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Cecil B. DeMille

The Art of the Hollywood Epic

Cecil B. DeMille Open the full-size image

Contributors

By Cecilia de Mille Presley

By Mark A. Vieira

Introduction by Martin Scorsese

Foreword by Brett Ratner

Formats and Prices

Price

$60.00

Price

$75.00 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Hardcover $60.00 $75.00 CAD
  2. ebook $36.99 $47.99 CAD

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Colossal. Stupendous. Epic. These adjectives, used by movie companies to hawk their wares, became clichélong ago. When used to describe the films of one director, they are accurate. More than any filmmaker in the history of the medium, Cecil B. DeMille mastered the art of the spectacle. In the process, he became a filmland founder. One hundred years ago, he made the first feature film ever shot in Hollywood and went on to become the most commercially successful producer-director in history.

DeMille told his cinematic tales with painterly, extravagant images. The parting of the Red Sea in The Ten Commandments was only one of these. There were train wrecks (The Greatest Show on Earth); orgies (Manslaughter); battles (The Buccaneer); Ancient Rome (The Sign of the Cross); Ancient Egypt (Cleopatra); and the Holy Land (The Crusades). The best of these images are showcased here, in Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic.

This lavish volume opens the King Tut’s tomb of cinematic treasures that is the Cecil B. DeMille Archives, presenting storyboard art, concept paintings, and an array of photographic imagery. Historian Mark A. Vieira writes an illuminating text to accompany these scenes. Cecilia de Mille Presley relates her grandfather’s thoughts on his various films, and recalls her visits to his sets, including the Egyptian expedition to film The Ten Commandments.

Like the director’s works, Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic is a panorama of magnificence-celebrating a legendary filmmaker and the remarkable history of Hollywood.

Genre:

  • “An opulently beautiful photographic history of the director.”
    —VanityFair.com
    “This book, by Cecilia deMille Presley and Mark Vieira, is everything DeMille's movies were — stupendous, lavish, colorful, too much and not enough. It is packed with fabulous photos — of the great DeMille stars, mammoth sets, costume sketches. And chock full of anecdotes about the man himself.”
    —Liz Smith, NewYorkSocialDiary.com
    “This lavishly produced book is worthy of its subject: a giant volume celebrating the work of a man who looms over film history, larger than life. Historian and photographer Vieira has culled stunning stills and conceptual artwork from the DeMille archives and photographed surviving props and costumes to illustrate his lively, anecdotal text. The director's loving granddaughter has added her vivid memories of the man she knew and her visits to his movie sets. Scorsese, ever the enthusiast, shares his earliest memories of seeing DeMille movies on a theater screen before discovering his groundbreaking work in the silent era. Whether you choose to read or simply browse, this beautiful tome is well worth owning.”
    —Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy

On Sale
Dec 16, 2014
Page Count
416 pages
Publisher
Running Press
ISBN-13
9780762454907

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Cecilia de Mille Presley

About the Author

Mark A. Vieira is a photographer and writer who specializes in Hollywood history. He has lectured at USC, UCLA, Lincoln Center, Universal Studios, the Hollywood Heritage Museum, and the Palm Springs Film Festival. Vieira has appeared in documentaries such as TCM’s Moguls and Movie Stars, Playboy‘s Sex at 24 Frames Per Second, and the BBC’s Shooting the Stars. He is also the author of George Hurrell’s Hollywood, Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy, and Majestic Hollywood, among other film-related titles. Vieira resides in Los Angeles.

Cecilia DeMille Presley is the president of the Cecil B. DeMille Foundation, which endows higher education and child welfare in Southern California. She produces documentaries and serves as vice chairman of the National Film Preservation Foundation. She is also on the board of trustees of the American Film Institute, the Chapman University School of Film, and the executive board of the UCLA School of Film & Television. Presley lives in Newport Beach, California.

Learn more about this author

Mark A. Vieira

About the Author

Mark A. Vieira is a filmmaker, photographer, and writer who specializes in Hollywood history. He is the author of Warner Bros. 100, Forbidden Hollywood, Cecil B. DeMille, Into the Dark, and many other film-related titles. He is also the creator of the documentary series DeMille Is Hollywood. Vieira has also appeared in documentaries such as Turner Classic Movies’ Garbo. He has lectured at USC, UCLA, Lincoln Center, and Universal Studios. Vieira resides in the Westlake District of Los Angeles.

Learn more about this author