Destination Hollywood: The Influence of Europeans on American Filmmaking [Hardcover]

Larry Langman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 078640681X | ISBN-13: 978-0786406814 | Publication Date: November 1999

During the first part of the twentieth century, Hollywood experienced an influx of European filmmakers seeking new lives in America. With them came unique perspectives and styles from their home countries that forever affected American film production. Well-known talents like Charlie Chaplin, Billy Wilder, and Alfred Hitchcock all made America their filmmaking base, as did other less known but equally influential filmmakers. This is the complete guide to directors, screenwriters, artistic directors, cinematographers, and composers of European birth who made at least one film in the United States. The book is arranged by country, and each chapter begins with that country's cinema history. Each filmmaker from that country is then given a separate entry, including biographical and professional highlights, and synopses and analyses of their better-known films. Photographs from films that featured European talent are included. An index of names and titles allows for easy reference, and a complete bibliography is also included.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Langman, author of several other film reference books, focuses here on "filmmakers born in Europe who have worked on one or more American productions." The book's subtitle is extremely misleading, because many important figures who have influenced the industry in the U.S., despite the fact that they never worked in Hollywood, are not included (e.g., Ingmar Bergman, Sergei Eisenstein, and Federico Fellini). The introduction discusses some of the economic, political, social, and cultural reasons filmmakers immigrated to America. It also describes artistic techniques and movements, such as montage, expressionism, and neorealism, that they brought with them.

The 21 chapters are arranged alphabetically by country, from Austria to Yugoslavia. France, Germany, and Great Britain rate two chapters apiece, on the early and post^-World War II years. An overview summarizes the country's filmmaking history and provides a paragraph about its influence on or interpretation of the U.S. For example, the statement "Italy's filmmakers often selected violence as the major theme for American dramas" is followed by a description of the works of some cinematographers and directors who used that theme. Biographies in each chapter are divided into sections on directors, screenwriters, art directors, cinematographers, and composers. There are many familiar names here, including Werner Herzog, Adrian Lyne, Harold Pinter, Roman Polanski, Louis Malle, and Billy Wilder. Each biography provides date and place of birth, a summary of the film career, and details about a few film titles that capture the essence of the filmmaker's work. Generously sized black-and-white photos add interest throughout. A short bibliography and an index of filmmakers conclude the work; there is no general index to names and titles mentioned in the text.

Most, if not all, of the people covered here can be found in standard film reference guides such as the four-volume International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (3d ed., St. James, 1997^-1999), Encyclopedia of European Cinema [RBB My 1 96], and Soundtracks: An International Dictionary of Composers for Film (Ashgate, 1998). However, comprehensive film reference collections will want to add Destination Hollywood for the additional data and unique slant on the topic.

About the Author

Flushing, New York's Larry Langman has been an instructor of film history and English for over twenty years. He has written more than a dozen books on film, including The Media in the Movies (1998) and Comedy Quotes from the Movies (1994).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 278 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078640681X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786406814
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #669,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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