Imitation of Life - Douglas Sirk

Douglas Sirk (Claus Detler Sierck) was born in Hamburg, Germany, in
1900. He made nine films before fleeing Nazi Germany, eventually coming
to America. His best-known films, made during the 1950s-all of them
melodramas-were Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, The
Tarnished Angels, Written on the Wind, and Imitation of Life (made
in 1958, released in 1959).

Because of the special stamp he put on
his melodramas, Sirk's best works transcend the constraints of their
genre. In them, he both exemplified and critiqued postwar, conservative,
materialistic life and its false value systems. There is much in Sirk,
particularly in Imitation of Life, that is of interest to us today.
The time seems to be right for a new look at the film, its reception
amidst scandal over the affairs of its star-Lana Turner-the
relationships between its mothers and daughters, the tensions between
its men and its women, the friendships between its black and white
women, and the ambiguous, controversial approach of Sirk to his
material.

This volume includes the complete continuity script of
the film, critical commentary and published reviews, interviews with the
director, and a filmography and bibliography. It also includes an
excellent introduction by Lucy Fischer.