Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
A tad gossipy, but essential reading for any cinephile.
funny
informative
medium-paced
dark
funny
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Spoiler alert: cocaine.
This book had a really interesting subject: namely, the New Hollywood movement of the late 60s and early 70s. For the aspect of telling the story of the rise of directors as auteurs, hoping to wrestle control from the studios, and their ultimate failure, it couldn’t have been more of a success.
And god is it fabulously researched and excitingly told, with an array of exciting characters.
However, I did get a little bored of some of the parts where it focused on the life and role of numerous producers; I would have liked almost entire focus on the directors and the art of making these movies. As well as this, the rampant misogyny of a lot of the people is hard to read at times, and barely anyone comes off good in this.
It was at its best towards the last 1/3, when the end of the 70s brought control back to the producers and studios, and why we’re where we are with films now. It did a great job of showing the impact of Jaws and Star Wars especially; whilst great films, they eventually let to the idea of huge finance on film promotion and thus killed the idea of limited releases, allowing a film to build hype naturally, due to actually being brilliant.
And god is it fabulously researched and excitingly told, with an array of exciting characters.
However, I did get a little bored of some of the parts where it focused on the life and role of numerous producers; I would have liked almost entire focus on the directors and the art of making these movies. As well as this, the rampant misogyny of a lot of the people is hard to read at times, and barely anyone comes off good in this.
It was at its best towards the last 1/3, when the end of the 70s brought control back to the producers and studios, and why we’re where we are with films now. It did a great job of showing the impact of Jaws and Star Wars especially; whilst great films, they eventually let to the idea of huge finance on film promotion and thus killed the idea of limited releases, allowing a film to build hype naturally, due to actually being brilliant.
Fascinating look at New Hollywood directors of the 70s with loads of candid stories of craziness from key players. Dennis Hopper comes across as absolutely psycho, with Coppola and Scorcese not far behind. Charts how Lucas and particularly Spielberg's more mainstream, commercial approach led to the disaster that American movie industry became in the 80s.
An incredible book from beginning to end. Peter Biskind turns what could have been a didactic and academic look at cinema of the 1970s into a terrific work of non-fiction that reads like a novel. You get to know all the key players of the era, how that decade had so many great classics, and how everything and everyone was doomed to fail if they didn't embrace the mainstream. It demystifies many of these figures, humanizing actors, directors, and producers in a way that is funny, enlightening, disturbing, and ultimately depressing. One of the finest books about cinema that I have read, about my favorite decade for the art form.
There was a lot of good info and behind the scenes gossip in here but it was a bit muddled, unwieldy and confusing. I did go through it pretty fast though and it made me want to watch or re-watch a few of the movies that were discussed.
informative
slow-paced
I tend to read a lot of books about movies, but this, I think, is my favorite. It tells the story of what many people think was the TRUE Golden Age of cinema, the 70s. Lots of sex, drugs and rock and roll...mostly in the form of Robert Evans.
It was interesting (I don't know that much about movies, film history or the 'classics') and seeing the track of how the movies like "Easy Rider" got made (and almost got unmade) and seeing how brief that zeitgeist that New Hollywood was, though I balk whenever people talk about the generation I grew up in (the nineties) as when everything started to go wrong and that "Well, you had to be there...but it was better then so sucks to be you." Hmph.
On that note, I didn't like the gossipy "Who slept with who, who cheated on who's wife, etc." details. When I'm trying to keep names straight in my head and more or less looking for movies to check out, it doesn't help reading that so-and-so director was a "pussyhound".
:/
On that note, I didn't like the gossipy "Who slept with who, who cheated on who's wife, etc." details. When I'm trying to keep names straight in my head and more or less looking for movies to check out, it doesn't help reading that so-and-so director was a "pussyhound".
:/