From Publishers Weekly
In this provocative study of the films of King Wallis Vidor (1894-1982), a noted French critic and an American filmologist try to clarify the paradoxes and conflicts that comprised Vidor's idyllic and recriminatory love affair with America. A third-generation Texan, who early saw the hand of fate calling him to reform the world, Vidor started directing in 1914, but it was not until his MGM films of the mid-1920s (The Big Parade, The Crowd) that he became a major figure. Durgnat and Simmon analyze his "populist" films of the 1930s (Street Scene, The Champ, Stella Dallas, The Citadel) and those (such as The Fountainhead) in which he criticized the cynicism of a corrupt social order. They regard even his later films (the "unapologetic melodramas" with a "wild flair," such as Duel in the Sun, as well as War and Peace and Solomon and Sheba) as closer to Griffith and Chaplin than to his contemporaries Wellman and Hawks. Filmography, photos.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
The late King Vidor was a top film director, well known for such movies as The Fountainhead , Stella Dallas , and The Champ . In this text, which uses Vidor's films to examine his life and his times, he emerges as a complicated person whose work reflected the conflicting issues and emotions he confronted. The authors generally succeed in getting to the truth underlying these apparent contradictions. Though this study has scholarly overtones more suited to academia, it is a comprehensively researched, well-planned, and well-written work that helps to fill the void of information on this important director. Highly recommended, particularly where interest in film is strong. Arthur Bargar, Milford P.L., Ct.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
