Customer Reviews

Denzel Washington: His Films and Career

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If you are looking for a definitive, "traditional" biography of Denzel Washington, this book is definately not it. Author Douglas Brode (who, it should be noted, is a well-respected writer of film and television personas) offers the reader a biographical filmography of sorts, which appeals more to film wonks and students of cinema than it does to the average Denzel fan. Strictly speaking, Brode just doesn't reveal exactly who Denzel Washington is off-screen; indeed, the first chapter, "Deconstructing Denzel," is as close as the reader gets to finding out about Denzel's past (included are brief mentionings of his youth, his pre-acting days and his time at Fordham University, where he got his first taste of "serious" acting). The rest of the book takes the film-by-film approach to Washington's career, squeezing Denzel's personal life into the extra spaces of the context in which each film is discussed. This approach becomes problematic -- and frustrating -- as the reader never really is able to fully recontstruct Denzel after the book's intro, a fact that further enhances the charismatic performer's notoriously [and ironically] enigmatic and aloof off-screen persona (anyone who's read or seen an interview of Washington knows exactly what I mean). The book, however, shines in its extensive analysis of Washington's films from a critical standpoint and enables the reader to be privy to "behind-the-scenes" information on all of his films, from the forgettable "Carbon Copy" (1981) to "Courage Under Fire" (1996), while adding an impressive technical insight not found in many mainstream bios of "celebrities." That said, it is regrettable that there is little mention of Denzel's non-cinematic successes and failures; I would have liked to have read more on his "St. Elsewhere" days as well as his early struggles as an actor on the New York theater scene. I also would have enjoyed more information on his family, particularly his wife, Pauletta, an accomplished artist (pianist, actress, songstress) in her own right. Make no mistake: despite its numerous flaws, the book is a valuable resource for Denzel fans and is especially good as a reference to supplement one's viewing experience after watching any one of Washington's powerful performances (excluding the one in the aforementioned "Carbon Copy") that prove why he remains such a widely admired [and coveted] "A-list"-actor.

---- K.J. Martin

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