Synopses & Reviews
Greed is a legendary film. Begun in 1923, it was to have been the masterwork of Erich von Stroheim, one of the most influential directors of the age. But Stroheim's colossal ambitions for this picture were to be his undoing. His obsession with realistic detail and determination to extract every ounce of drama from his source, Frank Norris's novel
McTeague, stretched the shooting schedule to inordinate lengths, resulting in a film which ran for over seven hours.
MGM, horrified, pried the film from Stroheim's grasp and hacked it to pieces, eventually releasing it at less than a quarter of its original length. It was a failure. Stroheim's career as a director never recovered, and he was forced to revert to acting, largely in the role of stereotypical Prussian that had first gained him entry into Hollywood.
Since the film's initial release, rumors have abounded as to which scenes from McTeague were actually shot, how the first cut related to a 31/2-hour version Stroheim edited himself, and how MGM's shorter version was arrived at. Jonathan Rosenbaum has made a meticulous study of all the sources. In a fascinating piece of detective work he reconstructs the history of one of cinema's greatest ruins.
Synopsis
Greed is a legendary film begun in 1923. It was to have been Erich von Stroheim's masterwork, but his colossal ambitions were to be his undoing. His obsession with realistic detail and determination to extract every ounce of drama from his source, Frank Norris's novel McTeague, stretched the shooting schedule to inordinate lengths, resulting in a film which ran for over seven hours. Jonathan Rosenbaum has made a meticulous study of all the sources. In a fascinating piece of detective work, he reconstructs the history of one of cinema's greatest ruins.
Synopsis
Greed was to have been Erich von Stroheim's masterwork, but his immense plans were his undoing. This volume reconstructs the history of the film. Each volume in the BFI Film Classics series contains a personal commentary on the film, a brief production history and a detailed filmography.
About the Author
Jonathan Rosenbaum is the author of Moving Places: A Life at the Movies and Midnight Movies, coauthored with J. Hoberman. He writes regulary for the Chicago Reader.