Who the Devil Made It
Conversations with ...
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4.3 • 4 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
“A must have for any film nut.”—Details
Peter Bogdanovich, award-winning director, screenwriter, actor and critic, interviews 16 legendary directors over a 15-year period. Their richly illuminating conversations combine to make this a riveting chronicle of Hollywood and picture making. Join him in conversations with:
Robert Aldrich • George Cukor • Allan Dwan • Howard Hanks • Alfred Hitchcock • Chuck Jones • Fritz Lang • Joseph H. Lewis • Sidney Lumet • Leo McCarey • Otto Preminger • Don Siegel • Josef von Sternberg • Frank Tashlin • Edgar G. Ulmer • Raoul Walsh
NOTE: This edition does not include photographs.
Praise for Who the Devil Made It
“Illuminating . . . These were (and sometimes are: a few yet breathe) men rooted in history as much as in Hollywood. Their collected memories make the past look fearfully rich beside a present that is poverty-stricken in everything except money.”—The New Yorker
“Bogdanovich is one of America’s finest writers on the cinema. . . . Thank goodness [his] Who the Devil Made It has come along to remind us that films and writing about film were, at one time, focused on the work and not strictly on the bottom line.”—The Boston Globe
“A treasure trove on the craft of directing.”—Newsday
“Monumental . . . The directors’ reminiscences about technique, working methods, sources of ideas, and relationships with actors and studios are thoroughly entertaining.”—Publishers Weekly
“A fine achievement that helps illuminate the art and craft of some remarkable directors . . . There are plenty of revealing anecdotes.”—Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Director, actor, screenwriter and critic Bogdanovich (This Is Orson Welles), who claims he learned how to make movies by asking questions of famous directors, has assembled a monumental volume of his tape-recorded conversations with 16 masters whose careers span nearly the entire history of the cinema. Included are Robert Aldrich, George Cukor, Sidney Lumet, Josef von Sternberg and Raoul Walsh. The title is taken from a comment about directors by Howard Hawks, who said, "I liked almost anybody that made you realize who in the devil was making the picture," and it expresses the spirit of individuality that characterized these giants of Hollywood's golden age. The directors' reminiscences about technique, working methods, sources of ideas and relationships with actors and studios are thoroughly entertaining. Allan Dwan, for example, humorously describes the serendipitous process of making silent movies when the medium was still in its infancy; Alfred Hitchcock shares the mischievous workings of his inventive mind; and Otto Preminger gives a no-holds-barred account of the B movies he made as a young man for Darryl Zanuck. Each interview is preceded by a summary of the director's career and followed by a list of his movies. Photos not seen by PW.
