(FORTUNE Magazine) – Peter Biskind's new book, Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film (Simon & Schuster, $26.95), ought to carry an R rating, if not an NC-17. A lively, sprawling, uncut saga of the indie film movement of the 1990s, Down and Dirty is dominated by Harvey Weinstein, the (much) larger-than-life co-chairman of Miramax who, judging by this unsympathetic account, must be the most abusive, vulgar, and ill-mannered executive around. No business other than show business--Miramax is a unit of Disney--would tolerate such a monster.

In on-the-record interviews, Weinstein's detractors call him "evil," "cruel," "very sick," and the "Saddam Hussein of cinema." Famed for his tirades, Weinstein terrorizes legendary directors, actors, agents, and underlings who won't bend to his will. "I could blow you away with one of my weakest farts," he tells one rival. Charming.

At nearly 500 pages, Down and Dirty desperately needs editing. And it's a shame that in the end we never quite learn how a studio run by such a supposed tyrant can churn out so many critical and commercial hits. --Marc Gunther