The Method
How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act
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- £20.99
Publisher Description
National Book Critics Circle Award Winner, Nonfiction
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2022 BY THE NEW YORKER, TIME MAGAZINE, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, VOX, SALON, LIT HUB, AND VANITY FAIR
"Entertaining and illuminating."--The New Yorker * "Compulsively readable."--New York Times * "Delicious, humane, probing."--Vulture * "The best and most important book about acting I've ever read."--Nathan Lane
The critically acclaimed cultural history of Method acting-an ebullient account of creative discovery and the birth of classic Hollywood.
On stage and screen, we know a great performance when we see it. But how do actors draw from their bodies and minds to turn their selves into art? What is the craft of being an authentic fake? More than a century ago, amid tsarist Russia's crushing repression, one of the most talented actors ever, Konstantin Stanislavski, asked these very questions, reached deep into himself, and emerged with an answer. How his "system" remade itself into the Method and forever transformed American theater and film is an unlikely saga that has never before been fully told.
Now, critic and theater director Isaac Butler chronicles the history of the Method in a narrative that transports readers from Moscow to New York to Los Angeles, from The Seagull to A Streetcar Named Desire to Raging Bull. He traces how a cohort of American mavericks--including Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, and the storied Group Theatre--refashioned Stanislavski's ideas for a Depression-plagued nation that had yet to find its place as an artistic powerhouse. The Group's feuds and rivalries would, in turn, shape generations of actors who enabled Hollywood to become the global dream-factory it is today. Some of these performers the Method would uplift; others, it would destroy. Long after its midcentury heyday, the Method lives on as one of the most influential--and misunderstood--ideas in American culture.
Studded with marquee names--from Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, and Elia Kazan, to James Baldwin, Ellen Burstyn, and Dustin Hoffman--The Method is a spirited history of ideas and a must-read for any fan of Broadway or American film.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Cultural critic and theater director Isaac Butler ushers us through the outrageous and at times hilarious history of Method acting. The story begins in czarist Russia, with the celebrated actor Konstantin Stanislavski and his quest for realism on the theatrical stage. Stanislavski’s efforts soon solidified into a distinct approach to acting that would eventually travel across the globe and through time—shaping the performances of Hollywood legends like Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, and even Marilyn Monroe. The story of the Method is filled with fascinating anecdotes about failed productions, creative infighting, and political upheavals that will leave you amazed that Stanislavski’s ideas managed to catch on. You don’t have to be an actor to enjoy this lively blend of cultural history, political intrigue, and backstage gossip.
