A Talent For Trouble: The Life Of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler

A Talent For Trouble: The Life Of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler
by Jan Herman

A Talent For Trouble: The Life Of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler
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Book Summary Information

Author: Jan Herman
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-08-22
ISBN: 030680798X
Number of pages: 544
Publisher: Da Capo Press

Book Reviews of A Talent For Trouble: The Life Of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler

Book Review: A wonderful insight into a fascinating film maker
Summary: 5 Stars

Until I read this book, I had no idea that so many of my favourite classic films were directed by William Wyler.

The book tracks through Wyler's early childhood in pre-WWI Europe, his move to the United States and how he made his start making 3 movies a week for his uncle.

The book examines the process behind Wyler's great films - Roman Holiday, The Heiress and so on. Having read a biography of Audrey Hepburn and read about how she coped with the filming of Roman Holiday, it was really interesting to read the director's verion of what happened during filming. The quality of the final product was important to Wyler. He was a meticulous film maker who cared about his films. He was also a man of principle as shown by his efforts to make realistic fims during WWII, often puttin ghis wn life at risk as he shot footage of bombing raids over Europe.

The book also shows a little bit of Wyler's personal life. He was married for most of his life to the same wonderful woman and had a family that he clearly loved.

All in all, the book was a fascinating insight into pre-sound Hollywood and into a very interesting man and great director. It was extremely well written and an "easy read". It was tough to put down!

Summary of A Talent For Trouble: The Life Of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler

The films of William Wyler (1902?1981) include some of the most memorable and honored motion pictures of all time; Jezebel, The Letter, The Little Foxes, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Heiress, Detective Story, Roman Holiday, Ben-Hur, Funny Girl, and more than two dozen others. His great ability to conceal his directorial presence in order to better serve his material, coupled with the variety of genres in which he excelled, have earned his films 127 Academy Award nominations, winning Wyler three best-director Oscars. Based on his previously undiscovered papers, and hundreds of interviews, this perceptive, spellbinding biography reveals both the director and the private man in startling close-ups as he lived his turbulent life at a bit more than twenty-four frames per second.

William Wyler is not as well known as Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, or John Ford, but he deserves a place among the superstar directors of classic Hollywood. His style was magnificently fluid; while his films are masterpieces of cinematic artistry, they are also filled with beautiful elements that make his characters and situations utterly real. Among other classics, he directed "Dead End," "Wuthering Heights," "The Little Foxes," "Mrs. Miniver," "The Best Years of Our Lives," "The Heiress," "Roman Holiday," "Ben-Hur," and "Funny Girl." Jan Herman's biography is a lively account of Wyler's life and career that pays special attention to the director's early experiences in Europe, his relationship to the Hollywood mogul Carl Laemmle, his combative partnership with Samuel Goldwyn, his friendships with John Huston and Lillian Hellman, his marriage to Margaret Tallichet, his harrowing experiences making propaganda films during World War II, and his long, immensely successful professional career.

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