I Was Interrupted: Nicholas Ray on Making Movies [Hardcover]

Nicholas Ray (Author), Susan Ray (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 1993 | ISBN-10: 0520082338 | ISBN-13: 978-0520082335 | Edition: First Edition

One of the most original, rebellious, and idiosyncratic directors in the American cinema, Nicholas Ray lived and worked with an intensity equal to that of his films. Best known for his direction of James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), he is also well regarded for his cult western Johnny Guitar (1954), and such prestigious noir classics as On Dangerous Ground (1951). I Was Interrupted offers a provocative selection of the filmmaker's writings, lectures, interviews, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ray (1911-1979), best known for directing Rebel Without A Cause , taught college classes in acting and directing during his last years; the transcripts of those sessions, comprising most of this book, should interest film aficionados, actors and directors. "You must act so your eyes will be visible to us," Ray commands students, delineating the difference between film and theater. The self-destructive Ray--hot-tempered, dependent on drugs and alcohol, fiscally irresponsible--was "monstrous," declares his much-junior perceptive and admiring widow in her powerful introduction. Ray's personality also emerges in his reflections on movies, actors, self and even his relationship with Howard Hughes. Although Ray declares his passion for his art, and for his fellow practitioners, the observations of his sharp-eyed wife are more revealing than his own writing. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A fine piece of work." -- American Cinematographer

"Susan Ray's introduction to Interrupted, the sharpest and most extensive and coherent portrait of Nicholas Ray so far, makes her book indispensable to Ray scholars." -- Peter Hogue, Film Comment

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 243 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; First Edition edition (September 10, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520082338
• ISBN-13: 978-0520082335
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ray proves himself to be a great film-maker., October 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: I Was Interrupted: Nicholas Ray on Making Movies (Paperback)

Nick Ray has been forgotton by many and only remembered as 'the guy who directed "Rebel Without a Cause"'. True, "Rebel..." is a great film, but it is by no way the best of Ray's films. This book gives a new-comer to Ray an intriguing glimpse at his moments of genius from the inside out, giving them a taste of his films and then making them desperate to see them. For a more informed veiwer it embellishes Ray's work, giving personal insight into the complex films. Ray shows that his belief in serious film making (which the French Cahiers du Cinema critics lauded as auterism) was committed and honest. The resulting films are wonderful and unique, as is this book, which is informative, fascinating and sometimes tragic. Read it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Convinced me of Ray's worth., February 21, 2004

By 

David P Missio (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Was Interrupted: Nicholas Ray on Making Movies (Paperback)

Ill be honest. I signed up for a course on Nick Ray and Orson Welles course because Orson Welles fascinated me, and I figured that Ray guys film Rebel Without a Cause was pretty good, so I could deal with that side of things as long as I got my Welles fix. I can only assume that, while many people can readily acknowledge the importance of Welles, few would express more than a blank face upon hearing Rays name. In that regard, this book had the difficult task of making me personally see the importance of Ray.

While Ray impressed me through his own passion for his work, it unsettled me a bit that his wife was the one who convinced me of his importance. This is not meant to be a sexist statement, it unnerves me because Susan was not really around for the majority of Rays career, and I normally would not weigh the opinions of her or anyone else in her position too heavily. Shes a bystander! A biased bystander! But while she could have heaped praise and adulation upon her deceased husband, she didnt. And I appreciated that. Susans sincere account of her time with her husband left me with more of an impression of the troubled filmmaker than any straightforward, three-times removed scholarly production of a biography ever could. Facts and figures are all well and good and, sure, they are necessary to outline the where and when of the filmmaker, but Susans personal account was able to do what no fact could, and that was bring the man to life. I only wish that she had been around Ray for a longer period of time, giving more insight into his life as a youth working on films and what he was like in his heyday, but then, I wish for a lot of things.

In fact, Susans portion of the book may have spoiled me. I found it a bit difficult to make it through the other authors areas, with Eisenschitz providing that aforementioned facts and figures version of a biography. Straightforward, to the point, void of emotion. Eisenschitz does not even necessarily look at Ray as a man, but more as a figure of production, with the results of his life taking precedence. An account such as this tends to distract from the human aspect of creation and creativity, and without Susans or Nicks own accounts, I would have left feeling quite unfulfilled. I was reminded of when I learned about historical figures in high school, thinking of them more as lifeless characters who did specific things rather than human beings who lived their lives.

Then there was Rays section.

I had trouble trying to make something of Rays own accounts, his diary entries giving me that same voyeuristic feeling I felt while reading the Welles/Bogdonovich interviews. I am wholly grateful that these words were given an opportunity to hit the page, for no one can talk better about themselves then, well, themselves. I wonder what it would have been like to be a student of Rays, and I found myself thinking back to the days when I was more involved in acting and theatre, and how effective a teacher such as this would have been on me. For all of his quirks and deviations from the norm, Rays tutelage would have undeniably been priceless. However, despite some of the more personal touches within Rays part, I still felt as
though Susans was much more powerful and enriching.

The three authors of the text both elevated and hindered it. It gave readers the ability to see the filmmaker from a variety of
perspectives, even using Rays own words, but at the same time it fragmented the story so to speak, making it difficult at times to follow smoothly.

I may have fell for the Welles, but Ill stay for the Ray.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Nick Ray fans!, October 18, 2009

By 

MikeyLeica (South Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: I Was Interrupted: Nicholas Ray on Making Movies (Paperback)

A great read for Nicholas Ray fans. A nice glimpse inside the man - his thoughts, his philosophy of film, and his battle with cancer. Highly recommended.