1st Edition

Fifty Hollywood Directors

Edited By Suzanne Leonard, Yvonne Tasker Copyright 2015
    424 Pages
    by Routledge

    424 Pages
    by Routledge

    Fifty Hollywood Directors introduces the most important, iconic and influential filmmakers who worked in Hollywood between the end of the silent period and the birth of the blockbuster. By exploring the historical, cultural and technological contexts in which each director was working, this book traces the formative period in commercial cinema when directors went from pioneers to industry heavyweights.

    Each entry discusses a director’s practices and body of work and features a brief biography and suggestions for further reading. Entries include:

    • Frank Capra
    • Cecil B DeMille
    • John Ford
    • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Fritz Lang
    • Orson Welles
    • DW Griffith
    • King Vidor

    This is an indispensible guide for anyone interested in film history, Hollywood and the development of the role of the director.

    Introduction  Robert Aldrich (1918-1983)  Robert Altman (1925-2006)  Dorothy Arzner (1897-1979)  Frank Capra (1887-1981)  John Cassavetes (1929-1989)  Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)  Roger Corman (1926--)  George Cukor (1899-1983)  Michael Curtiz (1886-1962)  Ossie Davis (1917-2005)  Cecil B DeMille (1881-1959)  John Ford (1894-1973)  Sam Fuller (1912-1997)  DW Griffith (1875-1948)  Alice Guy-Blaché (1873-1968)  Howard Hawks (1896-1977)  Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980)  Elia Kazan (1909-2003)  Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)  Fritz Lang (1890-1976)  Joseph Losey (1909-1984)  Ernst Lubitsch (1892-1947)  Ida Lupino (1918-1995)  Anthony Mann (1906-1967)  Oscar Micheaux (1884-1951)  Vincente Minelli (1903-1986)  Mike Nichols (1931--)  Max Ophuls (1902-1957)  Gordon Parks (1912-2006)  Alan J Pakula (1928-1998)  Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984)  Arthur Penn (1922-2010)  Roman Polanski (1933--)  Otto Preminger (1905-1986)  Nicholas Ray (1911-1979)  Don Siegel (1912-1991)  Robert Siodmak (1900-1973)  Douglas Sirk (1900-1987)  Victor Sjöström (1879-1960)  Josef von Sternberg (1894-1969)  Preston Sturgess (1898-1959)  Frank Tashlin (1913-1972)  Jacques Tourneur (1904-1977)  King Vidor (1894-1982)  Raoul Walsh (1887-1980)  Lois Weber (1881-1939)  Orson Welles (1915-1985)  James Whale (1889-1957)  Billy Wilder (1906-2002)  William Wyler (1902-1981)

    Biography

    Yvonne Tasker is Professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of East Anglia. She has written, edited and co-edited six books on popular cinema and is the editor of Fifty Contemporary Film Directors.

    Suzanne Leonard is Associate Professor of English at Simmons College, USA

    "This work introduces 50 important and influential Hollywood filmmakers from the period between the end of the silent era and the ascent of blockbuster film... The work will help readers better understand the key developments in Hollywood film history by identifying the collaborative relationships, the enduring legacy of the director's role, and the far-reaching influence of these talented individuals."

    - L. Kong, California State University, San Bernardino, Highly Recommended Review in CHOICE