Art Directors in Cinema: A Worldwide Biographical Dictionary

by Michael L. Stephens

Overview

Often forgotten among the actors, directors, producers and others associated with filmmaking, art directors are responsible for making movies visually appealing to audiences. As such they sometimes make the difference between a hit and a bomb.

This biographical dictionary includes not only the world's great and almost-great artists, but the unjustly neglected film designers of the past and present. Among the more than 300 art directors and designers are pioneers from silent films, designers from Hollywood and Europe's Golden Ages, Asian figures, post-Golden Age personalities, leaders of the European and American New Waves, and many contemporary designers. Each entry consists of biographical information, an analysis of the director's career and important films, and an extensive filmography including mentions of Academy Award nominations and winners.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786437719
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	04/08/2008
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.72(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Film historian Michael L. Stephens lives in Savannah, Georgia. He is also the author of Film Noir (2006) and Gangster Films (1996).

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface     
Introduction     

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY     

Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

easy to use, interesting to read”—Booklist; “solid...the scope is impressive...valuable—Film & History; “Stephens is at his best showing readers how, when, and why an art director influenced the dominant visual style of a studio, of an era, and of a series of films”—ARBA; “very well written”—Classic Images; “illuminating...filled with original research”—Past Times; “encyclopedic...an admirable and useful reference tool”—Monsters from the Vault; “extensive”—Psychotronic.

From the Publisher

Covering film history from its beginnings through the mid-1990s, the dictionary includes biographies of all the major and many of the minor figures of the craft from the US, Europe, and Asia. Since credits for art direction during Hollywood's Golden Age could be arbitrary (more often than not the actual designer for a film was not given screen credit), the credits in this reference are a selected composite of credits from numerous sources, including other published references, and data from film archives such as those of the American Film Institute Library. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

"solid...the scope is impressive...valuable

Film & History

easy to use, interesting to read

Booklist