Method Actors: Three Generations of an American Acting Style - Hardcover

Vineberg, Steve

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0028726855 ISBN 13: 9780028726854

Publisher: Macmillan USA, 1991

Synopsis

This is a history of the style that has pervaded American acting for more than 50 years. The author appraises the fruits of Method training by the psychological truth and candour in the performances of such actors as Marlon Brando, Jason Robards, Rod Steiger and James Dean. He observes how the Method's "third generation" - Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, and Jack Nicholson, among others - brought a distinctive tone of hip disenchantment to films of the 1960s and 1970s. And he uses Dustin Hoffman's performance in the Broadway revival of "Death of a Salesman" to show how the Method has continued to evolve.

About this title

Synopsis:

"Method Actors" presents a history of the pervasive influence of the "Method", the preeminent acting style in America for more than 50 years. At the heart of the book is Vineberg's critical survey of method actors, defined not simply by their training, but by their commitment to psychological truth and emotional candour in their performances. Beginning with the origins of method acting on the stage and screen, he then offers portraits of such Method actors as Marlon Brando, James Dean, Eva Marie Saint and Montgomery Clift. Vineberg includes not only those who have formally studied the "Method", but also those whose acting is true to the "Method" ideal. During the 1960s and 1970s, members of what Vineberg terms the first "post-Strasberg generation", Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson, helped establish this period's distinctive tone of hip disenchantment. Illustrating how the "Method" has changed over more than half a century, Vienberg critically examines Dustin Hoffman's celebrated performance in the Broadway revival of "Death of a Salesman".

About this edition

• Publisher: Macmillan USA
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0028726855
• ISBN 13: 9780028726854
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288