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Fred Zinnemann: An Autobiography : A Life in the Movies
With the aid of some 400 photographs, the great film director, now 85, recalls 50 years of film-making and more than 20 major films, including High Noon, From Here to Eternity, Oklahoma!, A Man for All Seasons, The Day of the Jackal, Julia, and The Nun's Story. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
- GenresNonfictionAutobiography
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 21, 2023
As you would expect from an A-class film director and cultured, worldly gentleman - an A-class autobiography.
Full of fascinating insights into the world of filmmaking with concise, intelligent commentary regarding each of his films.
No meandering or self-fulfilling blah, just interesting and arresting observations about his career as a cameraman, documentary and short subject filmmaker, and eventually becoming one of the most distinguished and highly acclaimed film directors of his generation.
And with just enough personal peeks into his private and family life - from his youth growing up in pre-Nazi Austria and his eventual path to America and Hollywood (as an extra in the original 1930 "All Quiet on the Western Front") and working with famous documentary filmmaker Robert Flaherty before landing at M-G-M. - to allow the reader to understand more of the man behind the camera.
Not really your standard autobiography but a chapter-by-chapter summary of ALL his films and supplemented by more than 400 exceptional photographs.
You don't recall Zinnemann? Just look at the quality of his films which include:
"The Seventh Cross" (1944)
"The Search" (1948)
"The Men" (1950)
"High Noon" (1952)
"From Here to Eternity" (1953)
"Oklahoma!" (1955)
"A Hatful of Rain" (1957)
"The Nun's Story" (1959)
"The Sundowners" (1960)
"A Man for All Seasons" (1966)
"The Day of the Jackal" (1973)
"Julia" (1977)
A truly international director with films made in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Africa and Australia, as well as New York, Hawaii and various other American locations.
First Academy Award was for one-reel short "That Mothers Might Live" (1938). Won subsequent Best Director Oscars for "From Here to Eternity" and "A Man for All Seasons" also winning as producer of the Best Picture Oscar for the latter.
Nominated for another five Best Director Oscars.
Winner of a record four New York Film Critics Best Director Awards.
Putting aside all those achievements, this autobiography is a worthy record of his career and an excellent read for anyone interested in the craft of filmmaking and an important recollection reflecting the views of one of cinema's most skilled and humane film directors.
.
Full of fascinating insights into the world of filmmaking with concise, intelligent commentary regarding each of his films.
No meandering or self-fulfilling blah, just interesting and arresting observations about his career as a cameraman, documentary and short subject filmmaker, and eventually becoming one of the most distinguished and highly acclaimed film directors of his generation.
And with just enough personal peeks into his private and family life - from his youth growing up in pre-Nazi Austria and his eventual path to America and Hollywood (as an extra in the original 1930 "All Quiet on the Western Front") and working with famous documentary filmmaker Robert Flaherty before landing at M-G-M. - to allow the reader to understand more of the man behind the camera.
Not really your standard autobiography but a chapter-by-chapter summary of ALL his films and supplemented by more than 400 exceptional photographs.
You don't recall Zinnemann? Just look at the quality of his films which include:
"The Seventh Cross" (1944)
"The Search" (1948)
"The Men" (1950)
"High Noon" (1952)
"From Here to Eternity" (1953)
"Oklahoma!" (1955)
"A Hatful of Rain" (1957)
"The Nun's Story" (1959)
"The Sundowners" (1960)
"A Man for All Seasons" (1966)
"The Day of the Jackal" (1973)
"Julia" (1977)
A truly international director with films made in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Africa and Australia, as well as New York, Hawaii and various other American locations.
First Academy Award was for one-reel short "That Mothers Might Live" (1938). Won subsequent Best Director Oscars for "From Here to Eternity" and "A Man for All Seasons" also winning as producer of the Best Picture Oscar for the latter.
Nominated for another five Best Director Oscars.
Winner of a record four New York Film Critics Best Director Awards.
Putting aside all those achievements, this autobiography is a worthy record of his career and an excellent read for anyone interested in the craft of filmmaking and an important recollection reflecting the views of one of cinema's most skilled and humane film directors.
.
February 11, 2024
Fred Zimmerman was one of the great directors of the last century.His autobiography is unsurprisingly as good as his directing.
He tells us about his childhood briefly.How he managed to get a break to get in to film making,and his steady progress.From directing shorts,to B features where Edward Arnold couldn't remember his lines to From Here To Eternity.
He is so self effacing about his own triumphs merely mentioning that the film received Oscars,without mentioning that he was a recipient.
There are hundreds of marvellous photos which add to the reading experience.
He tells us about his childhood briefly.How he managed to get a break to get in to film making,and his steady progress.From directing shorts,to B features where Edward Arnold couldn't remember his lines to From Here To Eternity.
He is so self effacing about his own triumphs merely mentioning that the film received Oscars,without mentioning that he was a recipient.
There are hundreds of marvellous photos which add to the reading experience.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews