Encounters with filmmakers

Jon Tuska

Overview: This aptly titled study of the careers of eight prominent Hollywood directors is based on personal acquaintance, on formal and informal interviews conducted over a period of several years, and on scholarly research on the directors and their films. In each case, Tuska presents a study of the artist in terms of his creations, surrounding the chronology of his work in film with an appraisal of it and an informal portrait. Eschewing the subjective approach to film study akin to literary analysis, in which a critic projects sometimes alien theories on a film, Tuska proceeds from the premise that one cannot understand a filmmaker's craft without coming to terms with his personality and understanding how he went about achieving the results he sought. The particular directors were chosen because their careers parallel the development and growth of the motion picture industry from...

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