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.
“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
