Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America

by Peter Biskind

Book Overview

In this compulsively readable and constantly surprising book, Peter Biskind, the author of the film classics Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and Down and Dirty Pictures, writes the most intimate, revealing,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743246586
• ISBN13: 9780743246583
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 627 Pages
• Weight: 2.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.7" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

down & dirty

Peter Biskind's STAR is everything I want to find in a Hollywood bio and almost never do. It's smart, informed, researched in depth, and neither hagiography nor a hatchet job. Instead, Biskind has done the work of a top journalist, talked to everyone who would talk, and dug up surprising -- and of course salacious and "socking" connections. The picture revealed through the lens of Beatty's life isn't pretty, but it's as close as an ordinary person is likely to get if you want to know what makes Hollywood tick, and what makes a star. Like his earlier books, this one is a page turner, and hard to put down. There are surprises on every page. I think it's true that the universal is revealed only through the particular. Biskind had the determination to dig up every particular he encountered, and the result is a revelation of the town that's at the center of popular culture.

Much More Than an Entertainment Bio

Peter Biskind is a reknowned film writer who has a special affinity for the 1960s and 70s, a time when the movie industry experienced a tectonic shift and Warren Beatty was at its epicenter. Beatty is perhaps the single greatest example of a living artist who straddled both "old" and "new" Hollywood, so a complete bio of him serves also as a historical document of the evolution of film making. Readers seeking nothing more than sexual gossip will likely be somewhat disappointed, as Beatty's legendary exploits are presented against the much larger canvas of his arduous, sometimes decades-long struggles to bring films such as Reds to fruition. In Biskind's capable hands Beatty transcends easy categorization and is revealed to be fiercely intelligent, visionary, and eccentric -- in other words, very complex and much like the era in which he rose to prominence. I found Star to be a compelling read and, in the end, a most respectful attempt to capture the man in full.

The Good and the Bad

Peter Biskind does exhaustive analysis and review on books. What you have is a detailed, intense biography. If you are reading a book for an overview and fun, this may be too detailed for you. But if you want a book that tries to explore as much of Beatty's professional life as possible, this is the book for you. Does he focus substantially on who Beatty dates? Yes. Nice quote from Cher, " yea, I did him when I was 16 because my Mom and friends really liked him." Does he also focus on his film history and the story behind the story? Yes, and I think very well. For example the history of Beatty's breakthrough to the elite, Bonnie and Clyde, runs a short parallel story of the writers who controlled the story and wrote it for Truffaunt who entertained directing the movie. Another great insight is his influences from the old communists like Kazan and Odet. Beatty seemed to try and bridge his influences by not being just a young actor. But a young actor wanting to know the old legends and work with them. But working with Beatty was no picnic. How can a man with so much at his fingertips be such an ass to work with? Can't you look in the mirror and recognize some faults. Only in Hollywood could you get away with this. This book isn't perfect and another reviewer alludes to some misinformation. BUT, if you follow Hollywood and want to know a lot behind the scenes and how an icon became an icon, deserved or not, this is a GREAT book.

Brilliant biography--entertaining and smart!

Never thought I would read a Beatty bio from cover to cover! I could not put this book down. Biskind is one of few fearless journalists writing about Hollywood. Is Beatty a Star? Yes and No. Not exactly. Maybe? Definitely! There are no simple answers in this brilliant book. A must read for anyone who loves movies. Love is a complex thing--especially for Warren Beatty.