All My Flashbacks skriven av Lewis Gilbert med Marcus Hearn
Av: Anders Frejdh
Publicerad:
2018-02-28
Efter att ha regisserat tre av de största Bond-filmerna - Man lever bara två gånger (1967), Älskade spion (1977) och Moonraker (1979) - publicerade Reynolds & Hearn den efterlängtade självbiografin av Lewis Gilberts i maj 2010. Det var minst sagt en underhållande läsning för alla film-fantaster och Bond-älskare.
Lewis Gilbert fick en framträdande plats på brittiska biografer under 50-talet genom att regissera framgångsrika filmer såsom
Han Gav Sig Aldrig (Originaltitel: Reach for the Sky),
Spion M 15 (Originaltitel: Carve Her Name with Pride) och
Sänk Bismarck! (Originaltitel: Sink the Bismarck!). Den sistnämnda gav den då okände Michael Caine en Oscar nominering.
Under sextiotalet regisserade han bland
Alfie. Gilbert regisserade även tre av de mest påkostade James Bond-filmerna:
Man Lever Bara Två Gånger,
Älskade Spion och
Moonraker. Under 80-talet fokuserade han på mindre dramafilmer och regisserade
Willy Russells Timmarna med Rita (Originaltitel: Educating Rita) och
Shirley Valentine.
Detta är Lewis Gilbert egen berättelse - femtio år på toppen av filmbranschen.
Bokens redaktör, Marcus Hearn, minns Lewis Gilbert som avled i februari 2018
It was a privilege to publish Lewis Gilbert’s autobiography back in 2010. I was in awe of his work and incredible versatility long before I met him. There may have been other directors who could have made
Moonraker and
Educating Rita, but to have excelled at both, within the space of just four years, made him a unique talent amongst British filmmakers.
We spent many happy days working on the manuscript and going through his remarkable scrapbooks, selecting pictures. He was a wealthy man, but was refreshingly pragmatic when, one winter’s afternoon, his central heating failed to keep us comfortable. “I know what to do,” he announced, “we’ll work in the kitchen.” As I gathered my laptop and a pile of papers I found myself wondering how moving to a similarly chilly room was going to help us. His plan soon became clear – he opened the oven door and switched it on. “There you are,” he beamed. “That’ll warm us up in no time.”
Lewis brought a similarly pragmatic approach to his Bond films, and was astonished by how much
Moonraker ended up costing. I sensed that he was surprised the series was able to survive its excesses.
When I knew Lewis he was in his late 80s and could look back on a distinguished career, but he was still haunted by lost opportunities. Chief amongst these was
Oliver!, which he had longed to direct in 1968. He told me that he still had nightmares about the circumstances that came between him and this cherished project.
Despite his age, Lewis refused to accept that he had become an insurance risk to potential employers. He was still working on screenplays, and hoped to find a younger director he could work alongside. After all, he pointed out,
Charles Crichton had made
A Fish Called Wanda under a similar arrangement. At one point he even offered me a job as his assistant. While this was a tempting offer, I could see that Lewis’ ambitions would soon be curtailed by his failing health.
Some of today’s most prominent tributes have included headlines that describe Lewis as a ‘James Bond director’. He was, of course, so much more than that, but he was proud of his association with 007. And rightly so – over the course of three incredible films he proved that nobody did it better.
Bokfakta:
Inbunden: 400 sidor, 40 färg/svartvia bilder
Förlag:
Reynolds & Hearn Ltd
ISBN-10: 1 904674-24-5
ISBN-13: 978-1904674245
Format: 234 x 152 mm
Pris: 19.99 pund
Beställ boken till ett rabatterat pris från Amazon UK.
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#biografier
#lewis_gilbert