Biography - Louis B. Mayer (A&E DVD Archives)
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DVD details
Actor: Louis B. MayerBrand: A&E
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 50 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-07-26
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E Home Video
Product features:
- Russian-born movie mogul Louis B. Mayer immigrated to Canada as a child, and later made his way to America to become one of the most important figures in Hollywood history. Mayer began paving his road to success in the early 1900s when he purchased a house in New England, refurbished it as a nickelodeon, and opened one of the earliest custom-designed cinemas. His entrepreneurship eventually led
DVD Reviews of Biography - Louis B. Mayer (A&E DVD Archives)
DVD Review: "L. B." himself was the best actor on the MGM lot--if only this had shown us more of it !!!
Summary: 3 Stars
The A&E Biography on the life and times of Louis B. Mayer gives us lots to know about this man. If only they hadn't rushed through it all and included so much more! No, this isn't the perfect biography of Louis B. Mayer; it couldn't have been at only 50 minutes. However, it does give you a basic understanding of what Mayer was about and what him tick; and we do get the highlights of his career and personal life. This DVD is more for the casual movie going fan who wants a brief introduction to the man who created so much of that Hollywood glamour, magic and even the Oscars. The narration is well done. In addition, we get interviews with Mayer biographers and Mayer's grandson himself appears in this video.
We learn that life for L.B. Mayer wasn't easy--and it certainly wasn't anything like "The Dream Factory" of MGM Studios. Louis B. Mayer was born in Russia, changed his name when he went with his family to Canada and then moved to the USA to pursue his dream of striking it big in the new world. Mayer wasn't always lucky in the beginning; but when he secured the distributions rights to The Birth Of A Nation in some parts of the country things began to take off for him. Mayer also married and he went to California to head Metro Studios which subsequently merged with Goldwyn Studios to become a large subsidiary of Loews.
One thing I do like about this mini documentary is that we get a very good sense of how Mayer related to the stars at MGM--he could take regular people practically off the street and sell them as stars--he was THAT good at selling! He became very powerful by exploiting the emotional vulnerabilities of his stars and he often had his men cover up extramarital affairs and other "indecent" scandals to make MGM retain a fantasy world type of aura that the public found enchanting. He had the ear of Herbert Hoover to make things go his way politically and that was incredible power in addition to his salary which made him the highest paid executive in America at the time. However, things still weren't completely perfect: Mayer had troubles with Irving Thalberg at MGM and he didn't get along well with Loews's successor Nicholas Schenck. Of course, after World War II things changed and Mayer was eventually pushed out by younger men including Dore Schary. The documentary then explores Mayer's life after MGM Studios.
In the end, Louis B. Mayer may have been ruthless at times; but he did make significant contributions to the film industry as he pushed his stars, directors and indeed all of the MGM crew to make the best "wholesome" pictures possible. After all, that's what the public primarily wanted before the end of World War II. The documentary also shows us many clips of some of the best MGM films ever made starting with the chariot race scene in the 1924-1925 production of Ben-Hur.
I wish that there had been extras on this DVD; and the all-too-short 50 minute time span leaves too much of his life glossed over or simplified to the point of being misrepresented. That's a disappointment.
If you are just getting into this topic and you like this documentary I would suggest other documentaries and books about film moguls and the Hollywood "studio system" in general. Unfortunately, however, diehard fans of Hollywood history will be dissatisfied.
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Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 07/26/2005Bestsellers in DVD
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