Sailing on the Silver Screen: Hollywood and the U.S. Navy - Hardcover

Suid, Estate Of Lawrence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1557507872 ISBN 13: 9781557507877

Publisher: US Naval Institute Press, 1996

Synopsis

For most of the past 90 years, Hollywood has used the Navy to freely obtain personnel, equipment, and locations for movies filled with adventure, romance, and drama, while the Navy gained a public image that boosted its recruiting efforts and its relations with Congress. Although the Vietnam War dis

About this title

From the Back Cover:

The author provides a fully documented history of the making of the Navy's image on film from the movie industry's earliest days. He goes behind the scenes for deliberations about the potential impact of certain movies on both the military and civilians, and examines the ripple effect of such watershed films as Top Gun, a movie that initially gave the Navy a needed post-Vietnam boost. However, when the Tailhook scandal erupted and the conduct of some aviators was attributed to the "flyboy" image projected in the movie, Top Gun became a liability. Lawrence Suid's inside revelations about the Navy's cinematic input range from pre-World War I to post-Cold War. More than 100 films, as varied as Annapolis and Hunt for Red October, are analyzed for their portrayal of the Navy. The book's focus is on feature films, but relevant documentaries and made-for-television movies are also discussed. Suid draws on original documents from the Department of Defense, National Archives, and private collections, and from interviews with more than 100 filmmakers, naval officers, and government officials.

From Publishers Weekly:

Hollywood and the U.S. Navy, judging from this thorough but lackluster study, have been scratching each other's backs for a long time. According to Suid (Guts and Glory: Great American War Movies), the Navy has looked upon film as the perfect public relations vehicle; meanwhile, Hollywood has drawn upon "the glamour inherent in Navy uniforms, jet planes, and esoteric ships to create exciting images." It was just prior to U.S. involvement in WWI, explains Suid, that filmmakers began looking to the Navy for realistic props and settings. Reluctant to promote a prowar message at that tenuous time, the Navy insisted on approving any script involving its cooperation. For the past 80 years, Navy censors have denied requests on grounds of technical inaccuracy or inappropriate story content. As a result, Suid shows, many Hollywood films have tended toward pro-Navy propaganda. Even today, the Navy will insist on, and receive, script changes-as it did, for instance, in the making of The Hunt for Red October. Ever since WWII, however, an increasing number of producers have been willing to work around the Navy when necessary. Suid writes clearly and brings to his subject deep research including dozens of interviews with Navy personnel and filmmakers. His approach is more factual than reflective, however, and his text is ultimately more useful as a resource than as critical commentary. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 1557507872
• ISBN 13: 9781557507877
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 306