Peter Bogdanovich, award-winning director, screenwriter, actor and critic, interviews 16 legendary directors over a 15-year period. Their richly illuminating conversations combine to make this a riveting chronicle of Hollywood and picture making. A Literary Guild Selection. 62 photos.
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Amazon.com Review
The title comes from an exchange between filmmakers Howard Hawks and Peter Bogdanovich. Asked which directors he preferred, Hawks replied, "I liked almost anybody that made you realize who in the devil was making the picture." Hawks is talking about distinctive directorial personality, about movies that bear the stamp of a filmmaker's character. This book collects 16 interviews Bogdanovich conducted with some of the best directors working in the golden age of Hollywood. All of them, from the famous--Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, Chuck Jones, and Hawks himself--to the lesser known but equally wonderful Leo McCarey, George Cukor, Josef von Sternberg, and Edgar G. Ulmer--had a remarkable and inimitable style. In their interviews, they provide insight into their craft and a view of Hollywood's golden age that is informative, anecdotal, and often hysterically funny.
From Library Journal
Noted film director (The Last Picture Show, 1971) and author (This Is Orson Welles, LJ 11/15/92) Bogdanovich here consolidates 16 interviews with a very representative selection of significant cinema pioneers. Bogdanovich begins with a lengthy introduction in which he lays out his credentials, provides an overview of cinema history, and discusses the pervading influence of Ernst Lubitsch (d. 1947). Each director receives a career analysis followed by the interview and concluding with vital statistics and a complete filmography. As a film historian, Bogdanovich knew which questions to ask. Except for the previously unpublished Robert Aldrich and George Cukor interviews, these pieces originally appeared in periodicals, monographs, and books dating as far back as 1960. The books are out of print, and some of the periodicals are hard to find, making this compendium very valuable, even essential, for film collections.?Kim R. Holston, American Inst. for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Lib., Malvern, Pa.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conversation With Filmmakers,
This review is from: Who the Devil Made It: Conversations with ... (Hardcover)
This is an incredible book that contains Bogdanovich's various interviews with some of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers. These are not detailed biographies however, they are an in-depth conversation about the filmmaker's films and his own feelings about them. While some go into the individual's past it is just so you can get an idea of the personality of the filmmaker. This is a must-have book. A good way to look at it is to read it through once and become familiar with all of the directors, some of whom may be new to you. Then as you view their films go back and read what they have to say. Though sometimes their comments are very brief, it's one of the few sources you'll find where the film-maker makes direct reference back to a film. And I don't know what it is about Bogdanovich but he always brings out gems of truth from those he interviews.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A treasury of film knowledge and personalities,
By A Customer
This review is from: Who the Devil Made It: Conversations with ... (Hardcover)
Peter Bogdanovich has written a book that is for the movie enthusiast. I suspect the general reader may find some of the interviewees obscure, and the topics technical. I feel that is their loss. For the student of film or film history, this is a treasure trove of information, ideas, experiences, and feelings about films taken from interviews with some of the most distinguished directors in movie history. The author's selection is not encyclopedic, but the directors' experience spans from the earliest years of silent film to the present. These men are not just informative, but their strong and distinctive personalities show in each interview, giving the sense that one has actually met and understood many of them. Some of the interviews are brief, or even very idiosyncratic, but the best are delightfully personal. This is a long book, but affords many pleasant evenings of good conversation. It also makes one want to go back and see the films again!
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Indispensable,
By Joseph McBride, jmcbrid1@pacbell.net (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Who the Devil Made It: Conversations with ... (Hardcover)
Peter Bogdanovich pioneered the director interview in English, and this wonderful collection will give endless pleasure to film buffs. The book-length interview with Allan Dwan alone is worth the price of admission. Bogdanovich always did vast amounts of study before sitting down to talk with his subjects, and his expertise and enthusiasm encouraged them to open up in a way they usually did not with other interviewers. Anyone writing about the careers of the directors Bogdanovich interviews has to start with his work on them. A fitting companion piece is Bogdanovich's encyclopedic interview book "This Is Orson Welles."
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