sam fuller - a third face

[jaime marzol]

A THIRD FACE: MY TALE OF WRITING, FIGHTING, AND FILMMAKING
by Sam Fuller

576 pages
November 2002
published by Knopf
ISBN # 0-375-40165-2

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here are a few bits from the Christopher Heard review

I think I have just finished one of the finest filmmaker autobiographies ever written (although my favourite remains An Open Book by John Huston), A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking--the memoirs of Samuel Fuller. Fuller died in 1995 and his wife of over thirty years compiled and completed this lengthy, delicious manuscript.

Fuller has had an enormous influence on the likes of everyone from Martin Scorsese (who penned the introduction) to Quentin Tarantino to even guys like Troma's Lloyd Kaufman.

Fuller's book is full of passion and optimism in the face of some of the great tragedies of the last century: the great Depression, the Second World War, Hollywood...

The book is rich with stories from his days in New York as a crime reporter to his time in North Africa fighting Rommel, continuing through his days as writer-director of some of the most hard-hitting films of the fifties and early sixties. Check out his films Shock Corridor, Pick-Up on South Street, The Naked Kiss--or his later film with Lee Marvin based on his own war experiences, the incredibly underrated The Big Red One--and you will see noir filmmaking, in particular, at its most uncompromising.

What seeps through A Third Face is that Sam Fuller was all about chasing the dream. Decide what you want to do and go after it and keep after it no matter how long it takes or how many obstacles need to be faced. To the film lover and even the lover of great men of adventure, A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking will be of interest--this is an inspiring set of reminiscences from a guy who did it the way he wanted to without looking back and without any regrets.

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Christopher Heard

[Jaime N. Christley]

I'm reading bits and pieces of the book right now - it's really entertaining, but like all autobios, should be taken w/grain of salt, especially since Fuller could never be mistaken for a man interested only in cold, scientific facts. That is to say, to say the least, he liked to spin yarns and spin them quite colorfully. And according to a blurb by J Hoberman in FILM COMMENT, there's more than a few factual errors that slipped by the editors. Nothing too hazardous, but it gives you an idea of the book's overall sensibility.

Like Welles, I think Fuller is the kind of guy who requires a number of books from a number of perspectives...and the fewer that sell the "same old story" the better. I think there may be some potential for this, as (thanks to the new book, the Criterion DVDs, the new Fantoma DVD of STREET OF NO RETURN, and the frequency of his movies getting airtime on TCM) he may finally be getting some recognition beyond the realm of the hardcore cinephile.

Andrew Laskos makes a few pointed observations on Mobius.

That said, Fuller's great, and among his masterpieces, PARK ROW is as good as anything Welles ever did! PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET and WHITE DOG are also great.

[jaime marzol]

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i think fuller's, 40 GUNS, was great, i think there is more artistry in PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET than most people are aware off, but personally, i don't think fuller can be place in the same category as welles. i think the best 4 filmmakers are welles, ford, hitch, hawks, in that order, and fuller is 20 or 30 rungs down that ladder from hawks.

but that is only my opinion offered at no charge to the readers of wellesnet..