Nominate a Biography: what authors say
Korda: Britain's only movie mogul by Charles Drazin*
When it is done well, biography reveals the complexities of human motivation, thereby providing a vital insight into life.
When about ten years ago I began to write a history of 1940s British cinema, I was struck by how few attempts had been made to seek out the stories of the individuals who had actually been involved. Their experiences, it seemed to me, would contribute hugely to the historical accuracy of my book. The result was The Finest Years, a book that was as much a group portrait of individuals as it was a history. Having written about various aspects of the British cinema of the 1940s, it was then a natural step to write a biography of Sir Alexander Korda, whose life and career were so central to this period.
A biographer is very vulnerable to the distortion of 'Chinese whispers'. The more he relies on derivative accounts, the more he or she is liable to drift away from the truth. So in writing my biography, I tried as much as possible to seek out first-hand testimony whether reminiscences of the people who knew Korda or correspondence and other documents contemporary to the time. These, rather than other published accounts, always seemed to provide the true treasure-troves of material the best starting-point from which to build up an accurate portrait.
As a repository for material of this kind, the special collection of the bfi Library with its extensive and well-catalogued holdings, inevitably provided vital material for all three of my books on the British cinema. Also incredibly useful were the microfiche collections of press clippings on films and personalities, which have been gathered together over many decades. No where else that I am aware of has such invaluable information been pulled together in this way.
A good biography is a combination of thorough research and empathetic, sensitive interpretation of the subject. I can't really single out one book, but there are several that I admire. If autobiographical works are allowed to count, then Jean Renoir's My Life and My Films, Michael Powell's A Life in the Movies and Luis Bunuel's My Last Breath go straight to the top of the list. Otherwise, notable recent biographies that I've enjoyed include Kevin Brownlow's biography of David Lean and Hugo Vickers' biographies of Vivien Leigh and Greta Garbo.
*Permission granted by the publishers, Sidgwick & Jackson
