After Midnight: The Life and Death of Brad Davis [Paperback]

Hillary De vries (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1998

Susan Bluestein Davis tells the heart-wrenching story of her life with her longtime partner, Hollywood star Brad Davis--from his rise to fame through his role in the movie "Midnight Express" to the painful struggle with AIDS, the disease that finally took his life of photos .

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (February 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671796739
• ISBN-13: 978-0671796730
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,324,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not interesting to read, but makes a good point about actors, May 21, 2000

By 

"zara_azari" - See all my reviews

This review is from: After Midnight: The Life and Death of Brad Davis (Hardcover)

This book is neither interesting nor educational(regarding Hollyowood, I mean). However, it makes [unintentionally] one excellent point about actors: Brad Davis' life and career show that not only women are treated as "piece of meat" in Hollywood; it also applies to men, who happen to be handsome, sexy, etc. Looks can help actors' career and they can also destroy it, if actors are not allowed "out of their stereotypes" or if they become too impressed with themselves. Maybe Davis was not handsome per se, but there was an undeniable and irresistible sensuality/mystery about him. You can almost feel it, watching his films and looking at the photos. Davis' wife stayed with him, despite of all the hell he put her through, because she had always been desperately in love with him. And now she is still angry. She testifies in the book that Davis was self-destructive, unstable, and careless person, who was a hustler in his young days and later spent many nights on the town, "cruising and boozing". Yet, she is still afraid to admit who he really was. Why write this book, then? This book is very depressing and certainly is very uninspiring to AIDS-affected people, their families, gay people, and even young actors, who are starting in the business. I feel for Susan Bluestein as a woman, who chose a difficult life and a difficult love, but she does not seem to be a person, who knew Davis best. May be there is somebody else, or may be noone could ever really know him...In any case, Davis's made an important contribution to the world of cinema.

34 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What a pathetic waste of money..., July 26, 2002

By 

W. Field (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: After Midnight: The Life and Death of Brad Davis (Hardcover)

I was extremely disappointed with "After Midnight". The author, his widow, has written the book from her own life's perspective, and there is sadly little about the true Brad Davis. His homosexuality, or perhaps bisexuality, is mentioned only in passing, and anyone in New York or Hollywood that knew him will tell you that this was a huge part of his life. I guess a book written by his wife can't be expected to delve too deeply into this area, but even other interesting details - his drug addiction, his acting technique, etc. are only minimally suggested here. I wanted to put the book down after two chapters, but kept waiting for it to get interesting. I suggest the publishers retitle the book "My Life with Brad Davis - The Saga Of A Wife Kept In The Dark", or something similar, to indicate to readers that this book is about Susan Bluestein, and tells very little about Brad.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A difficult book to get through..., July 23, 2006

By 

Mathias (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: After Midnight: The Life and Death of Brad Davis (Hardcover)

This is a book that is interesting and compelling, even heartbreaking at times, and since the only people who would be buying this book are more than likely fans of Brad Davis or of Midnight Express, it's worth reading.

But the key words of that last sentence are "at times." Those who previously used the word "annoying" to describe this book are right. To get to the moving moments, one must bear with Susan Bluestein Davis, who is so self-absorbed and, well, annoying, that it's hard to get through the book. For example, the first three chapters are filled with her listing every famous person she or Brad has ever met or whom Brad has been compared to. It's frustrating. I expected to be reading about Brad Davis, but the book is more to be about Brad Davis in relation to her. What seems to have kept their relationship alive is the deep denial Bluestein was/is living with, which kept her so dedicated to him, while in return he gave her "the best sex [she] ever had in her life." And that's it. Davis treated Bluestein so badly-he treated everyone very badly, but especially her. Then again, she found ways to justify his behavior. She stood by him through everything, but only by avoiding as much of the truth as possible. It's hard to criticize someone who has been through so much.

I would have rather read a biography of Davis written by someone else. His widow may be the best source, and she did promise him to write the book, but her narrative takes away from what could have been a much more powerful book.