Robert J. Flaherty: A Biography

Paul Rotha

ISBN 10: 0812278879 / ISBN 13: 9780812278873

Published by University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983

About this Item

Clean, no marks, First Edition, 1983, from a central Florida bookstore. As shown, dust jacket has no discernible wear, and book comes with a protective Mylar cover to prevent any future wear. Olive green cover is like new with gold lettering on spine. Corners are sharp. Very light coffee stains appear on first title page. Book contains several sections of black and white photos. No marked, creased, or torn pages. A very good copy with stated paper flaws. Book will be carefully packaged for safe delivery. Paper Dragon is a 5-star seller of popular books and does not solicit buyer ratings. OSL5 VanDE.

Seller Inventory # I3-R2ZZ-1CCM

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Robert J. Flaherty: A Biography
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Publication Date: 1983
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0812278879
• ISBN 13: 9780812278873
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

About this title

Synopsis

Producer of Nanook of the North, Moana, Man of Aran, and other pioneering documentaries between 1920 and 1940, Robert J. Flaherty was America's first independent film artist. Popular conceptions of Flaherty have led many either to worship his work and regard him in mythical terms or to debunk him as a fraud and castigate him for lack of a social consciousness. Rarely has the attempt been made to understand him in the context of his times. This captivating study presents Flaherty through the eyes of someone who knew him personally—the brilliant British filmmaker and scholar Paul Rotha. A colleague and close friend of Flaherty, Rotha gives us s a powerfully written biography that is a balanced and intimate look at the life and work of an American genius.

Editor Jay Ruby has restored the Rotha biography, including a wealth of anecdotes, letters, and memoirs that begin to bring Robert Flaherty the man into focus. An especially valuable dimension of this work is the appraisal of Flaherty the filmmaker from the viewpoint of a major figure of the British industry. He summarizes in detail the critical response to Flaherty of his contemporaries, about which only sketchy information has previously been available.

Flaherty regarded himself as an explorer as well as a filmmaker. The exciting story of this biography takes us from the Arctic, where Flaherty spent years filming Nanook, to the South Pacific, England, the Aran Islands, and finally the United States. his courage and overarching vision resulted in an unprecedented recording of the human struggle and in documentary films that reached a wider audience than ever before.

About the Author

Paul Rotha (1907-1984) was a distinguished British filmmaker and author of several books, including Film Til Now and Documentary Diary. Jay Ruby is Professor of Anthropology and director of a graduate program in the anthropology of visual communication at Temple University. He is the editor of A Crack in the Mirror: Reflexive Perspectives in Anthropology, also published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.