Edge of Midnight: The Life of John Schlesinger

Midnight Cowboy. Marathon Man. Day of the Locust. The Falcon and the Snowman. Billy Liar. Sunday Bloody Sunday. Far from the Madding Crowd. All of these great movies--and many, many more--were the creation of one man: John Schlesinger. Now, in the first biography ever of this creative giant, acclaimed author William J. Mann looks at Schlesinger's fifty-year career in film, on stage, and on television. An iconoclast, Schlesinger shattered social barriers (he was openly gay) and artistic ones (Midnight Cowboy was shunned as too gritty by Hollywood's old guard). Stories from such celebrities as Laurence Olivier, Julie Christie, Dustin Hoffman, Ian McKellen, Sean Penn, Sally Field, Glenda Jackson, Dirk Bogarde, Rupert Everett, and Madonna make this biography fun to read as well as authoritative. Great for beach reading or serious film study, Edge of Midnight offers a revealing look at a film icon's life, loves, and work.