George Stevens: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers Series)

Book Overview

At first glance, George Stevens (1904-1975) appears to be the quintessential Hollywood director. A closer look at his achievements shows him to be more than just the creator of some of the smartest melodramas and comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, including Annie Oakley, Swing Time, and Gunga Din. Several of his films--Giant, The Diary of Anne Frank, Shane, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and A Place in the Sun--are regarded as some of the most important and enduring dramas of postwar American cinema. As a leading producer and director of his era, Stevens repeatedly pushed against the Hollywood grain and clashed with censors.

George Stevens: Interviews showcases the deep moral vision of a director who is as meticulous, discerning, and contemplative in his conversations as he is as a filmmaker. Although not regarded as an auteur during his career, Stevens can now be understood as one of America's most personal and distinguished directors. Throughout this collection, his increasing concern over the control of his films is evident, and, like Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks, he became a producer/director who claimed absolute control over his work. His interviews show a man committed to his chosen art and fully aware of the responsibilities that come with that choice.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578066395
• ISBN13: 9781578066391
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Length: 125 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Director of Great Humanity

This book employs a concise interview approach, to one of America's greatest, and most respected directors. In all his work, from "Alice Adams", to "Swing Time", "Woman of the Year", to "Vivacious Lady", to "Gunga Din"...to his work with Laurel and Hardy, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Kate Hepburn and Spencer Tracy...and to his later series of Oscar winning masterpieces, including "Shane", "Giant", "A Place in the Sun"...this little book exposes a man of great humanity and integrity. Though it does not delve deeply into most of the films, it does delve into the personalities of some of the colleagues he knew well. The book therefore is not definitive, nor is it intended to be. However, I would say it prompts the reader towards further questioning. It's one of those readings that whet the appetite for further reading. I would have liked to have asked much more about the films already mentioned. Others, like "The Diary of Ann Frank", and his monumental film, "The Greatest Story Ever Told", are dealt with in greater depth, with special interviews. The interviews also cover his participation in WW II, as Ike's film maker of D-Day, the liberation of Paris, the concentration camps...and how this seminal experience forever changed George Stevens, and his career, in some very profound ways. And, his story, without being an autobiography, possesses the immediacy of the great director's own words...with the personal filter of a writer, being replaced by the questions of an interviewer. As a result, it is most satisfying to learn his view of his world, and his era...directly. I highly recommend the book, not only because of the story of this extraordinary man...but also, because the tight interview format allows the reader to learn much...and fairly quickly...and with this knowledge, to research further.