Charlton Heston's Hollywood: 50 Years in American Film [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ Charlton Heston (Author), Jean-Pierre Isbouts (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Some people just can't get enough Charlton Heston, and the star of The Ten Commandments, Touch of Evil and Planet of the Apes seems to be one of them. Heston doesn't shrink from the spotlight: he's already written one autobiography (1995's In the Arena), published two diaries (1978's An Actor's Life: Journals 1956-1976 and 1990's Beijing Diary) and even a volume of correspondence (1997's To Be a Man: Letters to My Grandson). To give the Oscar-winning actor his due, his early journals contain astute and colorful entries, capturing the immediate excitement of the life of a hungry young actor as he was living it. His autobiography offered him a chance to reflect on a supremely successful career and rich life. This new book is for fans who thought there were too many words in his previous literary efforts. Heston's 50 years in Hollywood are narrated with extreme veneration by Isbouts, accompanied by 50 sketches by Heston and 150 photos, ranging from black-and-white behind-the-scenes shots to dazzling color stills and reproductions of his film posters. Heston himself provides italicized comments along the way. A detailed filmography is also included. Isbouts wrote and produced the CD-ROM Charlton Heston's Voyage Through the Bible.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Heston is one star who knows how to keep his name above the title. His recent election as president of the National Rifle Association once again puts him in the limelight and boosts the appeal of this heavily illustrated review of his movie career. Isbouts, producer of the CD-ROM extravaganza Charlton Heston's Voyage through the Bible, contributes a biographical continuum, into which what seems to be transcribed oral commentary by Heston, punctuated with wry and affectionate remarks from his wife, Lydia (e.g., "You must understand . . . he loves death scenes"), is liberally inserted--hence Heston's coauthor credit. Isbouts draws on the published reminiscences of such major coworkers on Heston's best films as William Wyler, director of Ben-Hur, to make the survey more interesting than most of its type. There is still too much of the production statistics, reviewers' remarks, and box-office reports that usually make this kind of book so tedious and not enough about the craft and aesthetics of filmmaking (Franklin Schaffner, the fine director of Planet of the Apes, isn't even mentioned in connection with it). But as a shiny supplement to Heston's autobiography, In the Arena (1995), which simply had too few pictures, it fills the bill. Ray Olson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 223 pages
• Publisher: GT Publishing Corporation; illustrated edition edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577193571
• ISBN-13: 978-1577193579
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #871,221 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars charlton heston, December 2, 2008

By	kathy miller "musical lover" (chelan, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

it is very entertaining and is an easy read. the pictures and great. the pictures cover along period of time and are great history

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!!!, February 12, 2002

By A Customer

If you love the "Old Hollywood", you'll love this!!! Great stories and pictures

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun stories; great pictures, March 11, 2009

By	V. K. Vermooten (Lawrence, Kansas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This is an enjoyable overview of Hollywood and Heston's career, lavishly illustrated with photographs and Heston's own sketches. Much of the text is his commentary and explanation, making it a good companion to Heston's autobiography, In the Arena.