Movies and Money

by David Puttnam

"A fascinating history."-- Time Out New York

The acclaimed producer of such classic films as Chariots of Fire and The Killing Fields , and the only European ever to head a major Hollywood studio, former Columbia Pictures chief David Puttnam has written a fascinating behind-the-scenes history of the movie business and of the unique and frequently unholy alliance between commerce and art that underpins it.

Puttnam's story moves from the early days of cinema and the rivalry between Edison and the Lumiere brothers, through the rise of the studio system, and up to the present day, with European filmmakers and politicians struggling to protect their industry and even their cultural identity from a triumphant and all-devouring Hollywood. In the process he introduces a host of colorful from Goldwyn and Zanuck to Eisner and Ovitz. Movies and Money is a groundbreaking book that will change our understanding of the movie business.

"Excellent.... A book so well written that it can easily be read at a single sitting."-- San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner

"Puttnam has a dry sense of humor, and most of his book is jammed with astonishing anecdotes and seething portraits of the personalities of film history."-- Newsday

Genres: Film, History

346 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

Reviews

[Filipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent history of Hollywood from a purely economical perspective. The way Puttnam showcases how the U.S. used its significant leverage post-WWII to export American culture and cement it as a staple of every day life is extraordinary. And he's also unabashedly in love with the power of movies. Here's a short excerpt from his own personal filmmaking manifesto:

"The medium is too powerful and too important an influence on the way we live, the way we see ourselves, to be left solely to the 'tyranny of the box office' or reduced to the sum of the lowest denominator of public taste. Movies are powerful. Good or bad, they tinker around inside your brain. They steal up on you in the darkness of the cinema to inform or confirm social attitudes. They help create a healthy, informed, concerned, and inquisitive society or, alternatively, a negative, apathetic, ignorant one-- merely a short step away from nihilism… Accepting this fact, there are only two personal madnesses that filmmakers must guard against. One is the belief that they can do everything, and the other is the belief they can do nothing. The former is arrogant in the extreme. But the latter is plainly irresponsible and unacceptable."

[Malcolm Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly can I make the point that a subsequent edition of the book had the title The Undeclared War.
The book is acceptable as a history of the cinema up to the date of publication.However a lot has changed since 1997.
Also it has to be said that the author seems shy of recounting his experience as head of production at Columbia.Read "Fast Forward" which is very enlightening.

[Eric Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does not have scandalous stories about stars and troubled film productions...if you're looking for those types of stories William Goldman and Peters Bart & Gruber have excellent titles that will give you insite into film and satisfy your pop culture curiosities.[return][return]What Puttnam achieves is a detailed history of film that shows the struggle that filmmakers on both sides of the Atlantic attaining a balance between art and commodity. Puttnam offers great insights and introduction to film's early years. Coming from the unique view of a European who became a Hollywood insider, he's able to interpret history in a way that few others saw.[return][return]Casual readers should look elsewhere, but people interested in the business of film and it's history on both sides of the Atlantic will find this book interesting and accessible.

[Frank Palardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative book, although out of date now. The nature of movies and money is the schemes change.