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REFLECTIONS IN MALE EYE (Smithsonian Studies in the History of Film and Television)

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This volume is a collection of various pieces of film scholarship on John Huston. Mostly, the book is a rebuttal of those in the autuer camp who have considered Huston to be an empty suit. The early part of the book admits that Huston may have no clear visual style, but certainly a thematic one. The constant theme running through his films is the masculine identity against the world. From there, several scholars examine films and groups of films searching for the Huston perspective.

The essays themselves are varied. The first section considers his ideology. Here writers examine his WWII documentaries, THE RED BAD OF COURAGE, TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE and the obscure WE WERE STRANGERS among others.

Part two considers the Huston take on masculinity examining such films as THE MALTESE FALSON, MOULIN ROUGE, and REFLECTIONS IN THE GOLDEN EYE. The book wraps with an interview, some biographical sketches and even a few John Huston short stories that were written before his film career.

Through the book nearly every major Huston film is considered and examined, sometimes by more than one author. It's a great book for film scholars, though casual filmgoers may get bogged down in the arguments and footnotes.