- Paperback: 592 pages
- Publisher: Boulevard (Trd Pap) (Jun 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 157297267X
- ISBN-13: 978-1572972674
- Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 15.2 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,558,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Synopsis
In his memoirs, Charlton Heston reflects on his life, his career as an actor, the political and personal principles which have influenced him, and on his family life. It is also full of stories about Heston's great contemporaries and co-stars, which include the most famous Hollywood names of the last 40 years.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Charlton Heston, like the roles he has played on both stage and screen, has had an epic influence on American and world cinema. With his career spanning over half a century, he may be regarded as one of the few true Hollywood greats.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Charlton Heston's larger-than-life screen presence comes through on every page of his wonderful 1995 autobiography, which is a really great read. Heston grew up in a poor family in the woods of northern Michigan, where he learned to hunt at an early age. He was a painfully shy boy, but gained confidence in his high school's senior play, and as he says, he never looked back. He won a University scholarship and there he had his first-ever date. Her name was Lydia; she was an acting student, and they have been happily married now for over 60 years.
Heston began his career on the stage; he loves acting and directing plays, especially Shakespeare, and has done almost as many plays as movies. We get all the fascinating behind-the-scenes stories, learn which movies he is most proud of and those that make him cringe, the co-stars he admired and those he didn't. He has no false modesty about his power as an international movie star, yet he comes across as a genuinely nice man who treasures his family.
Charlton Heston's fans are sure to enjoy this well-written, heartfelt autobiography.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I like to read good books about movie actors,directors and the American/British film industry in general. When I received 'In The Arena,'the autobiography of Charlton Heston, I put the book to one side intending to read it eventually, as the book was rather on the 'Thick' side and I thought "This is gonna be a long trek". I could not have been more wrong. From his earliest memories of his loving parents, growing up in Michigan, learning to shoot and hunt, His stint in the army during World War II. After the war he joined an acting troupe near his hometown. His shyness always bothered him, (yet he remained a towering figure on screen) that is until he met the love of his life Lydia. One gets the impression from the narrative that she was his first date and they eventually married, a marriage which lasted some sixty years until the actor's passing.
There is so much in this book (which is never boring) Mr. Heston is totally honest about his successes and failures in the movie industry, although there are not many failures he reflects on his choice of good/bad scripts and directors etc.
The author is not inclined to kiss and tell the usual Hollywood gossip and this adds to the books integrity.
His stand on Civil Rights in the late fifties - before the movement had begun, he was there before them all. And of course like most movie stars he takes you from film set to film set in chronological order and the stories at times raises some eyebrows and raises some chuckles. His oscar for Ben-Hur was well deserved and I think another for 'Will Penny' would also have been well deserved. Finally don't be put off by the length of this book as it is totally readable and at the end I was craving for more. The ironic thing for me about my decision to read this book is the day I was to hear on the T.V. news that he had passed away.
Probably todays audiences may not be so inclined to view Mr. Heston and his work but for us who were around at the time, he was 'Mr. Epic' three cheers Mr. Heston !
There is so much in this book (which is never boring) Mr. Heston is totally honest about his successes and failures in the movie industry, although there are not many failures he reflects on his choice of good/bad scripts and directors etc.
The author is not inclined to kiss and tell the usual Hollywood gossip and this adds to the books integrity.
His stand on Civil Rights in the late fifties - before the movement had begun, he was there before them all. And of course like most movie stars he takes you from film set to film set in chronological order and the stories at times raises some eyebrows and raises some chuckles. His oscar for Ben-Hur was well deserved and I think another for 'Will Penny' would also have been well deserved. Finally don't be put off by the length of this book as it is totally readable and at the end I was craving for more. The ironic thing for me about my decision to read this book is the day I was to hear on the T.V. news that he had passed away.
Probably todays audiences may not be so inclined to view Mr. Heston and his work but for us who were around at the time, he was 'Mr. Epic' three cheers Mr. Heston !
Format:Hardcover
I like Charlton Heston and many of the films he made. On the screen he was in my view a class act. For those interested in the life behind the screen, this book serves as an entertaining and enjoyable read. He writes with a confidence and dignity and comes across as being very much his own man and anti political correctness. His book is not a 'reveal all' in which fellow actors are criticised. The 'gossip factor' is quite low. I was often reflecting on what he had probably left out. For Heston fans it is five stars deserved - for those who have a casual interest in the man it is a worthy four stars. It is very interesting and good to dip into - I enjoyed finding out about the making of some of his films.Having read about 55 Days in Peking I am amazed the film managed to pull in such respectable reviews by some critics. The author provides good company.There are a number of times I wish he went into more detail about famous characters such as Jimmy Stewart or Carry Grant. Charlton Heston preserves their memories and privacy and makes sparse comments - he goes into more detail about Orson Welles,Lawrence Olivier and Sam Pekinpah and what he writes is illuminating.
A fine book and a bargain with many distributors - I picked up a very good conditioned hard back for 1p plus postage
A fine book and a bargain with many distributors - I picked up a very good conditioned hard back for 1p plus postage
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