The Actors' Director: Richard Attenborough Behind the Camera - Hardcover

Dougan's narrative incorporates interview comments from Attenborough, fellow directors, actors, and collaborators along with an array of on-the-set photographs to produce a book that is a real tribute. Dougan covers several of Attenborough's major films, from his debut Oh! What a Lovely War to Oscar-winning Gandhi to the disappointing A Chorus Line to the memorable Shadowlands. Brief insights are offered, simple and significant stories are told, and individual impressions are revealed. All the while, the book confirms for Attenborough admirers his talent and inspiring vision and shows to those perhaps only vaguely familiar with his work what a genuine artist and human being he is. Most of all, the book focuses on Attenborough's particular sensitivity to actors, and it is this empathy that propels his directorial gifts and brings to his films their great drama and an underlying awe at the way "various figures . . . who, by virtue of their convictions--for evil or for good--actually change the course of history." Janet St. John