The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood

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ApproximatelyRM 23.72
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Item specifics

Condition
Good: A book that has been read but is in good condition. Very minimal damage to the cover including ...
Release Year
2020
ISBN
9781250301826
Category

About this product

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Flatiron Books
ISBN-10
1250301823
ISBN-13
9781250301826
eBay Product ID (ePID)
5038810439

Product Key Features

Book Title
Big Goodbye : Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood
Number of Pages
416 Pages
Language
English
Publication Year
2020
Topic
Film / General, Film / Genres / Crime, Entertainment & Performing Arts, Film / History & Criticism
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
Performing Arts, Biography & Autobiography
Author
Sam Wasson
Format
Hardcover

Dimensions

Item Height
1.5 in
Item Weight
20.8 Oz
Item Length
9.6 in
Item Width
6.4 in

Additional Product Features

Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
2019-045207
TitleLeading
The
Dewey Edition
23
Reviews
"The wondrous thing about Sam Wasson's new book is that it feels both necessary and inevitable - as if Chinatown couldn't (or shouldn't) exist without it. Reading The Big Goodbye, something strange happens: it acquires the historical, dizzying, incestuous gravitas of the film itself. Wasson has a habit of making vividly thematic, compassionately revelatory art." - Bruce Wagner , author of Force Majeure and I Met Someone "Sam Wasson has written a smart, human and utterly engaging book about an iconic American movie. With its rich depiction of 1970s Hollywood, The Big Goodbye is grounded in marvelous reportorial detail and moves with novelistic urgency." - Julie Salamon , author of The Devil's Candy and An Innocent Bystander, "The wondrous thing about Sam Wasson's new book is that it feels both necessary and inevitable - as if Chinatown couldn't (or shouldn't) exist without it. Reading The Big Goodbye, something strange happens: it acquires the historical, dizzying, incestuous gravitas of the film itself. Wasson has a habit of making vividly thematic, compassionately revelatory art." - Bruce Wagner , author of Force Majeure and I Met Someone "Sam Wasson has written a smart, human and utterly engaging book about an iconic American movie. With its rich depiction of 1970s Hollywood, The Big Goodbye is grounded in marvelous reportorial detail and moves with novelistic urgency." - Julie Salamon , author of The Devil's Candy and An Innocent Bystander "A fascinating dive into Hollywood" -- Maureen Dowd, New York Times " Chinatown (1974) was a watershed moment in a colorful era of American filmmaking. Wasson looks past the myth to tell the true story of its making." -- USA Today , "Winter Reading Guide: This Season's Must-Read Books" "If you love Chinatown, then you'll love The Big Goodbye-- and it's good reading for any American cinema buff." -- Kirkus Reviews "Inimitable Wasson...argues convincingly that Chinatown was one of the last great Hollywood films... this portrait of a neonoir classic will cast a spell over cinephiles." -- Library Journal, starred review, "The wondrous thing about Sam Wasson's new book is that it feels both necessary and inevitable - as if Chinatown couldn't (or shouldn't) exist without it. Reading The Big Goodbye, something strange happens: it acquires the historical, dizzying, incestuous gravitas of the film itself. Wasson has a habit of making vividly thematic, compassionately revelatory art." - Bruce Wagner , author of Force Majeure and I Met Someone "Sam Wasson has written a smart, human and utterly engaging book about an iconic American movie. With its rich depiction of 1970s Hollywood, The Big Goodbye is grounded in marvelous reportorial detail and moves with novelistic urgency." - Julie Salamon , author of The Devil's Candy and An Innocent Bystander "A fascinating dive into Hollywood" -- Maureen Dowd, New York Times " Chinatown (1974) was a watershed moment in a colorful era of American filmmaking. Wasson looks past the myth to tell the true story of its making." -- USA Today , "Winter Reading Guide: This Season's Must-Read Books" "If you love Chinatown, then you'll love The Big Goodbye-- and it's good reading for any American cinema buff." -- Kirkus Reviews "Inimitable Wasson... argues convincingly that Chinatown was one of the last great Hollywood films... this portrait of a neonoir classic will a spell over cinephiles." -- Library Journal, starred review
Dewey Decimal
791.4372
Synopsis
From the New York Times bestselling author of Fifth Avenue, Five A.M . and Fosse comes the revelatory account of the making of a modern American masterpiece. Chinatown is the Holy Grail of 1970s cinema. Its twist ending is the most notorious in American film and its closing line of dialogue the most haunting. Here for the first time is the incredible true story of its making. In Sam Wasson's telling, it becomes the defining story of the most colorful characters in the most colorful period of Hollywood history. Here is Jack Nicholson at the height of his powers, as compelling a movie star as there has ever been, embarking on his great, doomed love affair with Anjelica Huston. Here is director Roman Polanski, both predator and prey, haunted by the savage death of his wife, returning to Los Angeles, the scene of the crime, where the seeds of his own self-destruction are quickly planted. Here is the fevered dealmaking of "The Kid" Robert Evans, the most consummate of producers. Here too is Robert Towne's fabled script, widely considered the greatest original screenplay ever written. Wasson for the first time peels off layers of myth to provide the true account of its creation. Looming over the story of this classic movie is the imminent eclipse of the '70s filmmaker-friendly studios as they gave way to the corporate Hollywood we know today. In telling that larger story, The Big Goodbye will take its place alongside classics like Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and The Devil's Candy as one of the great movie-world books ever written. Praise for Sam Wasson: "Wasson is a canny chronicler of old Hollywood and its outsize personalities...More than that, he understands that style matters, and, like his subjects, he has a flair for it." - The New Yorker "Sam Wasson is a fabulous social historian because he finds meaning in situations and stories that would otherwise be forgotten if he didn't sleuth them out, lovingly." - Hilton Als, From the New York Times bestselling author of Fifth Avenue, Five A.M . and Fosse comes the revelatory account of the making of a modern American masterpiece Chinatown is the Holy Grail of 1970s cinema. Its twist ending is the most notorious in American film and its closing line of dialogue the most haunting. Here for the first time is the incredible true story of its making. In Sam Wasson's telling, it becomes the defining story of the most colorful characters in the most colorful period of Hollywood history. Here is Jack Nicholson at the height of his powers, as compelling a movie star as there has ever been, embarking on his great, doomed love affair with Anjelica Huston. Here is director Roman Polanski, both predator and prey, haunted by the savage death of his wife, returning to Los Angeles, the scene of the crime, where the seeds of his own self-destruction are quickly planted. Here is the fevered dealmaking of "The Kid" Robert Evans, the most consummate of producers. Here too is Robert Towne's fabled script, widely considered the greatest original screenplay ever written. Wasson for the first time peels off layers of myth to provide the true account of its creation. Looming over the story of this classic movie is the imminent eclipse of the '70s filmmaker-friendly studios as they gave way to the corporate Hollywood we know today. In telling that larger story, The Big Goodbye will take its place alongside classics like Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and The Devil's Candy as one of the great movie-world books ever written. Praise for Sam Wasson: "Wasson is a canny chronicler of old Hollywood and its outsize personalities...More than that, he understands that style matters, and, like his subjects, he has a flair for it." - The New Yorker "Sam Wasson is a fabulous social historian because he finds meaning in situations and stories that would otherwise be forgotten if he didn't sleuth them out, lovingly." - Hilton Als
LC Classification Number
PN1997.C46447W37

Item description from the seller

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  • j***2 (60)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past month
    Verified purchase
    ☆☆☆ Seller. Is not the picture of actual recieved item. Listing photo was pulled from internet and used as placeholder, according to sellers listing. Thats on me for buying the cheapest one without looking at listing fully. Would have been better to not use another persons photo on seller's listing as the specific guide book advertised has reflective bits, the one i recieved did not.. At least it arrived and is decent enough to use and look at. Packed ok. Shipped promptly. Thank you.
  • k***i (36)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past 6 months
    Verified purchase
    Fantastic price, faster shipping than expected, item as described. However, packaging was a thin plastic envelope instead of bubble/ cardboard. Book arrived new yet slightly damaged. Not worth asking for a return due to the very low price, yet would suggest to seller/ future buyers to have better packaging for shipping. Thanks.
  • e***u (4503)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past month
    Verified purchase
    Well the stock photo was just that, a stock photo and the item did not include the other material shown, which I had asked about. A chance you take. Otherwise, in good shape, shipped promptly, plastic bag envelope (nothing wrong with that for the price, but subject to beatings by the PO dolts. Yes, i will still buy from them if the price is reasonable.