{"product_id":"peerless-kurt-jensen-9780299348205","title":"Peerless: Rouben Mamoulian, Hollywood, and Broadway","description":"A proud Armenian who claimed a distant link to nobility, born in what was then part of czarist Russia, Rouben Mamoulian (1897-1987) was one of the most astonishing and confounding figures in American film and theater, directing the original stage productions of \u003ci\u003ePorgy 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. Mamoulian's mercurial confidence and autocratic tendencies were among the reasons he had a reputation for being uncompromising. This frustrating mix of genius and stubbornness, of critical successes and financial flops, has proven challenging for biographers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Kurt Jensen's magisterial volume, extensively researched and filled with trenchant observations, brings to life this charming, flawed, and fascinating man-and demonstrates how the wellspring of his art contained the seeds of his own destruction. Drawing upon Mamoulian's unfinished memoir and voluminous diaries, as well as interviews with the director's surviving collaborators, Jensen 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. A tour de force, \u003ci\u003ePeerless\u003c\/i\u003e offers readers a multifaceted, in-depth look at an idiosyncratic genius.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kurt Jensen\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0299348202\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780299348205\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Wisconsin Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/07\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 376\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.56lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/26\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2024 pg. 98","brand":"Kurt Jensen","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":45065071919359,"sku":"9780299348205","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_f66c99cc-df00-4d3b-94e2-e5a73d23345b.jpg?v=1712125502","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/peerless-kurt-jensen-9780299348205","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}