{"product_id":"9780299348205-peerless","title":"Peerless","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRouben Mamoulian, Hollywood, and Broadway\u003cbr\u003eA proud Armenian who claimed a distant link to nobility, born in what was then part of czarist Russia, Rouben Mamoulian (1897–1987) became one of the most astonishing and confounding directors of American film and theater. Kurt Jensen’s magisterial volume brings to life this charming, flawed, and fascinating man.\u003cbr\u003eA proud Armenian who claimed a distant link to nobility, born in what was then part of czarist Russia, Rouben Mamoulian (1897–1987) became one of the most astonishing and confounding directors of American film and theater, directing the original stage productions of\u003ci\u003e Porgy and Bess\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCarousel\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eOklahoma!\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as films including \u003ci\u003eLove Me Tonight\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eQueen Christina\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCity Streets\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSilk Stockings\u003c\/i\u003e. He was famously fired from the film version of \u003ci\u003ePorgy and Bess\u003c\/i\u003e in a dispute over publicity, and quit \u003ci\u003eCleopatra\u003c\/i\u003e after arguments over a single scene. His iconoclastic self-confidence was high among the reasons he had a reputation for being unable to compromise.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This frustrating mix of genius and stubbornness, of critical successes and financial flops, has proven challenging for biographers. Any examination of Mamoulian’s life must explore film, theater, and music history, while being conscious of the racial culture in both American society and the world of entertainment during the mid-twentieth century. Kurt Jensen’s magisterial volume, extensively researched and filled with trenchant observations, brings to life this charming, flawed, and fascinating man.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e With lived-in details and surprising revelations, Jensen fleshes out the contours of a remarkable life. Drawing upon Mamoulian’s unfinished memoir and voluminous diaries, as well as interviews with the director’s surviving collaborators, he delivers fresh and informative insider stories from seminal productions. Meanwhile, he explores Mamoulian’s aesthetic principles and strategies as manifested in lighting, choreography, and sound design. Jensen reveals Mamoulian’s mercurial confidence and autocratic tendencies at the height of his power, demonstrating how the wellspring of his art contained the seeds of his own destruction. A tour de force, \u003ci\u003ePeerless \u003c\/i\u003eoffers readers a multifaceted, in-depth look at an idiosyncratic genius.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55286862086518,"sku":"9780299348205","price":30.72,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_38092585_b75dafe5-d156-4dbb-8f72-5346a2690d1a.jpg?v=1763688896","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780299348205-peerless","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}