Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic

by Mark A. Vieira, Cecilia de Mille Presley, Brett Ratner (foreword)

Colossal. Stupendous. Epic. These adjectives, used by movie companies to hawk their wares, became clichés long ago. When used to describe the films of one director, they are accurate. More than any filmmaker in the history of the medium, Cecil B. DeMille mastered the art of the spectacle. In the process, he became a filmland founder. One hundred years ago, he made the first feature film ever shot in Hollywood and went on to become the most commercially successful producer-director in history.


DeMille told his cinematic tales with painterly, extravagant images. The parting of the Red Sea in The Ten Commandments was only one of these. There were train wrecks (The Greatest Show on Earth); orgies (Manslaughter); battles (The Buccaneer); Ancient Rome (The Sign of the Cross); Ancient Egypt (Cleopatra); and the Holy Land (The Crusades). The best of these images are showcased here, in Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic.


This lavish volume opens the King Tut’s tomb of cinematic treasures that is the Cecil B. DeMille Archives, presenting storyboard art, concept paintings, and an array of photographic imagery. Historian Mark A. Vieira writes an illuminating text to accompany these scenes. Cecilia de Mille Presley relates her grandfather’s thoughts on his various films, and recalls her visits to his sets, including the Egyptian expedition to film The Ten Commandments.
Like the director’s works, Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic is a panorama of magnificence—celebrating a legendary filmmaker and the remarkable history of Hollywood.

Genres: Art, Film, History, Biography, Nonfiction

416 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2014

About the author

Mark A. Vieira is a photographer and writer. He makes glamour portraits in the classic Hollywood mode, working in the historic Granada Buildings, where George Hurrell had his first Los Angeles studio. He writes books about the artists, genres, and photographic technique of Hollywood’s Golden Era.

Reviews

[Charity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up at random off the library shelf (although hauling it out of there gave me quite a workout). Lots of beautiful pictures. Details about this director's work. I was a little disappointed to find out behind the scenes info had been covered in "other books," so they didn't include it -- I would have enjoyed learning more about the movies, their plots, the antics on set, more than just reading about the financial decisions and various struggles DeMille went through in getting his films finished. I also learned he liked to push things past the Code and add as much "sex" to his movies as possible, which explains a lot. I read some chapters, skimmed others.

[Jill booksandescape · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic by Cecilia de Mille Presley and Mark A. Vieira is a biography of Cecil B. DeMille and his entire filmography. It features an introduction by Martin Scorsese, and a foreword by Brett Ratner.


This book is incredibly informative and fascinating. It was great to read about DeMille and learn about him through his granddaughter Cecilia's eyes as well. This man knew how to make movies, and he knew how to make them big.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is beautiful, but occasionally reads like a vanity book. Worth it for the photos!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I picked this up for research for a writing project, but it was . . . amazing. And I don't like movies! Not old one, not new ones. I know, that's embarrassing to admit. But apparently I like reading about making movies lots more than watching them. This book fascinated me, although I only planned to read the first part about silent films. And then I found some Youtube clips of the movies described. Yea internet!