Sirk on Sirk
Published on 3. March 2011
200 pages
978-0-571-26141-3 (ISBN)
Description
Douglas Sirk is one of the most neglected directors in American cinema. This book aims to rectify that and, through a survey of his career, to re-establish Sirk as one of the great stylists of Hollywood cinema.
In 1937 Sirk left Germany, after a successful career in theatre and film, and came to Hollywood. From 1942 to 1958 he directed some 30 films, the most famous of which were a series of lush melodramas in the '50s, which were seen at the time as vehicles for stars such as Rock Hudson and Lana Turner. These films are now seen as perceptive dissections of the repressive conventions underlying American life, revealing a disintegrating society - a society of pretence and illusion, befogged by alcohol. Sirk's films are many-layered, the style transcending the melodrama and transforming the material into works of art.
In 1937 Sirk left Germany, after a successful career in theatre and film, and came to Hollywood. From 1942 to 1958 he directed some 30 films, the most famous of which were a series of lush melodramas in the '50s, which were seen at the time as vehicles for stars such as Rock Hudson and Lana Turner. These films are now seen as perceptive dissections of the repressive conventions underlying American life, revealing a disintegrating society - a society of pretence and illusion, befogged by alcohol. Sirk's films are many-layered, the style transcending the melodrama and transforming the material into works of art.
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
File size
3,28 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-571-26141-3 (9780571261413)
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Person
Jon Halliday was born in Dublin in June 1939. He is the author or editor of nine books, including Douglas Sirk (with Laura Mulvey, 1972), as well as works on Japan, Korea, Albania, and the psychology of gambling. From 1970 to 1976 he was a member of the editorial board of Screen magazine. He is the author of Sirk on Sirk and, with his wife Jung Chang, Mao: The Unknown Story.
