Not the Godfather of all biographies (Al Pacino: The Authorized Biography - Lawrence Grobel)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	Al Pacino: The Authorized Biography - Lawrence Grobel
Date:	20/09/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: some interesting bits

Disadvantages: far too much about the Tempest play

If, like me, you think Pacino is one of the best actors EVER to grace the silver screen, then you'll probably wish he had an autobiography out there. He's an elusive man, and so far all that's out there is a low rate bio that sells for £2 or so in HMV. I read it, in lieu of anything better, but it was poor.

This book came out a couple of years back. Basically, Lawrence Grobel is a friend of Pacino's, and a teacher. The book is a series of interviews with the big man. I snapped it up, desperate to find out about the man himself, but again it wasn't that great.

There is one good thing about the book and two bad things. The good thing is that it does give some interesting stories about Pacino. In particular, behind the scenes stuff about the Godfather etc are really interesting. However, and here's problem number one, they're only short.

It seems this book was written at a time when Pacino was going back to the stage with The Tempest. Because of this, a lot of the book is about the play, and not about the films he has done. Now, it's half interesting, but I want to read about the Godfather, Scarface et al, not some play he's doing at the time. So that's the biggest problem - it's not a balanced account of his life, but more a 'what I am upto now' project.

The second problem is Grobel. His own story often gets in the way, and his voice is more dominant than it should be. That's a problem, because I wanted to read about Pacino! It's the same problem found in Bono's collection of interviews, and it detracts from the power of the overall thing.

All in all, this is an OK book, but still not the definitive guide to Pacino from the man himself. If that comes out, I'm in!

Summary: no thanks!