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Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood Audiobook
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Publisher Description
The epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967—Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Dolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde—and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood, and America, forever.
It's the mid-1960s, and westerns, war movies, and blockbuster musicals such as Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music dominate the box office. The Hollywood studio system, with its cartels of talent and its production code, is hanging strong, or so it would seem. Meanwhile, Warren Beatty wonders why his career isn't blooming after the success of his debut in Splendor in the Grass; Mike Nichols wonders if he still has a career after breaking up with Elaine May; and even though Sidney Poitier has just made history by becoming the first black Best Actor winner, he's still feeling completely cut off from opportunities other than the same "noble black man" role. And a young actor named Dustin Hoffman struggles to find any work at all.
By the time the Oscar ceremonies roll around in the spring of 1968, when In the Heat of the Night wins the 1967 Academy Award for Best Picture, a cultural revolution has hit Hollywood with the force of a tsunami. The unprecedented violence and nihilism of fellow nominee Bonnie and Clyde has shocked old-guard reviewers but helped catapult Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway into counterculture stardom and made the movie one of the year's biggest box-office successes. Just as unprecedented has been the run of nominee The Graduate, which launched first-time director Mike Nichols into a long and brilliant career in filmmaking, to say nothing of what it did for Dustin Hoffman, Simon and Garfunkel, and a generation of young people who knew that whatever their future was, it wasn't in plastics. Sidney Poitier has reprised the noble-black-man role, brilliantly, not once but twice, in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night, movies that showed in different ways both how far America had come on the subject of race in 1967 and how far it still had to go.
What City of Nets did for Hollywood in the 1940s and Easy Riders, Raging Bulls for the 1970s, Pictures at a Revolution does for Hollywood and the cultural revolution of the 1960s. As we follow the progress of these five movies, we see an entire industry change and struggle and collapse and grow—we see careers made and ruined, studios born and destroyed, and the landscape of possibility altered beyond all recognition. We see some outsized personalities staking the bets of their lives on a few films that became iconic works that defined the generation—and other outsized personalities making equally large wagers that didn't pan out at all.
The product of extraordinary and unprecedented access to the principals of all five films, married to twenty years' worth of insight covering the film industry and a bewitching storyteller's gift, Mark Harris's Pictures at a Revolution is a bravura accomplishment and a work that feels iconic itself.
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"1967 was a great year for movies and of the five academy award nominees I remember seeing four of them and thinking they were all worth being given the Oscar. This book is a fascinating look at what went into the following five pictures: Bonnie and Clyde, In the Heat of the Night; the Graduate; Guess Who's Coming to Dinner; and the monumentally terrible Doctor Dolittle. The book takes us behind the scenes to follow each movie from its inception to what happened the night of the Academy Awards. We're given all the juicy details about long drawn out negotiations with producers, the scripting processes, what went on when the movies went over their budgets, the problems with directors, producers, stars, marketing folks and the way the viewing public responded. Along the way we're treated to all sorts of other intriguing information about the film-making industry, and so for anyone who loves movies this book is a well worth reading."
— Trisha (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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Pictures at a Revolution is a superb achievement, and one can only hope that some aspiring, wild-eyed auteur reads it and storms the studio gates.
— The Boston Globe -
“Fresh and candid…A particularly accomplished debut book.”
— New York Times -
“A colorful, comprehensive, and nicely nuanced portrait of the movie industry in the throes of wrenching yet liberating change.”
— Chicago Tribune -
“Likely to be one of the classics of popular film history.”
— Washington Post -
"Pictures at a Revolution is a superb achievement, and one can only hope that some aspiring, wild-eyed auteur reads it and storms the studio gates.”
— Boston Globe -
“Lloyd James reads almost flawlessly…This outstanding audio is intriguing, lively, entertaining, and educational.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Pictures at a Revolution Listener Reviews
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" A good account of the creative processes surrounding these five movies, but I would have liked to hear more about their significance concerning the emergence of a "New Hollywood." Overall, a good read that was highly informative to a classic film buff like myself. "
— Matt, 2/20/2014 -
" AWESOME book for movie lovers. The story of 1967 as the bursting forth of New Hollywood was for me completely engrossing, especially if you've seen the films (except Dr. Doolittle, which apparently is not worth seeing). Highlights for me - Sydney Poitier's constant wrestling with the burden of being the sole leading black actor in Hollywood as he is second guessed constantly by society (and himself); Spencer Tracy's incredibly heroic effort to complete the shoot of Guess Who's Coming To Dinner while his health is completely collapsing; the amazing debacle of the production of Dr. Doolittle; all the creative shifts from Old Hollywood style studio production to the more daring approaches of Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate; the Six-Day War saving Bonnie and Clyde from a studio head who hated the film; and so much more. "
— Alex, 2/10/2014 -
" I started reading this book this morning, and despite my rather hectic Monday schedule (on a truck I haven't driven in toto since forever ago), I am now roughly halfway through it, and if I don't finish it tonight, I certainly will tomorrow. This is one hell of a read, and deftly written. "
— James, 2/8/2014 -
" This was a fascinating book about a fascinating time in Hollywood. Reading this (and other books) it almost seems miraculous that films ever get made at all when you factor in the legal issues, money issues and the ego issues. The biggest thing I'll take away from this book is that Rex Harrison was not a nice man, which might spoil future viewings of My Fair Lady! "
— Mo, 2/5/2014 -
" So, this book was so in-depth about the movies I love or have grown to love from 1967. I never knew Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were bi-sexual before. Not that a lot of evidence was presented, but then I was reminded of Christopher Strong, the film which Katharine Hepburn starred in about a woman who wore masculine clothing (it was directed by lesbian Dorothy Arzner). Hepburn also starred in Sylvia Scarlett, another chance to wear men's clothes (directed by gay George Cukor). I'd say the sexual orientation of the directors had nothing to do with the content of the movies, but it was pretty daring to make those types of films in the golden age of Hollywood. "
— Allison, 2/4/2014 -
" Fantastic book that examines the socio-cultural changes in the US as they were reflected in the 5 movies nominated for best picture in 1968. Provides an honest and open look at not only how the movies were made but what they were saying about the way that the world was changing. Very, very interesting. "
— Russell, 1/30/2014 -
" This is a good book but it is a slow read. I would only recommend this book to serious movie fans. "
— Emily, 1/20/2014 -
" I forgot I was reading this. Why is it so long? So detailed? Do we really care that much about how long it took Warren Beatty to get Bonny & Clyde made into a film? I like Mark Harris' writing better in short form. "
— Shane, 12/21/2013 -
" Fascinating account of the five films, and the changing culture in Hollywood that led to the Golden Age of the 1970s. "
— Robin, 12/10/2013 -
" A wonderfully written book about the transitional phase of the 1960s Hollywoodland when 5 movies came one at a time to usher the movie industry to the so-called New Hollywood. Especially illuminating on the germination and the production of Bonnie & Clyde! "
— Sebastian, 10/31/2013 -
" A must read for anyone in the film industry, but also would prove fascinating to anyone who is strictly a fan of film. "
— Natalie, 9/4/2013 -
" I really like books like this that tell the story of an era (here, Wetern society in the '60s) through colorful keyhole (here, the making of the first batch of American films to close out the decade in the award nominations) "
— Tom, 8/29/2013 -
" Makes me want to re-watch all of the films, well, with the exception of Dr. Doolittle. "
— Julie, 8/14/2013 -
" Quite good, with plenty of fascinating stories and thoughtful history, but what I came away with was mostly feeling really sorry for Sidney Poitier. "
— Schmerica, 8/7/2013 -
" Second reading (completed 02/11/13). Really holds up well; an absorbing account. A great snapshot of the U.S. in the mid-60s. "
— Peter, 2/10/2013 -
" I didn't think I'd like this book, but it was interesting to read about the background of the movies that were nominated for best picture in 1967. Go Bonnie and Clyde! "
— Joan, 12/24/2012 -
" Great book about movies. I highly recommend it. "
— Paul, 10/21/2012 -
" A skilled narrative that follows the history of the five best picture nominees from 1967, a year that changed movies forever. I was fascinated from start to finish. "
— Jen, 6/29/2012 -
" One of best books of '08? Good, but not that good. Fun for anyone like me who lived through the 60's and enlightening about the impact of these films on the times and the movie industry. "
— Denise, 6/22/2012 -
" Chronicles the development and filming of 1967's Best Picture nominees and the clash between Old Hollywood, as represented by the bloated disaster Dr. Dolittle and the already outdated Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and the New Hollywood of Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate and In the Heat of the Night. "
— Margaret, 6/17/2012 -
" Unintentionally read this just after finishing "1968." So there was some interesting overlap. I liked the way he followed the movies chronologically. Rex Harrison was an ass! "
— Deidre, 1/25/2012 -
" Great book. Well written. Couldn't put it down. Pair it with Girls Like Us about Joni, Carol and Carly also really excellent for baby boomers. "
— Steven, 5/28/2011 -
" This book is incredible. It reads like a fiction book - keeping the implicit tension taut - but stays true-to-life. I don't own that many books but I immediately leaped when I had the opportunity to purchase this one. "
— Jennifer, 4/27/2011 -
" This book is about the five Academy Award nominees for best picture, but turns out to be about much more, the changes of the sixties as shown in the changes in the movies. "
— Scott, 3/4/2011 -
" The template for how to write a satisfying, entertaining, and analytical work on film history. "
— Daniel, 1/3/2011 -
" Fascinating account of the five films, and the changing culture in Hollywood that led to the Golden Age of the 1970s. "
— Robin, 12/28/2010 -
" A good account of the creative processes surrounding these five movies, but I would have liked to hear more about their significance concerning the emergence of a "New Hollywood." Overall, a good read that was highly informative to a classic film buff like myself. "
— Matt, 10/27/2010 -
" Well-researched and definitive come to mind here. "
— David, 9/27/2010
About Mark Harris
Mark Harris has worked for many years as a writer and an editor covering movies, television, and books for Entertainment Weekly. He is the author of Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood. A graduate of Yale University, he lives in New York City with his husband, Tony Kushner.
About Lloyd James
Lloyd James (a.k.a. Sean Pratt) has been a working professional actor in theater, film, television, and voice-overs for more than thirty years. He has narrated over one thousand audiobooks and won numerous Earphones Awards and nominations for the Audie Award and the Voice Arts Award. He holds a BFA degree in acting from Santa Fe University, New Mexico.