The World and Its Double - by Chris Fujiwara (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Otto Preminger was one of Hollywood's first truly independent producer-directors. He sought to address the major social, political, and historical questions of his time in films designed to appeal to a wide public. Blazing a trail in the examination of controversial issues such as drug addiction (The Man with the Golden Arm) and homosexuality (Advise & Consent) and in the frank, sophisticated treatment of adult material (Anatomy of a Murder), Preminger broke the censorship of the Hollywood Production Code and the blacklist. He also made some of Hollywood's most enduring film noir classics, including Laura and Fallen Angel. More than anyone else, Preminger represented the transition from the Hollywood of the studios to the decentralized, wheeling-and-dealing New Hollywood of today. Chris Fujiwara's "studious, informative, often astutely argued" (Gerald Peary, The Phoenix) biography follows Preminger throughout his varied career, penetrating his carefully constructed public persona and revealing the many layers of his work.

Review Quotes

"[A] major contribution to what we know about Preminger--substantially surpassing former efforts." --Jonathan Rosenbaum, Cineaste

"Gives Preminger's work the serious and subtle analysis it deserves." --Geoffrey O'Brien, author of The Phantom Empire: Movies in the Mind of the Twentieth Century

"Exceptional." --Christopher Hontos, The Rake

"A rich, rewarding, unique volume that sets the standard in the study of this key director in the history of American cinema." --Dana Polan, Professor of Cinema Studies, New York University

"It's clear early on that Fujiwara 'gets' [Preminger] . . . [He] is a serious and valuable critic [and] does an excellent job of directing us back to the movies." --Robert Horton, Film Comment

About the Author

Chris Fujiwara's other books include Jacques Tourneur: The Cinema of Nightfall, Defining Moments in Movies: The Greatest Films, Stars, Scenes, and Events That Made Movie Magic (as general editor), and Jerry Lewis. He has written on film for numerous anthologies, magazines, and newspapers.