Erich von Stroheim Boeken

. . .Stroheim's masterpiece about human degradation, 'Greed' (1924), was also made at considerable expense, in large part because of location shooting, including scenes in Death Valley. The original ran 10 hours, much too long for commercial release; an inexperienced studio cutter reduced it to an hour and a half, and the work print was destroyed, as were Stroheim's versions of almost all of his films. Stroheim's extravagance ensured the demise of his directing career, although his acting career as a monocled seducer continued to flourish long after he had ceased to direct.

"All the wild passions and secret, earthy customs of the Gypsy are faithfully delineated in this colorful masterpiece. But it is more than savage and fascinating romance! It is also the ironical study of the dark places of a woman's soul . . . a woman whose flamelike beauty and cruel desires won her a Prince in marriage. This although she started life - and finished it - a ragged Gypsy lass. Before she was fifteen, her tribesman were fighting over her as dogs fight for a bone!Written by cinema's world-famous Erich von Stroheim, the story is told with frankest realism, yet with extraordinary sympathy and warmth. Certainly it exhibits a depth and grandeur which establish him as a novelist of the very first rank."