There's No Going Back

The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme (livre en anglais)

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de David M. Stewart

Type: Biographies
Sujet: Réalisateur > Jonathan Demme
Mots Clés: Jonathan Demme, réalisateur
Année d'édition: 2025 (29 juillet 2025)
Editeur: University Press of Kentucky
Collection: Screen Classics
Langue: anglais

Taille du livre

Format

Relié • 280 pages
14,5 x 22 cm

ISBN

978-1-9859026-5-7

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Description de l'ouvrage :
Jonathan Demme, one of the most influential and dynamic directors of the twentieth century, was a fearless and radical filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer―a compassionate artist, advocate, and humanist who was compelled to tell the stories of marginalized communities. His intense passion and appreciation of music, culture, and art were interwoven throughout his life and extraordinary body of work.

There's No Going Back is the first complete biography of an auteur whose remarkable and versatile career encompassed acclaimed narratives, documentaries, and films spanning nearly five decades. Best known for Melvin and Howard (1980), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Philadelphia (1993), and Beloved (1998), Demme was an Oscar-winning filmmaker with a recognizable style and voice. He often used that voice to champion women's rights and amplify social and environmental justice issues. Demme was also well regarded for the loyalty, devotion, and collegiality shown to the actors, camera crew, and technical staff he employed in his projects.

Cinephile and journalist David M. Stewart affirms that Demme was more than just a quirky filmmaker or a product of 1970s New Hollywood; he was ceaseless and earnest in his approach to capturing humanity in all its complexities. Drawing from interviews with Demme's collaborators and colleagues, Stewart presents the many facets of the filmmaker's life as seen through the eyes of those who were in his warm, eclectic orbit. There's No Going Back is a compelling and fitting tribute to the brilliance and breadth of the man behind the camera.

À propos de l'auteur :
David M. Stewart is a published scholar and film journalist and has been writing about movies since he was a high school senior. He worked on the set of the film The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) and did research for the documentary Hal (2018). His work can be seen in Air Mail, the Film Stage, the Arts Fuse, and PleaseKillMe.com. He teaches film and media studies at Emerson College, Plymouth State University, and Southern New Hampshire University. He lives outside of Boston.

Revue de Presse :
"This nicely detailed, well-researched book provides keen insight into one of modern Hollywood's most noteworthy filmmakers, the inner workings of the film industry, and the navigational skill required of a filmmaker to work within a profit-driven, studio-dominated system retaining a commitment to art."―Joseph B. Atkins, author of Harry Dean Stanton Hollywood's Zen Rebel

"Like John Ford and Howard Hawks, Jonathan Demme is entitled to several biographies. David Stewart's is more than a good start―it's a smart, acute, compassionate, and rightly admiring (but never whitewashed) account of the man and his work."―Glenn Kenny, film critic for RogerEbert.com and the New York Times

"An entertaining road trip through the works of one of the great humanist directors. Stewart gives newbies a lively introduction to Demme's documentaries and feature films while providing details even the filmmaker's biggest fans may not know."―Odie Henderson, author of Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras: A History of Blaxploitation Cinema

"Despite being the director of the modern horror classic The Silence of the Lambs, the triumphal Talking Heads concert documentary Stop Making Sense, and the dark screwball thriller Something Wild, Jonathan Demme has never truly gotten his full due as a creative force, independent spirit, and all-around mensch―until now. An act of invocation, Stewart's compulsively snackable biography restores Demme to his rightful place in the celluloid heights."―James Wolcott, columnist at Air Mail and author of Lucking Out

"Jonathan Demme's excitement for filmmaking, dedication, and passion for storytelling made him the legend he was. There's No Going Back takes you on an unforgettable journey through the ups and downs of the life of one of the most important and memorable filmmakers of our time. Iconic, powerful, and inspirational. A must-read for any artist, storyteller, or lover of film."―Mike Sargent,filmmaker, chief film critic for WBAI-FM 99.5 NYC, and co-founder of the Black Film Critics' Circle

"In this admiring biography, Stewart sums up Demme's life and career, from his early days as a film critic for his college newspaper and a publicity-department dogsbody for Embassy Pictures to a director of the first order. . . . There's a lot here to entertain fans. . .with enlightening behind-the-scenes stories. A heartfelt appraisal of a cinema iconoclast."―Kirkus

"David M. Stewart's brisk, comprehensive, and insightful There's No Going Back: The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme epitomizes the kind of character the filmmaker, who died in 2017 at the age of 73, would demonstrate throughout his life. . . . Throughout (his) ups and downs, Demme remained true to his basic decency and humanity. These are the themes, plus an insatiable curiosity and passion for experience, which are the defining marks of his wide-ranging oeuvre. . . . It is a portrait of the artist as a good man."―The Arts Fuse

"A rich and revelatory profile rather than a formal biography, There's No Going Back is as surprising and inventive as the films made by its subject, Jonathan Demme. Demme (whom I had the pleasure of knowing) exuded optimism and inspired collaboration in his work. He managed to combine politics and cinema, and would have loved the way David Stewart charts his peripatetic life and career from his early, earthy Roger Corman films to the Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs. The book also explores the legend of Swing Shift that was assassinated by its studio and nearly ended Demme's career. This is a book that offers a clear-eyed look at the New Hollywood and how a nice guy and brilliant talent survived the gauntlet and left a stunning personal and professional legacy. He and his films are missed."―Nat Segaloff, author of Arthur Penn: American Director, The Exorcist Legacy, and A Century of Scarface

"Extremely well-researched and undeniably respectful of the accomplishments of (Demme)."―YES! Weekly

"In There's No Going Back, David M. Stewart ties Demme's unusually diverse filmography together in an entertaining account focused on the films without losing sight of the man who made them. . . . Stewart's biography is compelling testimony for Demme's role as an insider-outsider in an industry that, in the last years of his life, was increasingly inhospitable to creativity."―Shepherd Express

"Stewart uncovers plenty of charming details about Demme's life, including his stint working for Embassy Pictures as a young man. . . . His was a complex career and one filled with struggle, including battles with star Goldie Hawn over the making of Swing Shift. The prevailing mood in There's No Going Back, though, is of an artist who never stopped searching."―The Film Stage

"For fans of Jonathan Demme, There's No Going Back provides an illuminating and loving portrait of this great filmmaker while for cinephiles and movie fans in general, it is packed with fascinating behind-the-scenes details of both low budget independent and big budget studio movie production."―Film International

"There's No Going Back is not primarily a critical analysis of Demme's films but rather a rich biographical account of the complex evolution of his film career. This is made possible in no small part because of Stewart's interviews and communications with a wide range of people who knew Demme. . . . Stewart tells us early on that his book is not a definitive biography but rather 'an investigative labor of love that hopes to honor and understand Jonathan Demme as a filmmaker and humanist whose work served as a beacon of hope in troubled times.' The author's affection for his subject is clear, and his thorough research enables him to give a comprehensive portrait of Demme's film-making journey. This biography succeeds admirably in carrying out the author's aim."―Cineaste