Beyond the Epic: The Life and Films of David Lean

Author:   Gene D. Phillips
Publisher:   The University Press of Kentucky
ISBN:  

9780813124155


Pages:   592
Publication Date:   24 November 2006
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
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Beyond the Epic: The Life and Films of David Lean


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Overview

Two-time Academy Award winner Sir David Lean (1908-1991) was a prominent director in the world of twentieth-century cinema, responsible for such classics as The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago, and Lawrence of Arabia. British-born Lean asserted himself in Hollywood as a major artistic voice with his epic storytelling and panoramic depictions of history, but he was also a highly skilled film editor in Great Britain before he became a director who brought an art-house sensibility to big market films. Lean's approach to filmmaking was far different from that of his contemporaries. He carefully chose his projects and, as a result, directed only sixteen films in a span of more than forty years. Those films, however, are some of the landmarks of motion-picture history. In addition to his epics, Lean also made adaptations of well-known novels, including Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and A Passage to India, and plays, including Brief Encounter. Using elements of both biography and film criticism, author Gene D. Phillips examines the screenplays and production histories central to Lean's body of work and interviews actors and other directors who worked with Lean. Phillips also explores Lean's lesser-studied films, such as The Passionate Friends, unearthing new details. This in-depth examination of Lean in a cultural, historic, and cinematic context makes Beyond the Epic truly unique -- a vital assessment of a great director's artistic process and his place in an evolving film industry.

Full Product Details

Author:   Gene D. Phillips
Publisher:   The University Press of Kentucky
Imprint:   The University Press of Kentucky
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 3.70cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.948kg
ISBN:  

9780813124155


ISBN 10:   0813124158
Pages:   592
Publication Date:   24 November 2006
Audience:   General/trade ,  Adult education ,  College/higher education ,  General ,  Further / Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

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Reviews

An entertaining, in-depth look at Sir David's life and diverse career. -- <i>Library Journal</i></p>


An entertaining, in-depth look at Sir David's life and diverse career. -- Library Journal


An entertaining, in-depth look at Sir David's life and diverse career. -- Library Journal It takes a great author to write about a great film director. In Beyond the Epic: The Life and Films of David Lean Gene Phillips matches the excellence and meticulous artistic care Lean brought to the cinema. Utilizing biography, analysis, criticism, historical background, journalistic reporting, and the inner-workings of the moviemake process, Phillips totally captures the total filmmaker. David Lean was a towering genius who demanded emotional and physical perfection as well as the freedom to make his human epics. Gene Phillips is a writer with wisdom, tenacity and the ability to write in the spirit of his subject. Reading Beyond the Epic: The Life and Films of David Lean is like watching a David Lean film. Phillips takes us on a journey to a place beyond the formalities of filmmaking into the heart of the artistic process itself and into the soul of a true cinema artist. The result is beyond definitive and approaches the inner secrets of why movies are both magical and life altering. -- Vincent LoBrutto, author of Stanley Kubrick: A Biography and Becoming Film L It's a step forward... for the legacy of the man who created The Bridge on the River Kwai, A Passage to India, and Lawrence of Arabia, 'the greatest film ever made.' -- The Week [Gives] its subject a thorough treatment. -- San Antonio Current, Armchair Cinephile Phillips brings out the person, the immense talent, and the consummate skills of the director. -- Midwest Book Review Gene Phillips provides the final word -- Lester Keyser, author of Hollywood in the Seventies For admirers of storytelling on a vast canvas, and of an old master, Phillip's study is an overdue pleasure. -- Hollywood Reporter [Phillips] offers an in-depth examination of prominent filmmaker David Lean. -- Partners I found it hard to stop reading. I was impressed that Gene Phillips had spoken to so many of the people in the Lean circle. His enthusiasm for the films comes through strongly. -- Kevin Brownlow, author of David Lean: A Biography


<p> [Phillips] offers an in-depth examination of prominent filmmaker David Lean. -- Partners


Author Information

Gene D. Phillips is professor of film history and modern literature at Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of numerous books about film and film history, including Creatures of Darkness: Raymond Chandler, Detective Fiction, and Film Noir and Godfather: The Intimate Francis Ford Coppola.

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