 | |
List Price: $32.50 | | Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print
Salesrank: 1547334
|
| Our Price: $21.73 |
| Used Price: $21.72 |
|
| Media: Hardcover |
|
Editorial Review:
For more than a quarter century, Al Pacino has spoken freely and deeply with acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Lawrence Grobel on subjects as diverse as childhood, acting, and fatherhood. Here, for the first time, are the complete conversations and shared observations between the actor and the writer; the result is an intimate and revealing look at one of the most accomplished, and private, artists in the world.
Pacino grew up sharing a three-room apartment in the Bronx with nine people in what he describes as his "New York Huckleberry Finn" childhood. Raised mostly by his grandparents and his mother, Pacino began drinking at age thirteen. Shortly after he was admitted to the renowned High School for Performing Arts, his classmates nicknamed him "Marlon," after Marlon Brando, even though Pacino didn't know who Brando was. Renowned acting coach Charlie Laughton saw Pacino when he was nineteen in the stairwell of a Bronx tenement, and the first words out of Laughton's mouth were "You are going to be a star." And so began a fabled, lifelong friendship that nurtured Al through years of not knowing where his next meal would come from until finally -- at age twenty-six -- he landed his first salaried acting job.
Grobel and Pacino leave few stones unturned, touching on the times when Pacino played piano in jazz clubs until four a.m. before showing up on the set of Scarecrow a few hours later for a full day's work; when he ate Valium like candy at the Academy Awards; and when he realized he had been in a long pattern of work and drink.
As the pivotal character in The Godfather trilogy and the cult classic Scarface, Pacino has enshrined himself in film history. He's worked with most of Hollywood's brightest luminaries such as Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, Michael Mann, Norman Jewison, Brian De Palma, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank, and Robin Williams, among many others. He was nominated for eight Academy Awards before winning the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Scent of a Woman. Pacino still seems to prefer his work onstage to film and, if he's moved by a script or play, is quick to take parts in independent productions.
Al Pacino is an intensely personal window into the life of an artist concerned more with the process of his art than with the fruits of his labor, a creative genius at the peak of his artistic powers who, after all these years, still longs to grow and learn more about his craft. And, for now, it's as close to a memoir as we're likely to get.
Al Pacino: The Authorized Biography (Ulverscroft Nonfiction) Reviews:
'Conversations with Al Pacino' with a different name 
2008-09-29 - I'm a huge Al Pacino fan and I bought 'Al Pacino: The authorized Biography' thinking it was, well, his biography, since I already own a book named 'Conversations with Al Pacino', by Lawrence Grobel, the same author from his biography, that is entirely made out of interviews. In my country neither one of the books are sold and there are no reviews on this one in Amazon, so I bought it. I was shocked to find out, when it arrived, that his 'Biography' is actually the same book with a different title. Now, the interviews are amazing - they're about nine or ten and range from his first interview, in the seventies until the most recent years. I definitely recommend Al's fans buying either one of them. Just don't buy both. It's a waste of money.
Kindle edition review 
2008-04-13 - This is a good group of interviews and conversations done with Al Pacino. It isn't a biography, although it has bigraphical information. What it does is give the reader a small glimpse of a man who normally stays well hidden. If you like Al Pacino it is a good read, and gives insight into the behind the curtain reasons for some of his "quirks". The Kindle editon is formatted without problems. The only complaint is the pictures are small, but that is a kindle limitation. The words carry the book. So this isn't an issue for me. I have looked for the print edition and it was out a few days, sold out in book stores, and I haven't seen it since. It may be available on Amazon, I was checking when I found this edition. And didn't continue to look, the pictures aren't that important to me - I know what Pacino looks like.
A great book for a great actor
2008-02-11 - Mr. Grobel's relationship with Al Pacino grows throughout this book. The book consists of numerous interviews by the author as well as magazine articles. Pacino talks about his many successful films, actors he admires, the Godfather III disaster, and his obsession with Richard III. This was a great read and allowed me to see inside the mind of one of my favorite actors.
A great reading
2007-11-22 - Lawrence Grobel is a master interviewer and get some original and surprising answers of Al Pacino. There is no flattery for the celebrity here and if there's some is only in small doses. Pacino reveals himself as a down to earth guy who cares
a lot about his craft and about doing his job well(no more,no less) and shows an amazing sense of humour at times.This is the portrait of a true artist who loves his art.
Lawrence Grobel many times insist in questions that Mr. Pacino does not want to answer and many times out of insistence get an answer from the actor.
I truly find this book entertaining ,didactic and intelligent.
Fascinating and Compelling Portrait of Al Pacino
2007-04-28 - Excellent book in interview form which delves deep into the fascinating and complex psyche of one of the most accomplished and gifted actors in cinema history. Reknown journalist and writer Lawrence Grobel goes to where no other interviewer/reporter has gone before:deep into the mind and thought process of legendary film and stage actor extraordinaire Al Pacino. This fantastic and thorough book explains in great depth the complex and brilliant acting career of Al Pacino. If you love Pacino's work like I do you will love this book. Highly recommended and entertaining. Al is widely known not only for his remarkable work on film and in the theater but for his passion for his craft. He is passionate about acting and is a very serious actor but who would of thought that this dark and intense actor would have a sense of humor. Some of the answers that he gives to Lawrence Grobel are actually quite funny. He can be serious when he needs to be and quite amusing when he feels the need. Get this book and you will not be disappointed. He discusses in great detail his entire career from his humble beginnings when he was a homeless struggling actor to his defining status as an icon of American cinema.
