{"product_id":"the-films-of-martin-ritt-gabriel-miller-9781578062775","title":"The Films of Martin Ritt: Fanfare for the Common Man","description":"In a Hollywood career that spanned more than thirty years, Martin Ritt (1914-1990) directed twenty-six films. Among them were some of Hollywood's most enduring works--\u003ci\u003eHud\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHombre\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Spy Who Came in from the Cold\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Molly Maguires\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Front\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNorma Rae\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In addition to displaying a passionate commitment to social issues, Ritt's body of work represents a sustained exploration of the American myth and American national character. This study of his films shows how his work articulates the communal, agrarian ideal and its perversion as industrialism and urbanism have denatured the landscape. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Encompassing a hundred years of American life, these films follow the common man through the chronology of social history, including the arrival of the railroads in the West, coal mining in nineteenth-century Pennsylvania, Jack Johnson's rise as the first black heavyweight champion of the boxing world, the television blacklist, spying and the Cold War, trade unions, and the war in Vietnam. The subjects he treats project a cultural framework for examining what America means as a nation and as an experience. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The sixties was the decade of Ritt's most sustained achievement. This period culminated in his masterpiece, \u003ci\u003eThe Molly Maguires\u003c\/i\u003e, perhaps the finest film ever made on the subject of American labor. In the first detailed analysis of this great realistic film \u003ci\u003eThe Films of Martin Ritt: Fanfare for the Common Man\u003c\/i\u003e shows that its greatness lies in Ritt's complex interweaving of love and friendship, the labor struggle, the story of the immigrant dream, and the ideal of upward mobility. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The book includes analyses of all twenty-six films, including such early works as \u003ci\u003eEdge of the City\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Long Hot Summer\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as such later successes as \u003ci\u003eNorma Rae\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSounder\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eMurphy's Romance\u003c\/i\u003e. Ritt's work in theater, notably in the Group Theatre, which he joined in 1937, and his being blacklisted from television during the 1950s, informed his directorial philosophy throughout his career. Many recognize him as America's finest director of social films.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Gabriel Miller\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1578062772\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781578062775\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Mississippi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/01\/2000\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 5.91w x 0.81d","brand":"Gabriel Miller","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46670694711551,"sku":"9781578062775","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_fb6a1258-b2e0-4c73-b573-ff7ae8df3a58.jpg?v=1741317096","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-films-of-martin-ritt-gabriel-miller-9781578062775","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}