Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

Burgess Meredith, a perennial favorite of Otto Preminger, hosts this revealing look at the life and work of one of the most prolific and controversial of filmmakers. This documentary features interviews with many of the stars, and some of the behind-the-scene players, who worked with the mercurial producer/director from theatre to movies, over the nearly fifty years of his remarkable career in show business. Starting in his home town of Vienna, we see his early successes. As war approached he made the move to America and scored immediate critical and box-office success on Broadway. It was a short step from there to Hollywood. His time there is best understood as being the ""studio years"" and ""independent years"". His second motion picture for 20th Century Fox, ""Laura"", was a critical and financial success. He was ""A"" listed in Hollywood and made 10 films for Fox, displaying an ever-increasing talent and facility with a breadth of subject matter. Leaving the studio, he became one of the first independent producer-directors in the movie business, establishing a level of success and notoriety usually reserved for actors and actresses. The independent years brought an out-pouring of daring, controversial films. Standing up to the motion picture establishment, he broke taboos of censorship and left a legacy of ""freedom of expression"" for modern filmmakers.