Lost Hollywood

This is the story of the hell-raisers and wunderkinds of 1970s cinema. They hoped to do things differently by smashing the power of the studios, and for a whole they succeeded. But the strength of the economic forces arrayed against them was simply too strong to sustain any lasting change. By becoming hugely successful - in some cases - they merely boosted the studios’ coffers. They dreamed of being auteurs with something significant to say - but often failed to live up to their own high expectations. Some of their work, however, stands the test of time. They produced some of the best movies ever made. It’s an era of contradictions, defined by excess. Coppola, Scorsese, De Palma, Ashby… some of these big names are still around. Coppola has just made a new movie - Megalopolis. Scorsese is still making brilliant movies and for my money is the great survivor of this generation. Spielberg is another example. But he embraced the commercial opportunities far more willingly than his contemporaries, seeing nothing wrong with making massive blockbusters and reaping the benefits. And in many cases he has combined profit with artistic value. Yet for every survivor, there were more than a few casualties. This highly entertaining book is full of trivia about the sex lives of the protagonists - the moguls, writers, and directors. It’s gossipy, thoroughly researched, and superbly narrated. It was published in the late 1990s. Hollywood has changed a lot even since then, but this book throws the spotlight on a lost era which - seen up close - was full of genius, but also human tragedy and failure. Listen now.

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Incredible, an education

Strongly recommend to any lover of film, brilliantly told, a completely immersive experience, the story of these films and directors would make compelling cinema

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3 people found this helpful

A good collection of anecdotes.

I read the book many years ago, and found the reading of it very entertaining. It helps if you have seen most of the films in the book, but if you have not one can use it as a tick box of films to watch.

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1 person found this helpful

Great for Film buffs

Great, full of exciting Hollywood stories, some really intimate, and it's read really well. I highly recommend it!

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Great film history of the era...

If you love cinema and want to know more about the evolution of film and the people behind it in the 60’s and 70’s then this is a great read.

They seized the power from the studios then blew it all in a blaze of ego, Cocaine and overspending....

Great read if you love film!

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1 person found this helpful

Beautiful

Beautiful book beautifully written beautifully read beautiful memories beautiful times beautiful people beautiful schemes beautiful places beautiful hopes beautiful dreams.
Love always.

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Great listen

Tremendous account of Hollywood and amazing filmmakers like Scorsese and Coppola and how they challenged the studio system

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interesting for lovers of classic cinema

love all the classic old 70's movies. really great to hear how some of the firm's you know and love got made.

it jumps around in time and you get lost in the bobs and Roberts as names and nicknames and events blur into each other. if I didn't love movies so much I'm not sure I'd of got to the end.

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As seductive as the decade it describes

Enthralling account of one of the most imaginative periods in Hollywood. Great insight into the stories behind done of the best movies of all time; The Exorcist, Chinatown, The Godfather and many more. I couldn't stop listening.

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An unflinching account of 1970s cinema

A great listen. Exhaustively researched movie geekdom interwoven with remarkable anecdotes that depict the characters involved.

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