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Title: Gielgud: A Theatrical Life 1904-2000 by Jonathan Croall ISBN: 0-8264-1333-1 Publisher: Continuum Pub Group Pub. Date: 15 April, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Theatrical and Human Excellence of the Highest Quality
Comment: What we have here is probably the definitive biography (at least thus far) of one of the greatest actors of the 20th century who, unlike others of comparable talent and stature (e.g. Olivier) was also a thoroughly decent person. I consider it ironic and (yes) unfair that Gielgud is best-known for his role in the movie, Arthur. What if he had made no movies at all? Would anyone write a 580-page biography of him? Even in that event, would anyone read it, much less review it? The subtitle is especially apt, given Gielgud's comment "My work is my life [italics] and I have no other interests." Of course that is somewhat (but not much) of an overstatement by someone who, on or off the stage or screen, was so essentially theatrical. Croall guides his reader through the length of Gielgud's career, focusing almost entirely on him rather than, for example, correlating biographical information within a narrative about the society and the performing arts in which Gielgud was so involved.
Croall necessarily discusses Gielgud's homosexuality and does so with intelligence and sensitivity. This dimension of his private life is of interest to me, frankly, only insofar as it helps me to gain a better understanding and appreciation of an actor so compelling on stage or screen. It remains for Croall and others better qualified than I am to suggest to what extent Gielgud's homosexuality guided and nourished his talent.
Of all that Croall reveals about Gielgud, the qualities I found most appealing are his kindness, generosity, and moral courage. There are dozens of examples of each. I was also amazed to learn the nature and extent of his career which began in 1921 and continued almost until his death in 2000 at the age of 96. Croall interviewed more than 100 of those who knew Gielgud best. It is worth noting that most of his co-workers were among his closest and most devoted personal friends. True to character, he endured criticism and betrayal by others with uncommon style and grace. Even after his beloved companion John Perry left him for the producer Binkie Beaumont, for example, Gielgud continued to assist Perry's career, directing and acting in plays he had written. In comparable circumstances, few others would have been so forgiving, much less so supportive. Gielgud's life does indeed illustrate both theatricality and humanity of the very highest quality.
Rating: 5
Summary: The definitive Gielgud
Comment: This is unquestionably the best study of Gielgud's life ever written, and should surely rank among the finest theatrical memoirs. Croall uses Gielgud's homosexuality (including his 1953 arrest for solicitatio) and his life-long rivalry with Laurence Olivier to spin a fascinating dramatic web, while at the same time providing intriguing insight into not only Gielgud's life and work, but of the evolution of English theater in the twentieth century.
What I appreciated most about Croall's book was that he doesn't accept much of the Gielgud legend at face value, but looks at it logically and sometimes ponders the accuracy of many famous stories. The most stunning example of this is the famous swapping of the roles of Romeo and Mercutio by Olivier and Gielgud in the famous New Theater production of 1936. Legend has it that this swap was intended as a way of showing off the King of Shakespearean Tragedy (Gielgud) and the Heir Apparent (Olivier). Croall points out that this is probably hindsight talking: that in fact Olivier had no significant classical experience at that point in his career, and that the swap was probably intended by Gielgud and producer Binkie Beaumont as a means of insuring the production against failure if Olivier's reviews were poor (they were). The narrative is studded with such interesting and well-thought theorizing, while at the same time laying out Gielgud's life with intricate and accurate detail.
Croall paints Olivier as a fascinating antagonist in the narrative, but he also provides so many interesting details of Gielgud's professional and personal life that the reader finishes the book feeling that he has lived one of the most distinguished theatrical lives in history along with the book's topic. Croall's work is a fascinating study of a fascinating man.
Rating: 2
Summary: Length Without Depth (keep it on top of the tank)
Comment: Gielgud is a huge, long loaded with information about the work of John Gielgud. It is the sort of book you can open to any page and find some fascinating tidbit. But that is not enough....
The book is disappointing. It has some fine annectdotes but provides little insight into Gielgud's art or theater in general. Also Gielgud's personal life is treated superficially.
This adds up to a book that is dull to read for longer than 5 minutes at a stretch. This is a terrific book for bathroom reading but a lousy book for really reading.
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Title: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Edith Grossman, Harold Bloom ISBN: 0060188707 Publisher: Ecco Pub. Date: 21 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Public Places: My Life in the Theater, with Peter O'Toole and Beyond by Sian Phillips ISBN: 0571211283 Publisher: Faber & Faber Pub. Date: 29 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: Paris 1919 : Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan ISBN: 0375760520 Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks Pub. Date: 09 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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