Customer Reviews

Robert Aldrich: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers)

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This is the best book I have read in the U. of Mississippi series of interviews with filmmakers.

The first interview catches Aldrich just after the start of his career, so the interviews proceed with the career, as opposed to just having him reflect back on things from years later. We see what Aldrich is doing and hear him talk about projects that never come to pass.

A few fascinating things emerge. He apparently never got over getting fired from "The Garment Jungle." Even when he is a success after "The Dirty Dozen," he still is bitter/regretful about that. Also, his relationship with Burt Lancaster, which seemed okay on the outside (they made about four films together) is revealed as contentious and mistrustful.

If you like Aldrich's films, you need to read this book. It will tell you things you never knew and will add to your appreciation of this man.

I've enjoyed this compilation of interviews about the late director Robert Aldrich. So much so, that I've ordered one of his films on DVD - a supposedly rare copy - that I'm looking forward to seeing ("Twilight's Last Gleaming"). Like many others in the "Conversations with filmmakers" series, this one includes a full filmography. I would have liked to have seen a discussion of his short film, "The Greatest Mother of Them All," but that is only because I've never seen that movie. Fans who have enjoyed "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte," "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane," "The Choirboys" should enjoy this as a companion piece to those films, among many others he discusses.