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Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies [Hardcover]

David L. Robb (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Every year, Hollywood producers ask the Pentagon for help in making films, seeking everything from locations and technical advice to Blackhawk helicopters and nuclear-powered submarines. The military will happily oblige, it says in an army handbook, so long as the movie "aid[s] in the recruiting and retention of personnel." The producers want to make money; the Defense Department wants to make propaganda. Former Hollywood Reporter staffer Robb explores the conflicts resulting from these negotiations in this illuminating though sometimes tedious study of the military-entertainment complex over the last 50 years. Robb shows how, in the Nicholas Cage film Windtalkers, the Marine Corps strong-armed producers into deleting a scene where a Marine pries gold teeth from a dead Japanese soldier (a historically accurate detail). And in The Perfect Storm, the air force insisted on giving the Air National Guard credit for rescuing a sinking fishing boat, instead of the actual Coast Guard heroes. Even seemingly flawless recruiting vehicles had troubles: in Top Gun, the navy demanded Tom Cruise's love interest be changed from a military instructor to a civilian contractor (fraternization between officers and enlisted personnel being a no-no). At its worst, the author argues, the Pentagon unscrupulously targets children; Robb reveals how the Defense Department helped insert military story lines into the Mickey Mouse Club. To help, Robb suggests a schedule of uniform fees by which producers could rent aircraft carriers, F-16s and the like. It's an intriguing idea, though producers can go it alone: as Robb points out, blockbusters Forrest Gump, An Officer and a Gentleman and Platoon were all made without military assistance.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"...a bracing read into the backstory of big studio propaganda." -- Entertainment Today (Los Angeles), May 21-27, 2004

"...a shocking look at governmental interference in the filmmaking business over the past 50 years or so..." -- Tennessee Tribune, July 15, 2004

"...a tour of the integral workings of Hollywood's deal with the Pentagon. Our rating: A" -- Rocky Mountain News, April 23, 2004

"...addresses half a century of propaganda techniques used in Hollywood movies." -- Seattle Times/ Post-Intelligencer, May 30, 2004

"...one of the best I've read in a long time...[Robb's] a great writer and the researcher is far-reaching." -- MovieWeb.com, August 16, 2004

"...tremendous job of documenting how far film producers and television shows bend their vision to the military line..." -- OC Weekly, July 23-29, 2004

"An indignant, unsettling analysis of the military's influence on the film industry." -- Hollywood Reporter, May 13, 2004

"Anyone interested in the truth, in propaganda, movies, or the military should definitely read this book. It's an eye-opener." -- About.com (Agnosticism/Atheism)
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Prometheus Books (April 30, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1591021820
  • ISBN-13: 978-1591021827
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #575,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
    #70 in  Books > Nonfiction > Politics > Freedom & Security > Censorship

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David L. Robb
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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We may think that the content of American movies is free from government interference, but in fact, the Pentagon has been telling filmmakers what to say-and what not to say-for decades. Read the first page
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Marine Corps, Department of Defense, Phil Strub, Los Angeles, United States, World War, Devil Pups, Don Baruch, White House, Top Gun, National Guard, Code Talkers, Major Georgi, Defense Department, Heartbreak Ridge, Warner Bros, Coast Guard, Navy Department, State Department, Agent Orange, John Wayne, Star Trek, Black Hawk, John Horton, Sergeant Highway
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
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3.8 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Look at Hollywood's Relationship With the Army, June 9, 2004
By Charles J. Rector (Woodstock, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies (Hardcover)
Operation Hollywood is an interesting book about the common practice in which studios alter scripts to meet military PR requirements in return for free access to both bases and equipment.

The book shows how pro-military movies leads to spikes in recruitment and as a result, the military wants to control everything that goes into a movie. All too often, Hollywood acquiesces to their demands. The military believes that they are only enforcing accuracy, but they also maintain that any film that does not reflect well on the military is "inaccurate."

This baleful influence has altered the view that Americans now have of the military. They believe that the U.S. military is intrincsically good and is incapable of doing anything wrong.

Operation Hollywood is an interesting and revealing book. As such it is recommended.

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7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Great subject, poor execution, September 16, 2004
By Yarby "yarby" (Medina, OH United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies (Hardcover)
While reading of this book would be a good education in propoganda for everyone, it could have been written in a far more educational manner.

I, like many, I would guess, did not realize that those credits at the end of the movie, thanking the armed forces, are more than a simple thank you. They indicate the Pentagon has approved the movie for propoganda purposes.

Most people realize that propoganda was a prevailing force in the movies of the World War II era. But the same propoganda continues today, in a much more subtle form.

A more interesting book would have covered the history of government propoganda in Hollywood releases, not just centered on mostly movies of the last 20 years. There was not a mention of the Disney movies seen on the DVD release "On the Front Lines", or of other movies of the era (such as Abbott and Costello's "Buck Privates"). This was propoganda at its peak.

Also, it would have been interesting to understand the logic behind how the Pentagon would think movies such as "The Swarm" and "Airport 77" would make individuals want to join the armed forces.

I also continue to wonder, as it wasn't mentioned in the book, why the Pentagon supported movies such as "Run Silent Run Deep" or "The Caine Mutiny", both of which deal with mutiny in great detail.

While I admire the author for tackling such a subject, and in bringing it to the public's attention, I just wish he had tackled it with a bit more fervor.

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12 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Pentagon and Hollywood Dissected, May 7, 2004
By Anita Busch (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies (Hardcover)
Operation Hollywood has come out at a time when the Pentagon's relationship with the American public is being evaluated -- at the height of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. Operation Hollywood gives us all a rare glimpse at the Pentagon's stealth tactics in shaping the content of television shows and films. Using the Pentagon's own documents, Robb expertly delves into the behind-the-scenes machinations of Hollywood producers kowtowing to Pentagon censors. The result is suprising and disturbing changes to a slew of films that include the box office blockbusters "Independence Day," "Top Gun," and the Harrison Ford-starrer "Clear and Present Danger." Robb also reveals how the Pentagon wanted to change history in the Nicolas Cage-starrer "Windtalkers" to the detriment of the Navajo Indians whose unbreakable codes saved this country in World War II. But, as Robb points out, it doesn't stop there. Who knew that even "The Mickey Mouse Club" and "Lassie" were not immune from military tinkering? Or that the Pentagon objected to a military man taking shots at a target that looked too much like Osama Bin Laden in the popular television show "JAG?" Or that, in our recent history, the military objected to exposing racial and religious prejudices against Hispanics and Jews? It's no wonder, as Robb writes, that his "heroes" Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner and Oliver Stone have rebuffed the Pentagon's requests to change the content of their scripts. Robb is not only my friend, but he is also a great investigative journalist. This book serves as a wake-up call to anyone who loves the very backbone of this country: The First Amendment.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Movies=Propaganda, like Duh!
This book documents how the Pentagon and branches of the United States military bully filmmakers into revising scripts, editing scenes from movies and even rewriting factual... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Cwn_Annwn

1.0 out of 5 stars Pathetic book!
The entire book story is pathetic and a non issue.

Mr.Robb beleives that Pentagon censors by not cooperating and funding the military hating movies they don't agree... Read more
Published on November 19, 2007 by Swedish Republican

4.0 out of 5 stars An inside look at government propaganda
One of the principles the USA was founded upon was the freedom of speech; no government entity can restrict the freedom of expression of a private individual. Read more
Published on July 22, 2005 by Newton Ooi

5.0 out of 5 stars Critics Pay Taxes Too
Robb's book is an invaluable resource for those interested in the mechanics of propaganda from Hollywood. Read more
Published on August 30, 2004 by Douglas Doepke

2.0 out of 5 stars Buyer beware...
This is not, per the editorial tag, "the most important book ever written about Hollywood." Nor does it uncover a secret collaboration between Hollywood and the military. Read more
Published on August 16, 2004 by Marc Aspen

4.0 out of 5 stars Viewer Beware
David L. Robb has a bone to pick with the Pentagon. He thinks the Pentagon policy of witholding military cooperation to movie producers who don't portray the military in a... Read more
Published on July 31, 2004 by takingadayoff

1.0 out of 5 stars Absurd Central Thesis
This sometimes entertaining book is ruined by its flawed central thesis: That the Pentagon, by refusing to cooperate in the production of films that involve the use of their... Read more
Published on May 30, 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Operation Hollywood Presents an Amazing Tale
Operation Hollywood describes how the U.S. military controls what we see in many movies made for the big screen. I would not have thought this was possible in our society. Read more
Published on May 23, 2004 by joseph m bridgman

5.0 out of 5 stars a cautionary note
In the wake of the terrible abuses of prisoners in Iraq, I can't imagine a more important book than this, showing how the Pentagon is concerned with creating an image that is... Read more
Published on May 7, 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular work!
With his new book, Operation Hollywood, Dave Robb demonstrates why he continues to be Hollywood's best investigative journalist. Read more
Published on May 7, 2004 by Dan E. Moldea

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