I Remember It Well

by Hector Arce, Vincente Minnelli, Hector Minnelli, Vincente; Arce

Book Overview

Vincent Minelli's life: childhood, work on Broadway, and association with MGM. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385095228
• ISBN13: 9780385095228
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 391 Pages
• Weight: 3.39 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Interesting biography

This is a well written and interesting biography. He manages to talk of his marriage to Judy Garland respectfully and thankfully does not sink to pulling punches [although you would've thought that he'd attend her funeral, if just for Liza]. There are some really good rare pictures of Garland and him on their honeymoon as well as many of Liza as a child. Minnelli provides accurate detailed accounts of his varied and exciting career but unfortunately fails to do so on his private life. He gets many facts wrong [e.g. he claims that Liza couldn't walk until she was 2, however there are many pictures in many different books to prove otherwise] although this is understandable as memories become cloudy with the passing of time. My only other complaint is that he focuses way too much dteail on his work, the brith of his second child is glossed over compared to the lengthy description of his next movie. I also liked the lack of bragging in his book which appears in so many autobiographies, it makes the book much easier to enjoy. I wondered why he doesn't mention when he was born but later found out that it was because he would take ten years off his age for his whole life.

Minnelli on Minnelli

If you're the voyeuristic type of star bio reader, you'll probably want to look elsewhere for the juicy details on Judy Garland's ups and downs. We learn only the bare outlines of Minnelli's life with Judy Garland and little about any other romantic interests. His attitude toward Judy was one of sympathy, but he really didn't know how to cope with her. She was a difficult person to live with. You can tell Minnelli really dotes on daughter Liza, and he even lets her voice into this book, quoting a lengthy interview he and she gave to a reporter. Liza sings well, but I've never enjoyed listening to her talk. I've never heard her say anything interesting about herself or her life.Minnelli, on the other hand, has many interesting things to say about his life and career. He begins with his boyhood and tracks his career to the present. His approach is much like that of star biographer Gary Fishgall. Every job, every Broadway production, every film, and his role in completing each is described in satisfying but modest detail. He includes his failures as well as his successes. I find this much more interesting than who slept with whom.