Sydney Pollack: A Critical Filmography

by Janet L. Meyer

Jeremiah Johnson, The Way We Were, Absence of Malice, Out of Africa, Tootsie, The Firm, Searching for Bobby Fischer -Pollack has produced, directed or appeared in some of the biggest and most influential films of the last quarter century. Film-by-film, this work examines his directorial career, including television, as well as his production and acting credits.

236 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1998

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A concise but engaging overview of Sydney Pollack's filmography (up through 1995, anyway). I've seen all of the films discussed here aside from his remake of "Sabrina" (I still need to see the original), and - although it can be pretty hit or miss - I think it's inarguable that his body of work is impressively varied.

In my opinion, his run from additional contributions to "The Swimmer" through to "Castle Keep," "They Shoot Horses, Don't They," "Jeremiah Johnson," "The Way We Were," "The Yakuza," and "Three Days of the Condor" is up there with the best. They're not all 5-star masterpieces, but they certainly hold up well to modern eyes ("Castle Keep," in particular, deserves to be MUCH more widely seen, it's phenomenal).

[Tim Evanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is exceptionally comprehensive, and covers almost everything you'd ever want to know about film director and actor Sydney Pollack. The problem is that it's written like the driest encyclopedia article ever known to man. Even when the author is discussing Pollack's films from a critical perspective, the prose is so dry and bland that it's hard going.

Nonetheless, anyone interested in Pollack should read the book. It misses nothing!