David Thomson The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood

The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood by David Thomson / Autographed by the Author • Hardcover • Knopf; First Edition (November 30, 2004) • 416 Pages Condition: Excellent —————————————————————— A magnificent history of Hollywood from the invention of film to the present day, by David Thomson, who has established himself as the “greatest living film critic and historian,” “irreplaceable” and “the best writer about the movies.”. The Whole Equation embraces “the mystery and the majesty, the business statistics and millions of us being moved, the art and the awfulness.” It considers “the artistic careers, the lives of the pirates, the ebb and flow of business, the sociological impact–in short, the wonder in the dark, the calculation in the offices, and the staggering impact on America of moving pictures. He examines the films of Capra, Wilder, Hitchcock, Spielberg, Gable, Cagney, Crawford, Brando, Bogart, Nicholson, and Kidman. He considers noir films, the blacklist, agents, and method acting. He tells us the stories behind The Godfather, Chinatown, and Jaws. And he follows the money–essential to understanding Hollywood at its most thrilling and most disappointing. David Thomson has given us a one-volume history of Hollywood that is one of the most brilliant, most insightful, entertaining, and illuminating books ever written on American film.