Never the Same Step Twice: The Later Films of Stanley Donen

“When Hollywood changed the rhythm, Donen changed the dance.”

Stanley Donen's reputation rests largely on the exuberant musicals and sophisticated entertainments that made him one of Hollywood's great cinematic stylists. Yet his later career reveals a filmmaker far more restless, adventurous, and difficult to categorize. From the irreverent fantasy of Bedazzled (1968) and the abrasiveness of Staircase (1969) to the self-reflexive nostalgia of Movie Movie (1978), and the unexpected excursions into science fiction and sexual farce, Donen continually tested the limits of his own sensibility.