Playing to the Camera: Film Actors Discuss Their Craft [Hardcover]

Professor Bert Cardullo (Editor), Professor Harry Geduld (Editor), Professor Ronald Gottesman (Editor), Professor Leigh Woods (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 1998

Over the last century, film actors from Charlie Chaplin and Lillian Gish to Meryl Streep and Jeff Daniels have spoken about the art and technique of playing to the camera. This anthology of their "insiders" observations should interest film lovers and aspiring film actors everywhere. The book has been edited by four leading film and theatre historians, who have brought together selections from periodicals and books (some no longer in print), had some statements or conversations translated into English for the first time, and conducted interviews with working actors. The book is divided into four parts - "The Silent Performance", "Finding a Voice", "European Acting" and "Hollywood Acting" - each of which is introduced by a brief commentary. This chronological and topical structure allows one actor to talk or argue with another as they offer astute - and often contradictory - opinions on a broad range of theoretical concerns. Among the issues they discuss are stage versus screen performance, the spiritual, emotional and psychological underpinnings of the actor's art, and the performer's response to technical demands and other exigencies of filmmaking. The book, which also includes a general introduction, film biographies of the actor-authors, and movie stills, is a resource that aims to give, says Stanley Kauffmann, "The mapping of a new territory in art".

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

The most underappreciated element of film as an art form (at least in academic film criticism) may well be acting; this collection, by four scholars (three at the University of Michigan, one at the University of Southern California), attempts to redress that imbalance by drawing on the words of those who practice the craft. According to Ronald Gottesman, this volume has been 25 years in the making, no doubt because so few actors of earlier generations have been inclined to intellectualize their profession. Indeed, it may well be that actors are by temperament and inclination not the best people to hold forth on how they do what they do. Certainly, a great deal in this volume suggests as much. The book consists of 42 pieces spanning nearly all of film history, from a reminiscence of acting in a 1912 silent by obscure British actor Charles Graham, to lengthy dialogues with the likes of Jack Nicholson and Robert DeNiro. These contributions are linked together, sometimes rather awkwardly, by Leigh Woods, who attempts to supply historical context for them. Some themes are sounded repeatedly: the difference between stage and screen; the difficulties inherent in working in bits and pieces, as one does in film; the relationship between personality and persona; keeping a perspective on craft after stardom rears its head. Many of the entries contain nuggets of interesting observation. Laurence Olivier offers an intriguing note on how film acting taught him to use his eyes more effectively onstage. Hume Cronyn contributes a useful checklist for building a part. Jack Lemmon compares acting to undergoing psychoanalysis. But much of the volume is tedious, repetitive, or outdated. Acting is about commanding the attention of the audience. This book will lead readers attention to stray. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

The result is a rare thing indeed--unshowy insights into the artistic side of showbiz. -- Entertainment Weekly, Megan Harlan

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; First edition. edition (March 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300069839
• ISBN-13: 978-0300069839
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,669,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing insight, once you get past the Brit-lit doggerel., July 15, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Playing to the Camera: Film Actors Discuss Their Craft (Hardcover)

Playing to the Camera only wishes it was as academic as its editors would have you believe. Between long-winded, professorial previews of each subject lies fascinating first-person accounts of an ever-evolving medium. You hear from silent greats like Louise Brooks--her interview alone is worth the price of the book--to modern stars like Streep and the rest. What you see is that the more film technology changes, the more it stays the same. The actors, technicians all, bare their trained souls and share their insights into film acting.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absorbing blend of history, biography & acting insights., March 5, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Playing to the Camera: Film Actors Discuss Their Craft (Hardcover)

Film actors discuss their experiences in a changing industry, from Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo to Henry Fonda and Meryl Streep, in Bert Cardullo, et.al.'s absorbing blend of history, autobiography and acting insights. Playing To The Camera pairs their experiences with over fifty movie stills and observations on the acting world and makes this particularly accessible to aspiring actors interested in how the medium has changed.