De Niro: A Biography [Paperback]

John Baxter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Robert De Niro's portrayals of the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather II, Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, and Jake La Motta in Raging Bull are among the most vivid ever committed to celluloid. The actor is famously perfectionistic, and the lengths to which he will go to create his characters are legendary. Based on scrupulous research and conversations with De Niro’s friends and colleagues, and featuring a complete filmography, John Baxter’s biography sheds new light on the life and career of this fiercely private star.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

According to prolific film biographer Baxter (The Hollywood Exiles, etc.), "Rage is Robert De Niro’s gift to the cinema." In this unauthorized, carefully researched biography, Baxter traces the enigmatic actor’s life, starting with his formative years in Greenwich Village, where De Niro tagged along with Italian street gangs and had a complicated relationship with his gay artist father, a fact that Baxter suggests has greatly informed the actor’s choice of morally conflicted characters. Using numerous interviews and anecdotes, Baxter sketches a picture that is never quite flattering, but is empathetic and fascinating. He tells De Niro’s story through the prism of the actor’s most notable cinematic endeavors (including Taxi Driver and Raging Bull) as well as through his biggest failures. As a result, the book is equal parts life story and film analysis. This works to great effect, since De Niro’s artistic choices, many of which involved physical transformations and psychological sparring with his fellow actors, reveal as much, if not more, about his own character as any exposition on the actor’s life experience. As Baxter portrays him, De Niro appears more comfortable being anyone other than himself. His total immersion into characters such as Travis Bickle spooked his co-stars but won him great acclaim, despite what the author describes as a career decline that began with The King of Comedy. In subsequent years, Baxter notes, De Niro has rested on his reputation, choosing mediocre but commercially viable projects that would, in turn, fund his entrepreneurial pursuits in his beloved lower Manhattan neighborhood. De Niro remains one of cinema’s most enduring presences, a human puzzle, perhaps even unto himself. 40 b/w photos.
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Review

“De Niro mixes intelligent analysis with lurid anecdote… a superior unauthorized biography.” -- The Daily Telegraph

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006532306
• ISBN-13: 978-0006532309
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,824,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars de Ziro, August 23, 2004

By 

lewis jackman (Sleepy Lagoon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: De Niro: A Biography (Paperback)

When a biographer can't even get the most basic facts right, there's good reason to wonder about the rest of his research, too. In addition to a raft of rudimentary errors pointed out by other readers, Baxter also misidentifies the author of Helter Skelter (it's Vincent, not Steven, Bugliosi); refers to the cult film Spider Baby as Spider Boy; confuses Milton Berle with Arthur Godfrey (this incident is so mangled it's impossible to know who Baxter really means) and claims that Mean Streets (released in 1973) got lost in the shuffle because so many other high-profile movies were released that same year--including A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Deliverance (1972). But why go on? A real mess.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poorly written, September 12, 2005

By 

R. J. Marsella (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: De Niro: A Biography (Paperback)

There are so many examples of gratuitous name dropping in this "biography" that it is indeed a chore to get through it. As a fan of much of De Niro's work, I also realize he has made some poor role choices but Baxter has little to say that is positive. I learned some details regarding De Niro's early life and training that were somewhat interesting so I give it 2 stars for that but it seems that a better biography with more balance might be a better choice for the general reader. Actually then later chapters seem rushed as if Baxter was more concerned about hitting a deadline than producing a good and balanced book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars John Baxter should go piss up a flag pole., July 7, 2005

By 

John "MovieAddict" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: De Niro: A Biography (Paperback)

This is a really terrible book. For starters, it's unfair. Most biographers should find a balance between negativity and praise - a good example is Laurence Leamer's recent Arnold Schwarzenegger biography, "Fantastic," which details his faults and strengths.

"De Niro" (oh, what a unique title!) by John Baxter is a terribly painful ordeal. It's clear from the beginning that he dislikes De Niro, and considers his last good performance to be in the film "Taxi Driver" (1976) -- thereby forgetting "The Deer Hunter" (1978), "Raging Bull" (1980), "The King of Comedy" (1983), "Brazil" (1985), "Midnight Run" (1987), "Awakenings" and "GoodFellas" (1990), "Casino" and "Heat" (1995). (I'm one of De Niro's fans who also likes his comedic ventures, but if you're a snobby film critic, chances are you'll consider "Casino" his last great film, if that.)

Anyway, Baxter's first mistake is that he tries to offer film criticism. Simply put, he sucks at a critic because he can't get his facts straight. He says "Awakenings" came out in 1987. Claims "Deliverance" came out the same year as "Mean Streets." Incorrectly quotes De Niro and Scorsese on many occasions, as well as erroneously makes assumptions about their box office failure "King of Comedy." He misspells names frequently, occasionally making mistakes altogether (replacing one name with an entirely different one). He gives incorrect plot summaries and seems to like comparing Pacino and De Niro in his section on "Heat" and other films - a mistake, I think, since they're two very different actors, and anyone who tries to compare them is doing something utterly pointless. I mean, really, they're two great actors - let's just get over with it already, okay?

Another thing Baxter does is try and make a claim to support the fact that De Niro is stupid, inarticulate, weird (because of his intense privacy), and so on and so forth. I think that's a very cheap shot. He's inarticulate BECAUSE he is shy, dumbass. Privacy doesn't automatically make someone a reclusive weirdo. I'm a private person, too, and am not very good at expressing myself through speaking publicly. I don't think that's "strange" - it's just different personalities. If I had to define Baxter's personality, I'd say he's one of those arrogant snobs who belittles others to make himself feel better. But that's my opinion.

Baxter is a really bad writer and he can't get any of his facts straight. His bio is unauthorized and as a result he has nothing worthwhile to say; save your cash and wait for an authorized biography in the future.