Howard Hawks: American Artist

It is now almost 20 years since Howard Hawks (1896-1977) died. In honour of his memory, the British Film Institute has produced Kevin McDonald's portrait of the American director. In his documentary McDonald combines newly recorded conversations with people who worked with the master director, and selected bits from older interviews with Hawks himself. Among the actors and film people who reminisce about the director are Lauren Bacall, Angie Dickenson, James Caan, Michael Mann, and Peter Bogdanovich. The interviews and older archive material are spliced together with clips from Hawks' films, as well as private films never before screened, and material from film shoots.
Hawks' long career as director, producer, and scriptwriter includes many films, several of which have become classics. He entered the film business already in 1916, first in the prop department, and later as scriptwriter and producer. His directorial debut came in 1926 with ”The Road To Glory.”
He made films of virtually every genre - from gangster and war films, to westerns, film noir, and historical dramas, to musicals, science fiction and comedies. Many film critics even contend Hawks laid the foundations for the whole screwball genre of comedy with his film ”Twentieth Century” from 1934.
Hawks produced his own films, and is considered by many to be the most independent and cogent directors in the American film industry. During the 50's and 60's he was hailed in particular by the French critics of the influential Cahiers du Cinéma as both an artist and an ''auteur''.
McDonald gets his facts from Hawks biographer and expert Todd McCarthy, who also appears in the film. Narrated by the English director Stephen Frears”, Howard Hawks: American Artist” becomes a complete exposé of Hawks' long and successful film career.
McDonald's film is in many ways a tribute to Hawks and his film work, but still doesn't shrink from touching on more critical aspects of his career. Fellow directors and actors discuss Hawks' artistic stagnation in his later films. The film also brings to light his not always appropriate behaviour toward women, especially his actresses, to which Lauren Bacall and Angie Dickenson bear witness.
Ola Blomqvist

Premiärstatus
Nordisk premiär: Medverkande
Howard Hawks, James Caan, Angie Dickinson, Lauren Bacall, Michael Mann, Peter Bogdanovich: Producent
Paula Jalfon: Musik
Donald Fraser: Talat språk
English