Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

They had faces then, in the golden age of Hollywood when a publicity photo could make or break a star. The visual power of George Hurrell's portraits, with their Rembrandtesque lighting and dramatic poses, shaped the careers of such stars as Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, and Jane Russell, and did as much or more to establish them as their film performances. Mark Vieira, who adopted Hurrell's techniques and uses them to this day, explains how the master portraitist lit and retouched his photographs--a portrait of Crawford before and after retouching reveals what an artist the one-time painter really was--and analyzes their impact.

From Library Journal

George Hurrell was the most sought-after celebrity photographer in Hollywood's Golden Era. He had total control of light, the complete confidence of his subjects, and a storied reputation for making the ordinary beautiful and the beautiful dazzling. The Chapman Collection is one of the most extensive archives of Hurrell's photographs in the world. A close friend of the photographer, Vieira has carefully selected 275 of the images from the collection for this book. The selections leave the reader with a reassuring sense of familiarity with the hundreds of stars, who are remembered here as the film studios planned?as people who amazed us and were bigger than life. Vieira has collected and arranged the stars in this volume in an admiring way, turning Hurrell's incredible ability to merge glamour, creative lighting, star quality, and imaginative posing into a timeless book. Recommended for general collections.?David Bryant, New Canaan P.L., Ct.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810934345
• ISBN-13: 978-0810934344
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #521,991 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inside Hurrell's career, May 1, 2000

By	Keith Nichols (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've acquired a good many Hollywood photo anthologies, but this is the first one that really excited me - because it gets down to the way the photographer accomplished his work. Hurrell's career is considered in phases, and in each his working methods and even his frame of mind are considered. The author is especially astute at this because he is a photographer who chooses to work as Hurrell did, with 8x10 b&w film and incandescent light, with pencil retouching on the film. Shots of Hurrell's studio in action are included, along with examples of before-and-after retouching. This isn't a full-blown how-to-do-glamour book, but it makes me want to stow the strobes and break out the 30-year-old floods and spots. Mark Vieira has added to his rep as a Hollywood historian, and any movie fan would do well to take advantage of this product of his scholarship.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK, EVEN IF IT DIDN'T HAVE PICTURES, July 22, 2000

By	anonymous (san francisco, ca United States) - See all my reviews

After you finish looking at and looking at and looking at the beautifully reproduced Hurrell photos in Mark Vieira's book . . . READ THE BOOK. The writing is excellent. The story he tells is compelling. And Vieira is a first-class film historian. So far as I can tell, and I can usually tell, this is a book without mistakes. His research is meticulous. His passion is evident, and his critical faculties are first-rate. Even without the photos, this would be a great book. The photos are the icing on the cake.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm very happy to have this book in my library, April 1, 2001

By	Shahrad M.Fazeli (Iran) - See all my reviews

Once upon a time, I was reading Empire magazine and suddenly I saw a promotion of The book Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits. The cover picture was very impressive. I didn't know George Hurrell before. As soon as I saw the picture, I decided to buy this book. So, after buying it and see the pictures inside, I just said: Wow! What a photographer he was. He's a genius. His works are magnificent. Great use of light and remarkable composition are the typical of his works. Definitly he's a master in the art of photography. You can find many fabulouse black & white photoes of your beloved actors and actresses in 30s and 40s as well as an interesting and useful biography of Hurrell. If you love cinema you won't regret after buying it. Your library misses this book.