doing his last film, the highly acclaimed Indian epic "Passage to India" based on the E.M. Forster literary classic.

Brownlow does a superb job of depicting the period and the films from Lean's prolific career. Lean's was a mastery of style and entertainment, enriching story telling with beautiful visual imagery and word economy in the best sense, making the language all the more meaningful. This book does his career justice while enhancing our knowledge of a great man.

Great Picture of a Great Director
Kevin Brownlow has written an interesting and detailed account of David Lean, director. I loved the behind the scenes stories. You will learn a lot about the intensity and weakness in this driven man. He loved films and the making of films. Film producers and film critics had a direct effect on this man. Read it if you are at all interested in David Lean.

April 24, 2003 - I still refer to this book. Often re-read sections of it. It is still 5 out of 5

Lean - A troubled director with epic films.
I greatly enjoyed Kevin Brownlow's earlier book on silent era filmaking "Before the Parade Passes By" but was less enthusiastic with this biography of David Lean. The text was diffult to follow with regard to who says what, when. It all takes on a rather who shot John second-hand quality that seems to distance the reader from the subject rather than draw them in. This biography presents an unclear view while it may accurately reflect the basic nature of the subject.

While overlong, (I could do with less of the many sub-plots behind "Breaking the Sound Barrier" and un-fulfilled projects such as "The Bounty"), we get an interesting glimse behind the scenes at the filmaker and his great works. Lean comes off a thin-skinned combination photographer/artist/editor technocrat and generous melagomaniac. Maybe that's what is needed to make an epic.

In any case, the tidbits about the making of the many classic Lean films including: "Brief Encounter", "Great Expectations", "Summertime", "Bridge on the River Kwai", "Laurence of Arabia", "Doctor Zviago" and "Ryan's Daughter" are entertaining and engaging. Patrick W. Brown

Brownlow's magisterial biography is a landmark in the field.
Kevin Brownlow's "David Lean: A Biography" is a landmark in the field of cinema studies. In this work, the premier cinema historian in the English language meets arguably the greatest English director, and the result is a masterpiece of the genre worthy of the maker of such film masterpieces as "Brief Encounter," "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and "Lawrence of Arabia." Brownlow's understanding of the technical aspects of film-making does great justice to Lean's career, who himself made his reputation in the industry as an editor, gaining renown as the premier "cutter" of his time. In my estimation, Lean was arguably the premier "technician-style" director, a master of cinematic form rivalled only by Stanley Kubrick. My pantheon of directors includes more "personal" directors, Bergman, Fellini and Tarkovsky, yet I respect the accomplishments of Lean; when I saw "Brief Encounter" on the big screen, the climax of the film literally stunned me. The awesome construction of "Brief Encounter" perhaps could only have been created by a director possessing technical genius bred in the cutting room, and it is a great credit to Brownlow that he makes us fully understand the genesis of Lean's particular genius for film. While in these 800-pages, Brownlow does not slight the more conventional aspects of movies, e.g, personalities, finance, criticism, etc., it is his commanding knowledge of film as a craft that gives us great insight into Lean. This book should be required reading for film students for the insight it gives into the craft of constructing a motion picture. Finally, "David Lean: A Biography" is also an insightful story about an unusual man with a marvellously contradictory character who would make a great protagonist in a work of fiction. Lean was, in turns, a sensualist with a Quaker background who had six wives, marrying many of them when most men, it was said, would be divorcing them; a director who commanded huge crews who essentially was a lonely and uncommunicative man; a man of extraordinary generosity who would deny a fellow professional a minor credit; an artist of international reputation who could be wounded mortally by a bad review by an insignificant critic, whose career was derailed by the storm of negative criticism over "Ryan's Daughter." Brownlow's portrait of the essentially unintellectual Lean, an insecure man tormented by a rivalry with his younger brilliant brother, himself a brilliant technician working in a medium with great artistic pretensions who was uncertain of his worth and reputation, should not be missed by any person who loves film. Lean's eclipse after the critical debacle of "Ryan's Daughter," his years in the woods in which he tried in vain to bring new projects to fruition that later were realized by other, lesser directors, his ultimate return to glory and respectability with "A Passage to India," and his final years as the respected yet still tormented man searching for the backing for his last project, "Nostromo," kick this book out of its genre into the ranks of the best biographies in which the life of which we read informs us not just about the human condition, but about ourselves. Don't miss this book ... Read more

Reviews (3)

"Must" reading for all Hitchcock fans!
Film director Alfred Hitchcock was a master of suspense: this survey of his film contributions gathers over 300 photos from throughout his life, providing an excellent collection of revealing images spiced with film reviews and sidebars of facts. Highly recommended for any Hitchcock fan.

The master's canon
Interested in the films he directed, or just a hitchcock fan? Either way this book is a must. Not only does it cover every film he directed, but there are nice little extras on the stars he worked with, the writing process and even a look at films he inspired. The book is beautifully laid out, yet if you are looking for close analysis then this is not what you want. It looks at each film and talks about them, but there is no hard depth to this material - this is just a good look at the entire canon.

Excellent presentation, too little room to develop it
Reference books make great gifts because they can be pretty useful for years to come. Some of them are even attractive enough to leave out on coffee tables for guests to flip through when conversation drags. by Ken Mogg (Taylor Publishing Company, 1999) is probably the most attractively produced book on that much written about director. It is well organized, each of the Master's films getting anywhere from one to five or six pages, well illustrated, with several specialized items to keep us abreast of trends in Hitch's career. For example, there is a list of all his cameo appearances in his films, a brief examination of his film techniques, his use of famous locations, and so on. Especially welcome are little inserts of trivia, such as the story behind the song the children are singing as The Birds are massing outside in the playground, and a generous number of lobby card reproductions. There is also a good discussion of his television series and even his paperback anthologies. In short, Mr. Mogg does not concentrate entirely on the films, although they do take up the bulk of the volume. By the way, listing Janet Leigh as co-author on this website is misleading: she only wrote a one-page introduction that is quite amusing. My only complaint is that 211 pages are not enough room to handle this wealth of material; and here and there I feel much more of value could have been said had the author been given more space. (Hence the one star less in my rating.) Still such a comment merely shows how much I like this book and many of you will too. ... Read more

Book Description

"Beginning in the William Morris mail room in 1955, Bernie Brillstein wanted only three things: "to walk into a restaurant and have people know who I am...to be the guy who gets the phone calls and doesn't have to make the...to represent the one performer people must have." Throughout his long career at the top of the entertainment industry-as TV and movie producer, agent, and brilliant personal manager-Brillstein has accomplished it all.

Where Did I Go Right? is Brillstein's street-smart, funny, and thoroughly human story of a life in show business. With his trademark wit and candor, he speaks out for the first time about his feud with Mike Ovitz and how it felt to pass the torch of his company leadership to his partner, Brad Grey, and "no longer be the king." He describes his close relationship with John Belushi and what it was like being alone with Belushi's body-stretched out across two cramped seats in a tiny jet, wrapped up in a body bag-on the way to his funeral. He shares stories about Jim Henson and Gilda Radner, about Lorne Michaels and the early days of Saturday Night Live. He takes us behind the scenes at such hits as The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters, and The Muppet Show. Brillstein also reveals his secrets about how to survive and prosper in Hollywood, the real meaning of "the art of the deal," the difference between "hot" and "good," and why instinct is so crucial to the future of the entertainment industry. "Becoming successful is the most fun of all. I'm not talking about being successful or staying successful. I mean the getting there, the instant you arrive, and for the first time you think, Where did I go right?" ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Where Did I Go Right? : A Great Read by Bernie Brillstein
"Here's the truth about the art of the deal: it all comes down to who's your client and how desperately the other guy wants him. It's about a moment in time, and nothing more." In this telling and moving biography, Bernie Brillstein takes the reader inside some of the most interesting moments in show business. And from his background and experience, at William Morris, as a Manager, at Lorimar, and at Brillstein-Grey, Bernie really lets the reader in on the art of the deal. And this book is a great deal! In reviewing this book I refer to Bernie by his first name, since he writes like he's writing to a friend, and by the end of the book I felt like that friend. Bernie writes in an honest and sincere manner, which is unusual for books written by and about show biz. Bernie's client list included many of my favorites, including Lorne Michaels, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Jim Henson, Gilda Radner, Norm Crosby, Richard Dryfuss, and Chris Farley. Bernie writes with insight about Saturday Night Live, Hee-Haw, NewsRadio, the Muppets, and ALF, amoung others. And through it all, Bernie shows a level of ethics and character to which we should all aspire in our work lives. This is a book that I could not put down, and my only disappointment was that it is only 373 pages. This is a great read, and its value greatly exceeds the price of admission. I would read anything else Bernie Brillstein writes, even if written on the back of cereal box. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about how show business really works. Although Five Stars is the highest rating Amazon gives, this book really desearves Ten Stars!

Best Hollywood read since "The Kid Stays In The Picture"
For those of us hooked on "The E True Hollywood Story," "VH1's Behind The Music" and other outlets for real life Hollywood dish, Bernie Brillstein's book is a wonderful treat. This is a candid, honest look at a half-century long career in the trenches. Bernie Brillstein nurtured the careers of Lorne Michaels,Jim Henson, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and many more icons. Besides the wonderful stories (ok, dish) about his clients, Brillstein shares behind the scenes anecdotes from the deal making trenches. Great insights for any future Hollywood agents/managers. But even if you don't work in this town, you will love Bernie's story and possibly pick up some useful life lessons. An appealing, infinitely readable Hollywood read, and if you like this, check out books by Bob Evans and Ken Kragen!

REALLY JUST A SALESMAN, AFTER ALL THE FUSS!!
Because we're so star-struck in America, we tend to be overly impressed with ShowBiz and the people who inhabit that world. But as charming, determined and persistent a personality Mr. Brillstein may be, he's essentially just a salesman - NOT the creator, but a "dealmaker" of the ShowBiz Old School - and after almost 400 pages, I found he'd worn thin his welcome! However dramatic it may have been FOR HIM to accompany John Belushi's body back East, or "duke it out" with the Big Boys in corporate takeovers while at Lorimar, the emotions are thinly drawn and shallow in this book. Brillstein made me less than intrigued with his machinations, unimpressed by his self-aggrandizing spin on events and ultimately unsympathetic to his life challenges. (His obvious misogyny doesn't help, either - he has no use for women outside of the sack, it appears.) Here's another absurdly fortunate, rich powerful older man feeling sorry for himself because time changes everything? I'd have hoped he'd have learned to adjust better to the slings and arrows of life by the time he got to his 60s and 70s!

This book was distressing to me because I REALLY WANTED to LIKE the guy - but I found I couldn't. He's kinda ordinary, and once you remove the "famous" names and large amounts of money, his anecdotes are kinda ordinary! He's not terribly brilliant, sage or extraordinary in any other way than being sublimely LUCKY! I gave the book 3 stars, because it's certainly not dreck, but for inspiration or insight, I'd advise looking elsewhere!

Brillstein is as a big a star as those he represents
I'm not sure what drove me to buy the Brillstein book. I had heard of him of years, but wasn't sure that a managers tale was all that interesting. Oh, but is! This book is filled with humor, honesty, and and ego. Bernie seems like a terrific guy and he tells fantastic stories. Some are filled with love: Belushi, Radner, etc. Others venom (and these are the most fun, he pulls no punches): Ovitz, Shandling (more would have better on this), etc. You learn about the inside story of Hee Haw, The Muppets, SNL, and Lorimar. My favorite stuff was about Jim Henson, rarely have I seen so much great stuff written about one of my heroes.

While this may not be a roast, I raise my glass to Big Bernie and the wonderful life he has led. Thanks for sharing.

Unexpectedly Touching
I found myself unexpectedly touched by this autobiography. Having read it, I consider Bernie Brillstein a friend. With no self-praise, Brillstein shows himself to be a man of decency, of compassion, of empathy. He began in his profession as an agent at William Morris, dreaming of representing mid-Century comics such as Jackie Gleason and Jackie Gale. When he left William Morris, he became a personal manager, starting the careers of dozens of entertainers who have become household names. The stories Bernie has to tell! He survived--there's no other word--until the end of the century, representing Jim Henson, Lorne Michaels, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd and, as the saying goes, a cast of thousands along the way. He created HEE HAW and greenlighted THE SOPRANOS, headed a movie studio for a short time, got fired, picked himself up and started again. His very life has been the personification of the entertainment business; there are few who exceeded his success. And he is the one having the last laugh: He's still here! But along with the chronological report of his professional experience, what he was thinking, how he pulled it off, there is this man, this basically sweet and decent man, and that's what shines through his book. I enjoyed reading about Bernie's fascinating life. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

The best film-industry bio ever.
Billy Wilder is one of my favorite directors, but his films almost don't compare to his colorful life, and the author has captured Wilder's character in all its Technicolor glory. Wilder is a great storyteller on the screen, but he's been equally adept at spinning yarns about his life. Sikov separates fact from fiction in an entertaining read that does nothing to diminish Wilder's stature and puts the director's legendary wit out there for all to enjoy.

Perhaps the best film biography ever written
Billy Wilder is one of my favorite filmmakers, creator of three masterpieces: "Sunset Boulevard," "Double Indemnity" and "Some Like It Hot." Sikov does a remarkable job of giving us the life and mind of the man. Show people rival Southerners in their refusal to let the trivia of facts get in the way of a good story, and Wilder was a storyteller among storytellers. Most film bios are hopelessly gullible, but Sikov uses the interviews that Wilder gave throughout his career--the man would say virtually anything--to give us his full flavor, always careful to show where the facts and stories diverge, but without spoiling our pleasure in those stories. The result is the best film biography I've yet read, well-versed in the business, politics and psychology of filmmaking. And because the subject is Wilder, it is also one of the funniest books I've come across in a long, long time.

Good Could Have Been Better
I decided to read this, because I just read the New York Times Rewview of Ed Sikov's new book about Peter Sellers.
The part of the book I enjoyed the most was from the beginning to World War II. The later in his life it got, the denser and more academic it became. Mr. Sikov teaches film and it got more like a textbook.
The end of the book, I have to agree with the reviewer from Vienna. It was more a book for film students. The beginning in Europe was a great look through a certain person into another time. Make Billy Wilder fictional and you have a great historical fiction piece.

Very Good, but Nobody's Perfect
This is a very good biography of Billy Wilder. It revealed a lot about him and his career I didn't know. I disagreed with Sikov on his evaluations of a few films (I like "Love in the Afternoon" much better than he, but Sikov really seems to hate Gary Cooper) but we agreed on a lot. (Heck, we even liked the same scenes in "Fedora.")

I gave the book five stars, but I have a few reservations. My problems came when Sikov went beyond Wilder's career -- or didn't. His descriptions of politics in Interwar Europe struck me as okay, but superficial. Okay, this book will be nobody's first choice to learn about such matters, but a little more polish here would have helped. Then, toward the end of the book, Sikov keeps mentioning that Wilder was out of step with Hollywood. However, there is really nothing about what the rest of Hollywood was doing, namely how Wilder stacked up against Mel Brooks or Woody Allen in this era. I would have liked to have seen that issue addressed.

However, as a "life" of Wilder and not a study of his "times", this is a great book. Fans of Wilder's films will greatly enjoy it.

A compelling bio of one of Hollywood's most fascinating men
This bio of Billy Wilder is a totally fascinating one, filled with both world and cinematic history. Billy Wilder, a Polish Jew, proves to be a man of unique intuition and fast thinking as he rises from the ranks of stringer journalist to screenwriter in pre-World War II Europe, escapes the Nazis, gets a U.S. resident visa and, without speaking English, is hired to write for the movies. The author beautifully captures the ambiance of pre-war Europe and a Hollywood filled with emigres. Ultimately, the book left me sad, as Wilder ages, his friends die one by one, and he is unable to keep up with the times in terms of the types of properties to which he's attracted, how Hollywood works, and what the public wants. However, there is no denying his fantastic track record, his six Oscars, and the amazing legacy of brilliance he left behind. The rollercoaster ride of Wilder's life is well chronicled in this very satisfying, thought-provoking book. ... Read more

Book Description

For thirty years no American filmmaker has been as prolific—or as paradoxical—as Woody Allen. From Play it Again, Sam (1972) to Sweet and Lowdown (1999), Allen has produced an average of one film a year. Yet with each new film he reveals a progressively skeptical attitude toward art.

Merging criticism and biography, Peter Bailey uses Allen’s ambivalent views of the artistic enterprise as the key to understanding his entire career. In an exhaustive, jargon-free reading, Bailey demonstrates how Allen’s films constitute a debate he is conducting with himself about the capacities of art to improve the quality of life and about the resulting price exacted upon artists and those around them. Bailey identifies the underlying tension between reality and image in film after film, demonstrating how the resolution of this conflict in each movie is revisited, critiqued, and reconfigured in the next. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A must-have for Woody's fans
I have read several books on Woody Allen and this is the most brilliant so far. Those who are tired of hearing about his squabble with Mia Farrow will be relieved to find that the author concentrates on his work and only mentions facts of Woody Allen's life that are relevant to his films. The book painstakingly analyzes the psychological and philosophical undercurrents in Woody's work, and especially delves into the issue as to whether art cand lend coherence to an otherwise contingent and random life. It'll help you see Woody's films from a broader standpoint but also set you brooding over your life as well.

An interesting perspective on Allen's major films
Peter Baily establishes his thesis that a primary thread running through many of Allen's major films is an examination of the tension between art and life and the struggle of the artist to disengage from the real world to unleash the creative juices. Citing examples from many of my favorite Allen films and following through on his major premise Baily delivers a fine book that challenged me to look at this films from a new perspective. I highly recommend this to fans of Woody Allen. I am cueing up my DVD copy of Hannah and her Sisters as soon as I log off.

Deconstructing Woody
If you've ever wanted to reach right into the movie screen, shake one of Woody Allen's characters by the shirt collar, and say, "Snap out of it, bub," here's a book for you. Peter J. Bailey's The Reluctant Film Art of Woody Allen offers a fascinating, crystalline analysis of one of the most vexing questions to dog three generations of Woody Allen characters: Is the fictional world of art--especially film art--more a help or a hindrance in our difficult lives?

Bailey, an English professor at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., demonstrated his gift for making sense of challenging contemporary literary art with Reading Stanley Elkin in the mid-'80s. In The Reluctant Film Art of Woody Allen, he takes on a more readily accessible subject but does not hold back any of the tremendous critical insight at his command. The result is a book both for serious film buffs--that is, buffs of serious film (a subjective distinction taken up in this book)--and for film scholars alike. I was impressed by Bailey's scholarly precision, yet after reading the first couple of chapters I wanted to dash out and rent Stardust Memories, Manhattan, and several other signature Woody Allen flicks. This book has actually made watching his movies a more intellectually stimulating experience without killing the comic moments so abundant in them.

A college English instructor myself, I appreciate the challenge of leading a critical investigation of something fun and entertaining without making that subject, well, less fun and entertaining. Bailey succeeds admirably with this book, mainly because he never puts Allen on a pedestal. The author is a fan, to be sure, as indicated by his generous praise for what Allen does well--and has done well at a pace of roughly one film a year since 1972. This book's thesis, however, delves more deeply into a particularly compelling set of questions at the core of most of Allen's films: What do they say about the role of art in our lives? Is it a redeeming social force or merely a pleasant diversion from life's suffering? Are Woody Allen's films art or merely pleasant, entertaining diversions?

Bailey combines his own convincing interpretations of Allen's film work with previously reported comments from Allen on these questions to show not only how equivocal Woody Allen movies are on the matter of art's benefits and costs, but how central a theme this equivocating is in those movies. To his great credit--and unlike many scholarly investigations of film and literary art--Bailey avoids overbearing suggestions that HIS interpretations are REALLY what Allen's films are all about. Rather, the author has found a thread running through Allen's work that he holds up to the light--a light that has lingered too long on the personality of Woody Allen and the attending tabloid drama. This more illuminating thread--the vexed relationship of art to life and the difficulty of reconciling the two, both in art and in life--is of such enormous importance in the broader conversation of American popular culture that the absence of details on Allen's personal travails reads as a virtue in Bailey's book.

While Woody Allen fans will definitely find The Reluctant Film Art of Woody Allen most enjoyable and accessible, any moviegoer who has ever contemplated what distinguishes the cinematic good and bad from the ugly will find this book thought-provoking, perhaps at times profound. Ultimately, this is not a portrait of a filmmaker so much as the study of an intriguing film mind at work--and a snapshot of a possible film legend as a work-in-progress. ... Read more

Book Description

Bertolt Brecht's work journals trace his years of exile (the period from 1934 to 1955) in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and America, as well as his return, via Switzerland, to East Berlin. These journals include his perceptive and at times polemical critiques of other writers and intellectuals, but the accounts of his own writing practice provide the greatest insights into the creation of his dramatic work as well as the development of his politics and theories about epic theatre.

There are memorable and revealing passages: about D'Annunzio and Ezra Pond, about the bombing of Germany, about the Greek epigrams, about the Battle of Britain, about the death of Margarete Steffin, about Mrs. Wriggles the family dog, and about the precariousness of life in Los Angeles.

Now available in paperback, and illustrated by photographs and press cuttings collected by Brecht, the Journals offer frequently surprising and revelatory perspectives on the life and thought of one of the most influential writers of the century. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Frankfurt Scholars and Bertolt Brecht.
A very short observation: Every one that wants to explore the reasons of why Adorno and Brecht were water and oil, why Brecht was very interested in dialectical relationships between wave and matter or why Brecht never ended at Frankfurt receiving three naked students meanwhile a director, can't miss this book. ... Read more