Film Stardom, Myth and Classicism: The Rise of Hollywood's Gods

by Michael Williams

Since the golden era of silent movies, stars have been described as screen gods, goddesses and idols. This is the story of how Olympus moved to Hollywood to divinise stars as Apollos and Venuses for the modern age, and defined a model of stardom that is still with us today.

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Michael Williams is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Southampton, UK. His monograph Ivor Novello: Screen Idol, was published in 2003. He has also written on film stardom, British cinema, landscape, sexuality and film heritage.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a tough one to read, only because it read like a scholarly paper instead of a book. While the topic was interesting, it was hard to get past the style of writing in which it was couched.

[Kevin Brianton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a great idea, but the book has a convoluted style that makes it very hard to read.