Description
Book SynopsisFrom his early days as a film editor at RKO studios, where he helped Orson Welles shape Citizen Kane, to his success as a director and producer of musical blockbusters of the 1960s, Robert Wise had a long and illustrious film career. Unlike contemporaries such as Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford or Howard Hawks, however, Wise''s films lack any clearly discernible characteristics to signify his work. There are few striking camera angles or visual flourishes that might distract from the primary obligation to present the story. And like Hawks, Wise never specialized in one or two genres, but brought his directing skills to all manner of films. His work as a director resists auteur categorization, and that is a chief reason why some critics have been unduly negative in their consideration of his work.In The Films of Robert Wise, Richard Keenan examines the nearly forty features that represent the director''s careerfrom Curse of the Cat People in 1944 to A Storm in Summer (2001), the only televi
Trade ReviewThe author is generally evenhanded in granting measured attention to each of Wise's films. We are lucky to have now a critical study of the films of Robert Wise, but even lucker that The Films of Robert Wise is so persuasive and thoughtful. -- Peter Tonguette * Film International *
Robert Wise (1914-2005) was an American film director and producer best known for such works as The Day the Earth Stood Still, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, and The Sand Pebbles. This book by Keenan (English and modern languages, U. of Maryland) is an appreciative discussion of the value and merit of Wise's filmic craftsmanship that discusses the 40 movies Wise produced or directed. It draws on many interviews with Wise, as well as first-hand observation of Wise's working methods on the set of Star Trek: the Movie. One of those interviews is include in an appendix, together with a bibliography and a filmography. * Reference and Research Book News, November 2007 *
This book was many years in the making, and involves over thirty hours of interviews and countless correspondence with Wise and others associated with these productions. * Film Quarterly *
Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1 The Early Years at RKO 2 The Years with Val Lewton 3 More B Movies 4 Moving Up: From B to A 5 Wise at His Best: The Set-Up 6 The Years at Warner Bros. and Fox 7 Science Fiction and the Cold War:The Day the Earth Stood Still 8 1952-1958: Documentary Style—And Everything Else... 9 "Produced" by Robert Wise 10 From Stage to Film: Preeminent Translator of Musicals 11 The 1970s 12 Searching for New Beginnings Appendix: An Interview with Robert Wise Bibliography Filmography Index About the Author
