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Rating: 
Summary: But who is the Quiet American?
Review: An interesting book about a controversial film. The author suggests the changing of the script from anti American to Pro American was done by the Director to make it more acceptable to the US public.
Yet he fails to mention the role model for the "Quiet American", Edward Lansdale, who was responsible for assisting Ngo Dinh Diem to maintain power. Lansale also had a hand in the changes to the film script yet is not mentioned in this book - why not?See The Quiet American : Text and Criticism (Viking Critical Library) by Graham Greene, John Clark Pratt (Editor) (Paperback - January 1996) which includes letters from Lansdale to Mankiewicz showing his delight at the changes. Another propaganda tactic to sell the US on war? yet overlooked in this book, perhaps intentionally? Sad that 3 million Vietnamese had to die, and a few Americans.
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Summary: Behind the Scenes
Review: I have read a few movie making books, but this book is a revelation about how many things can go wrong during production, how stuff like the flu, misplaced permits, even inoculations, could cause a movie to flop. Russo makes us feel how all these actors and crew worked so hard--knowing it was getting worse every day and the movie itself would not be what they wanted. I just loved this book to find out about Vanessa Redgrave's father and what Saigon was like before American soldiers changed it forever.
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Summary: An explosive account of a film that went by without impact.
Review: The author spares no one and writes without malice, nor affection. No scholarly treatise here but a story taking the reader to the locations. It is such a fine work...The author took evasions and admissions and given sundry reports and wove them into a powerful rendering of what was a tragic film disaster..showing it in all its inevitable choices for failure.. Everyone was treated with care and shown as they were.. This will be a book long treasured by film buffs for its frankness and honest appraisals. The photo sections are wonderful for their range and depicted not only how people worked, but what they were interested in while there..a collection of smiles bravely facing a fiasco. It's one hell of a book..
Rating:
Summary: A MUST-READ FOR ALL CINEASTS!
Review: The Quiet American is quiet no more! Russo covers--and uncovers--a lot of ground (some where bodies are buried!) in this detailed account of the making of the Quiet American. First, he paints a gripping picture of life and work in SE Asia in the period that's the calm before the storm. He breaths new life into the fading reputations of director and stars--especially the gorgeous but miscast leading lady. By all appearances well-researched, this history is peppered with intriguing nuggets of show-biz gossip. An interesting hybrid of scholarly and fan-mag writing. Highly recommended for film buffs and Murphians.
Rating:
Summary: REAL INSIGHTS INTO AUDIE MURPHY!
Review: This book has info about Audie that is not anywhere else. The author interviewed people close to Audie who never have talked about him before for publication. The movie The Quiet American was a special project for him, according to his best friend Willard Willingham. He soon hated doing it because Vietnam, even in 1957, was not a pleasant place before the war. This book reads like a novel but is all true. If you really want insights into Audie Murphy, you must read this book. Despite all that happened, he knew what he had to do. He was not just an actor. He was a hero--and in the Quiet American, he played the part to perfection. There is another remake of the movie now filmed, but nothing can top the original.
Rating:
Summary: A Thoughtful Damn
Review: This really is a marvelous book--full of all the details and asides that you don't get to read elsewhere. I found it amusing as well as informative. The author, Dr. Russo, clearly knows his subject--and shares his knowledge in a very entertaining way.
Rating:
Summary: Special Book!
Review: What I like most about this book is that it takes a few months from 1957 on a film location and tells how it feels to be there. The movie was not great, and it was forgotten soon enough. Yet, the atmosphere of film making and the camaraderie of the crew and cast is just a wonderful experience. Yes, they had some terrible times, with ego clashing and scandals covered up, but it is such a nostalgic little story, reading like a novel. All the people in the story, Audie Murphy and Michael Redgrave, mostly are fascinating, and how nice to have a special look at them. I truly enjoyed this armchair escape to another time and another place. Thanks!
Rating:
Summary: Special Book!
Review: What I like most about this book is that it takes a few months from 1957 on a film location and tells how it feels to be there. The movie was not great, and it was forgotten soon enough. Yet, the atmosphere of film making and the camaraderie of the crew and cast is just a wonderful experience. Yes, they had some terrible times, with ego clashing and scandals covered up, but it is such a nostalgic little story, reading like a novel. All the people in the story, Audie Murphy and Michael Redgrave, mostly are fascinating, and how nice to have a special look at them. I truly enjoyed this armchair escape to another time and another place. Thanks!
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