Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film

Peter Biskind

Bloomsbury, 2005 - INDEPENDENT FILMS/USA - 545 pages

In the late 1980s a generation of filmmakers began to flower outside the Hollywood studio system and in the following decade, the independent film movement bloomed. Dozens of lesser-known filmmakers such as Steven Soderbergh and Quentin Tarantino began walking away with coveted prizes at Cannes and eventually the Academy Awards. Many of these directors were discovered at Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival and then scooped up by Harvey and Bob Weinstein, whose company Miramax laid waste to the competition. In Down and Dirty Pictures, Peter Biskind tells the incredible story of these filmmakers, the growth of Sundance into the premier showcase of independent film, and the meteoric rise of the controversial Weinstein brothers who left a trail of carnage in their wake yet created an Oscar factory that is the envy of the studios.

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LibraryThing Review

User Review  - Ivegotzooms - LibraryThing

Fun and fascinating. I can't believe there aren't any other reviews of this here. If you've ever wondered why the films that get made - get made - even in passing, you should read this. It will also ...

Down and dirty pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the rise of independent film

User Review  - Not Available - Book Verdict

It's embargoed: the rise of the indies, from the author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls.

About the author

Peter Biskind is the author of three previous books. Currently a contributor to Vanity Fair, he was formerly the executive editor of Premiere and has written for numerous publications. He lives in Columbia County, New York.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film
• Author: Peter Biskind
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Bloomsbury, 2005
• ISBN: 0747565716, 9780747565710
• Length: 545 pages