Film history, theory or criticism Books

Book SynopsisInspired by an alleged real case of demonic possession in 1949, The Exorcist became an international phenomenon on its release in 1973. A blockbusting adaptation of a best-selling novel, it was praised as ‘deeply spiritual’ by some sections of the Catholic Church while being picketed by the Festival of Light and branded ‘Satanic’ by the evangelist Billy Graham. Banned on video in the UK for nearly fifteen years, the film still retains an extraordinary power to shock and startle. Mark Kermode’s compelling study of this horror classic was originally published in 1997, and then extensively updated and expanded in 2003 to incorporate the discovery of new material. This revised edition documents the deletion and reinstatement of key scenes that have now been integrated into the film to create The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen. Candid interviews with director William Friedkin and writer/producer William Peter Blatty reveal the behind the-scenes battles which took place during the production. In addition, exclusive stills reveal the truth about the legendary ‘subliminal images’ allegedly lurking within the celluloid.Table of ContentsForeword to the 2020 Edition Acknowledgements A note about the revised 2nd edition Prologue 1. The beginning 2. The edge 3. The abyss 4. And let my cry come unto thee Epilogue Appendix: late night double Bill Notes Credits Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Seventh Seal is probably Bergman's best-known work and the film that most clearly bears the director's unmistakeable signature. The opening scene sets the tone: a stony beach under a leaden sky, the knight alone with his thoughts, then the approach of black-clad Death, whom the knight invites to play a game of chess. Bergman's medieval allegory of faith and doubt is dark with the horrors of witch-burnings and the plague. But it is also shot through with bright flashes of peace and joy, symbolised in the milk and wild strawberries offered to the knight by an innocent family of actors. In his compelling appreciation, Melvyn Bragg describes his own first encounter as a student with this extraordinary film, and how it revealed to him another cinema, quite different from the Hollywood he had grown up with. He recounts too his later meeting with Bergman himself, and how the marks of the director's powerful personality are everywhere in this troubling and inspiring masterpiece.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1. Art and Religion 2. On First Meeting Ingmar Bergman 3. The Play's the Thing 4. Sealed in Childhood 5. The Making of the Film 6. A Film by Ingmar Bergman Notes Credits

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisEndlessly fascinating, dark and bright, The Red Shoes (1948) employs every branch of the cinematic arts to sweep the audience off its feet, invigorated by the transcendence of art itself, only to leave them with troubling questions. Representing the climax of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's celebrated run of six exceptional feature films, the film remains a beloved, if unsettling and often divisive, classic. Pamela Hutchinson's study of the film examines its breathtaking use of Technicolor, music, choreography, editing and art direction at the zenith of Powell and Pressburger’s capacity for ‘composed cinema’. Through a close reading of key scenes, particularly the film's famous extended ballet sequence, she considers the unconventional use of ballet as uncanny spectacle and the feminist implications of the central story of female sacrifice. Hutchinson goes on to consider the film's lasting and wide-reaching influence, tracing its impact on the film musical genre and horror cinema, with filmmakers such as Joanna Hogg, Sally Potter, Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma having cited the film as an inspiration.Trade ReviewHutchinson knows how to be both expansive and economical with an expert’s confidence and a fan’s enthusiasm. -- Hannah McGill * Sight & Sound *[Hutchinson is] en pointe on everything from the ballet’s ecstatic agony and queer readings to the film’s influence, and at her best showing how Shoes frames a key question: ‘How far would you go for art?’ -- Kevin Harley * Total Film *Unmissable … The Red Shoes employs the slyest wit as it teases out a kaleidoscope of themes in the greatest of all ballet films. -- Donald Clarke * The Irish Times *Fans of Powell and Pressburger’s tale of artistic obsession will pirouette their way through Pamela Hutchinson’s wonderful essay in one sitting. The pocket-sized book is packed with history, anecdotes and a view of the film so en pointe it’ll have you jeté-ing back to the screen with fresh eyes. * Sight & Sound, Books of the Year *Stuffed with insight and background. -- Robin Ashenden * The Spectator *The films of Powell and Pressburger continue to hold their power – and this guide to their ballet-based classic coincides with the BFI’s expansive season bringing their films back to the big screen. Across 100-plus pages, this paperback delves into the making of the film, and unpicks its thematic resonances. * Empire *An excellent close reading … A record of remarkable artistic freedom made possible for a prolifically imaginative director and writer to cast their spells, enthusiasm and love. * London Grip *A fascinating examination of Powell and Pressburger’s 1948 cinematic masterpiece. * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1.First position: ‘Put on the red shoes, Vicky’ 2.Overture: the rabbit in the hat 3.Pas de deux: Powell and Pressburger 4.The company: ‘enough genius in each man or woman’ 5.Balletomania: ‘To live? To dance.’ 6.The ballet: ‘I am that horror’ 7.Coda: ‘doubtful comforts’ Notes Credits

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"A marvelous bombshell of a book, by one of our most formidably knowledgeable and insightful writers on film, it is filled with surprises and witty asides. Though Thomson is quick to pounce on the hypocrisies and historical omissions of some of these war movies, there is nothing compromised about his own daredevil judgments. We are in the hands of a master critic/essayist." — Phillip Lopate “Praise the gods for giving us a writer with a deep moral sense and an epigrammatic prose style who writes as exquisitely about war as he does about film. Thomson's book brims with striking observations and provocative readings of crucial films, the great and the forgotten, from All Quiet on the Western Front to Apocalypse Now to Black Hawk Down and scores more. The Fatal Alliance is an absorbing, uproarious and essential book -- about war, about film, about us. And my God, the man can write!" — Mark Danner, author of Stripping Bare the Body: Politics Violence War and Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War

Read more less

Book SynopsisGloriously witty, keen and spirited J.J. Abrams, Director of Star Wars: The Rise of SkywalkerThe odds of me ever writing a book were approximately... Oh, never mind. My golden companion worries about such things - I don''t. I have indeed now written a book - telling my story, in my voice, not his - recognising that our voices and our stories are inextricably intertwined. When Star Wars burst on to the big screen in 1977, an unfailingly polite golden droid called C-3PO captured imaginations around the globe. But C-3PO wasn''t an amazing display of animatronics with a unique and unforgettable voiceover. Inside the metal costume was an actor named Anthony Daniels.In this deeply personal memoir, Anthony Daniels recounts his experiences of the epic cinematic adventure that has influenced pop culture for more than 40 years. For the very first time, he candidly describes his most intimate memories as the only actor to appear in every Star

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first comprehensive study of men and masculinity in the cinema of Satyajit Ray

Read more less

Book SynopsisA behind-the-scenes guide to the National Trust locations in some of the most iconic film and TV moments. Fully updated to include the latest dramas such as Bridgerton, The Pursuit of Love and Operation Mincemeat.Ranging from lavish costume dramas such as Poldark and Wolf Hall to epic fantasies including Game of Thrones and The Dark Knight Rises, the historic houses and stunning landscapes of the National Trust have been chosen as backdrops by some of the world's most famous directors. This fact-filled guidebook is organised geographically enabling the planning of single visits or entire adventure trips. Films and TV series featured: Bridgerton, Poldark, Sense and Sensibility, Wolf Hall, The Other Boleyn Girl, the Harry Potter films, The Duchess, The Crown, Snow White and the Huntsman, Never Let Me Go, Remains of the Day, Miss Potter, The History Boys, Game of Thrones and many many more.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"If you already enjoy settling in at night with a glass of wine and your favorite rom-com, this book will evoke the same sensation of fun escapism. Who knows if Meslow did that on purpose or if it was just a happy accident. Either way, I’ll have what he’s having." — Joshua Axelrod, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "A sprightly homage to a popular, seemingly evergreen film genre." — Kirkus Reviews "Meslow tells lots of engaging making of stories (for example, how Pretty Woman was transformed from a fallen-woman tragedy into a Disney fairy tale), but it’s his overarching theme, that romantic comedies are much more than lovey-dovey fluff, that really holds our interest." — Booklist “Fans of the popular but often under-appreciated genre of romantic comedy will appreciate Meslow’s book, which offers insight on the development of landmark films and how some of Hollywood’s biggest names launched their careers.” — Library Journal "A lively history of the modern rom-com, Scott Meslow's book reveals the often surprising ways that films like Pretty Woman and Waiting to Exhale got made, and why they continue to matter." — Melissa Maerz, author of Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused “From Hollywood With Love gives rom-coms the analysis and respect they finally deserve, especially since part of the snobbery around them is rooted in misogyny.” — Rachel Bloom, comedian, actress, writer and author of I Want To Be Where The Normal People Are "A romantic comedy is bigger than two people working towards a climactic kiss. It's dozens of people—writers, producers, actors and their director—falling in love with an idea and coming together to walk it down the aisle into theaters. What Scott Meslow reveals here is that the making of each of these landmark rom coms is itself a tumultuous story of heartbreak, trust, and serendipity. The arguments and seemingly magical coincidences behind the scenes are as riveting as the hijinks onscreen." — Amy Nicholson, film critic and co-host of the Unspooled podcast “If you miss and love romantic comedies as much as I do, this book will scratch that itch!” — Judy Greer, actress and author of I Don't Know What You Know Me From

Read more less

Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLERAn NPR Best Book of the YearIn this spectacular, newsmaking exposé that has the entertainment industry abuzz and on its heels, Vanity Fair''s Maureen Ryan blows the lid off patterns of harassment and bias in Hollywood, the grassroots reforms under way, and the labor and activist revolutions that recent scandals have ignited.It is never just One Bad Man.Abuse and exploitation of workers is baked into the very foundations of the entertainment industry. To break the cycle and make change that sticks, it’s important to stop looking at headline-making stories as individual events. Instead, one must look closely at the bigger picture, to see how abusers are created, fed, rewarded, allowed to persist, and, with the right tools, how they can be excised.In Burn It Down, veteran reporter Maureen Ryan does just that. She draws on decades of experience to connect the dots and illuminate the deeper forces sustaining Hollywood’s corrosive culture. Fresh reporting sheds light on problematic situations at companies like Lucasfilm and shows like Lost, Saturday Night Live, The Goldbergs, Sleepy Hollow, Curb Your Enthusiasm and more.Interviews with actors and famous creatives like Evan Rachel Wood, Harold Perrineau, Damon Lindelof, and Orlando Jones abound. Ryan dismantles, one by one, the myths that the entertainment industry promotes about itself, which have allowed abusers to thrive and the industry to avoid accountability—myths about Hollywood as a meritocracy, what it takes to be creative, the value of human dignity, and more.Weaving together insights from industry insiders, historical context, and pop-culture analysis, Burn It Down paints a groundbreaking and urgently necessary portrait of what’s gone wrong in the entertainment world—and how we can fix it.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEncompassing the thirty-five year span between the initial development of film technology in the mid-1890s and the adoption of synchronized sound in the late 1920s, the cinema''s silent era is both one of the most important epochs of film history and one of the most misunderstood within the popular imagination. In this brief and readable account, these formative decades come vividly to life. Covering the full scope of the silent era-from the invention of motion pictures to the rise of the Hollywood studios-and touching on films and filmmakers from every corner of the globe, Silent Film: A Very Short Introduction offers a window into film''s first years as a worldwide entertainment phenomenon. From groundbreaking early shorts to the masterpieces of the cinema''s classical era, from street-corner nickelodeons to grand movie palaces, from slapstick to the avant-garde, the silent era''s artistic abundance and global variety are here put on full display. In the story of silent film, we see not just the origins of a new culture industry but also a legacy of imagination and innovation that continues to profoundly influence the cinema even to this day.ABOUT THE SERIES:The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsIntroduction: All Film is Silent Film Chapter 1: The Three Ages of Silent Film Chapter 2: A Global Cinema Chapter 3: Making Films in the Silent Era Chapter 4: Watching Films in the Silent Era Epilogue: The Secret Afterlife of Silent Film References Filmography Further Reading

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne film out of every five made anywhere on earth comes from India. From its beginnings under colonial rule through to the heights of Bollywood , Indian Cinema has challenged social injustices such as caste, the oppression of Indian women, religious intolerance, rural poverty, and the pressures of life in the burgeoning cities. And yet, the Indian movie industry makes only about five percent of Hollywood''s annual revenue.In this Very Short Introduction Ashish Rajadhyaksha delves into the political, social, and economic factors which, over time, have shaped Indian Cinema into a fascinating counterculture. Covering everything from silent cinema through to the digital era, Rajadhyaksha examines how the industry reflects the complexity and variety of Indian society through the dramatic changes of the 20th century, and into the beginnings of the 21st. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readableTable of ContentsPREFACE

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisWith The Modern Myths, brilliant science communicator Philip Ball spins a new yarn. From novels and comic books to B-movies, it is an epic exploration of literature, new media and technology, the nature of storytelling, and the making and meaning of our most important tales. Myths are usually seen as stories from the depths of timefun and fantastical, but no longer believed by anyone. Yet, as Philip Ball shows, we are still writing themand still living themtoday. From Robinson Crusoe and Frankenstein to Batman, many stories written in the past few centuries are commonly, perhaps glibly, called modern myths. But Ball argues that we should take that idea seriously. Our stories of Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Sherlock Holmes are doing the kind of cultural work that the ancient myths once did. Through the medium of narratives that all of us know in their basic outline and which have no clear moral or resolution, these modern myths explore some of our deepest fears, dreams, and Trade Review"Ball does an impressive job with the literary histories behind each iconic title, assembling a set of origin stories rich in cultural history and imagination. . . . To Ball, mythic writing is where the conditions of irrationality, superstition, and enchantment persist: forms of wonder that depend on the disconnect between what we know for sure and what we simply believe." -- Sophie Gee * New York Times Book Review *"Myths themselves commonly embody the religious beliefs of ancient or preliterate peoples, but Ball suggests that we are still generating them. Subtitled Adventures in the Machinery of the Popular Imagination, his book, The Modern Myths, cogently argues for the originality and potent cultural resonance of Robinson Crusoe, Victor Frankenstein and his creature, Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, alien invaders like those of H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds, Batman, and even zombies. All these soon escaped from their original creators’ control and are now at large, their stories capable of multiple and even conflicting interpretations. The key to the mythic mode, asserts Ball, is ambivalence." -- Michael Dirda * Washington Post *"A persistent myth of the modern West is that it has outgrown the need for myths, along with religion, magic and other 'irrational' beliefs of the benighted past. This triumphalist story of rationality was proclaimed by Enlightenment philosophers and documented by later social scientists; through the 1990s, 'the disenchantment of the world' became an incantation within the parched groves of academe. Ball is among those who counter that enchantment and modernity aren’t incompatible. In The Modern Myths, he makes a persuasive case that myth isn’t gone but can be found in stories closer to our current obsessions such as science and technology, globalization and individual psychology. . . . His provocations to debate are among the book's many pleasures." -- Michael Saler * Wall Street Journal *"Ball makes a case that myths are not things of the past. Modern myths, Ball posits, are still being written and are just as crucial and revelatory as ancient ones." * Publishers Weekly *"From acclaimed popular science writer Ball comes a fresh look at the modern legends that shape our perception of reality. Stories like Dracula, Batman, Sherlock Holmes, or Frankenstein, which we keep retelling and reimagining, are doing the kind of cultural work that ancient myths and fairy tales once did. How do they operate, and why do we need them? And what tales will come to be the new myths of the future?" * Bookseller *"Modern myths—of which Ball identifies seven, starting with Robinson Crusoe and ending with Batman—are not, despite their origins in specific texts, so much singular narratives as ‘evolving web[s] of many stories—interweaving, interacting, contradicting each other’—but with one thing in common: ‘[A] rugged, elemental, irreducible kernel charged with the magical power of generating versions of the story.’ This fecund capacity to produce new narratives is what allows these myths to do their ‘cultural work’: they ‘erect a rough-hewn framework on which to hang our anxieties, fears, and dreams.’" -- Rob Latham * Los Angeles Review of Books *“Aquarians love people, and they love their stories, too—that’s one of the reasons they make such great writers (and readers). They will be fascinated and inspired by this book, which investigates many of our ‘modern myths’—what they are, why we love them, and why we need them, from Dracula to Sherlock Holmes. They’re all stories we know—but what do they know about us?” -- Emily Temple * Literary Hub, "Astrology Book Club" *Most Anticipated Books of May 2021 * Book Culture *"To Ball, 'myth' doesn’t just mean a set of ancient stories—Greek mythology as one canon, Norse another, etc. Instead, it refers to a mode of story-making that still exists today. In fact, it seems to be a way of telling stories that we can’t help but enact; Ball believes these modern myths are coming into being almost without our realizing it, and that, by recognizing their existence and being more alert to their power, we might better understand ourselves." * Fare Forward *"Ball’s fascinating study concerns itself with seven stories from the eighteenth century through the present that have become 'modern myths,' a concept he blueprints in the opening chapter and elaborates along the way. . . . An admirable amount of research has clearly gone into each of the seven case studies. The material is well-organized and the writing lucid, often snappy. . . . Our exuberantly guided tour of these modern myths is enlivened by fun facts." * LOCUS *"Funny and insightful reading for anybody interested in popular culture and how it was impacted by the current hunger for myths and their modern incarnations." * Popcultureshelf.com *"Ball is an exceptional writer and researcher, but with this and his other books, he demonstrates that there is an audience and appetite, beyond the field’s confines, for works that tell sophisticated stories about science and society. The book also affirms the value of the humanities for understanding the field’s central problems." * Medium *"There are different ideas about what makes a myth exactly, but most agree that myths tell us something fundamental about human nature. We’re familiar with Greek myths, but Philip Ball wonders what more recent stories may have been elevated to mythic status, even if we might not think of them in those specific terms. Ball, a writer on science, here ascends the cliff and climbs into the cave to wrestle with those unscientific, literary creations that have become embedded in our collective psyche." * Insights *"Admirably clear-headed." * Magonia Review of Books *"Compulsively readable literary criticism. . . . Valid and persuasive. . . . Worth a look." * Fortean Times *"Ball begins by making the case for the modern myth, highlighting the attributes that allow some stories to grow beyond their origins and disregarding notions that the modern cannot be mythical. Ball shows how these characters and stories have seeped into collective consciousness—so much so that one no longer has to read the original texts to understand the stories or characters. He further illustrates how modern myths have been reimagined and repackaged to reflect modern worries, allowing the reader to come to terms with the conditions of existence. The Modern Myths is well researched, as evidenced by twenty-two pages of notes, eight pages of bibliography, and footnotes and images scattered throughout. Ball draws parallels between original works and modern interpretations and representations in films, television, comic books, and B-movies. Readers will find Ball’s arguments clear and easy to understand. Highly recommended." * Choice *"For those of us who care about mythopoetic fiction, this is a ringing endorsement of the significance of what we study." * Mythlore *“Ball always brings your attention to things that were in your field of vision all along but you just hadn't noticed. He gives you the tools to investigate and dig deeper. The Modern Myths makes the world a more thrilling place. This is a book filled with delight and curiosity that will change the way you see the stories that are all around you.” -- Robin Ince“The Modern Myths is a very impressive piece of writing. It is sharp. It is witty. It is deeply insightful in too many places to list. Ball’s erudition on these topics is extraordinary, really. How did he read all of this? And how did he see all of these movies? Does he sleep? A very fine study of seven really important stories in modern literature, fantasy, and film.” -- Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of "Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal"

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn time for Scorsese’s 80th birthday and the release of Killers of the Flower Moon, a new edition of the seminal oral history tracing Scorsese’s journey from young filmmaker to legend, featuring a foreword by Steven Spielberg Few filmmakers, if any, make the kind of impact that Martin Scorsese has made on American cinema. The winner of every prestigious film award, including the Oscar, Scorsese is a living legend. Bestselling author and award-winning filmmaker Mary Pat Kelly’s groundbreaking biography reveals how this working-class boy from Manhattan’s Little Italy became one of our most acclaimed, celebrated, and influential filmmakers.Martin Scorsese: A Journey maps Scorsese’s personal and artistic evolution though his films, from early works like student films and Mean Streets through cinematic masterpieces like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull,The King of Comedy,Goodfellas. Across interviews with Scorsese himself; stars like Robert De Niro, Paul Newman, Liza Minelli, and Nick Nolte; colleagues including screenwriters and cinematographers; as well as family and friends, it reveals the story of a man in a way that only his community and fellow artists can, giving us unprecedented, intimate access to the making of these iconic films and the extraordinary mind behind them. Brimming with insight into Scorsese’s life, values, process, humor, and inspirations, it is a remarkable account of America’s premiere director, the shepherd of countless imaginations.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisSchrader on Schrader is an essential set of dialogues with one of the most genuinely fascinating and uncompromising writer-directors in American film.Raised as a Calvinist and hence forbidden to partake of ''worldly pleasures'' such as movies, Paul Schrader nevertheless defied his upbringing to become first a leading film critic, then a star pupil among the US ''movie brat'' generation of the 1970s: writing the coruscating screenplays for Martin Scorsese''s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and directing such provocative pictures as Blue Collar, Hardcore and American Gigolo. Maturity has never sated his appetite for attacking ''difficult'' material, from adapting Kazantzakis'' The Last Temptation for Scorsese, to filming the singular lives of Mishima and Patty Hearst.Schrader on Schrader is a tour through this formidable body of work, including some of Schrader''s finest critical essays.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA bold and original study, this is the first book to examine in detail a new genre which evolved since the 1980s in tandem with shifts in the culture of sexuality and the rise of video - the erotic thriller.Trade ReviewShe intersperses her wryly provocative analyses of 'suspense in suspenders' or 'cops and copulation' pictures with to-the-point interviews. Williams has graced us with a witty, discerning, elegant, exhaustive study of a byzantine and meaningful genre that is, as she declares in closing, "not'just for the boys'". Much as the release of Fatal Attraction became a cultural event in 1987, the publication of this remarkable book should become an academic event in the fields of cultural studies, film studies and porn studies. The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema makes groundbreaking contributions to the study of popular film genres and to the study of pornography... Williams has demonstrated that the erotic thriller's sex-is-dangerous ehtos had ramifications beyond the frame for industry figures seduced by a risky but lucrative genre and for a culture coping with AIDS and riven by gender wars and porn debates. In the process, she has graced us with an elegant, exhaustive study of a Byzantine "genre certainly not 'just for the boys'" In this comprehensive survey of one of contemporary cinema's most popular genres, Linda Ruth Williams describes Hollywood's coupling of softcore pornography with the narratives of film noir, arguing that an analysis of these hybrid fantasies of the rich and uninhibited can provide us with a history of the desires, excitements and paranoias of the last two decades. From Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction to Naked Obsession and Victim of Desire, Williams provides a roadmap to the exploitation cinema of the video age that is as lively as the movies it describes. -- Richard Maltby, Flinders University, Australia 'She intersperses her wryly provocative analyses of 'suspense in suspenders' or 'cops and copulation' pictures with to-the-point interviews.' - Sight and Sound Book of the Month She intersperses her wryly provocative analyses of 'suspense in suspenders' or 'cops and copulation' pictures with to-the-point interviews. Williams has graced us with a witty, discerning, elegant, exhaustive study of a byzantine and meaningful genre that is, as she declares in closing, "not'just for the boys'". Much as the release of Fatal Attraction became a cultural event in 1987, the publication of this remarkable book should become an academic event in the fields of cultural studies, film studies and porn studies. The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema makes groundbreaking contributions to the study of popular film genres and to the study of pornography... Williams has demonstrated that the erotic thriller's sex-is-dangerous ehtos had ramifications beyond the frame for industry figures seduced by a risky but lucrative genre and for a culture coping with AIDS and riven by gender wars and porn debates. In the process, she has graced us with an elegant, exhaustive study of a Byzantine "genre certainly not 'just for the boys'" In this comprehensive survey of one of contemporary cinema's most popular genres, Linda Ruth Williams describes Hollywood's coupling of softcore pornography with the narratives of film noir, arguing that an analysis of these hybrid fantasies of the rich and uninhibited can provide us with a history of the desires, excitements and paranoias of the last two decades. From Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction to Naked Obsession and Victim of Desire, Williams provides a roadmap to the exploitation cinema of the video age that is as lively as the movies it describes. 'She intersperses her wryly provocative analyses of 'suspense in suspenders' or 'cops and copulation' pictures with to-the-point interviews.' - Sight and Sound Book of the MonthTable of ContentsPreface; 1. Introduction; PART ONE: BLOCKBUSTER THRILLS: EROTIC NOIR IN THE MAINSTREAM; 2. Femmes Fatales, Fall Guys and Paranoid Women: Sexual and Narrative Blueprints; 3. 'Meisters of Porno-Noir': Key Players in the Cinematic Erotic Thriller; PART TWO: SUSPENSE IN SUSPENDERS: THE DIRECT-TO-VIDEO EROTIC THRILLER; 4. Softcore on the Sofa; 5. The Bad and the Beautiful: Key Players in the Direct-to-Video Erotic Thriller; 6. Uncovered and Undercover: Issues in the Direct-to-Video Thriller; Conclusion: The Erotic Thriller's Hybrid Children; Afterword; Bibliography; Filmography.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn the context of a frantic world that celebrates instantaneity and speed, a number of cinemas steeped in contemplation, silence and duration have garnered significant critical attention in recent years, thus resonating with a larger sociocultural movement whose aim is to rescue extended temporal structures from the accelerated tempo of late-capitalism. Although not part of a structured film movement, directors such as Carlos Reygadas, Tsai Ming-liang, Béla Tarr, Pedro Costa and Kelly Reichardt have been largely subsumed under the term ''slow cinema''. But what exactly is slow cinema? Is it a strictly recent phenomenon or an overarching cinematic tradition? And how exactly do slow cinemas interrelate on an aesthetic, technical and political level?Deploying the concept of slowness as an umbrella category under which filmmakers and traditions from different historical and geographical backgrounds can fruitfully converge, this innovative collection of essays interrogates and expands the frameworks that have generally informed slow cinema debates. Repositioning the term in a broader theoretical space, the book combines an array of fine-grained studies that will provide valuable insight into the notion of slowness in the cinema, while mapping out past and contemporary slow films across the globe.Table of ContentsIllustrations; Foreword, Julian Stringer; Introduction: From Slow Cinema to Slow Cinemas, Tiago De Luca and Nuno Barradas Jorge; Part I: Historicising Slow Cinema: 1: The Politics of Slowness and the Traps of Modernity, Lacia Nagib; 2: The Slow Pulse of the Era: Carl Th. Dreyer's Film Style, C. Claire Thomson; 3: The First Durational Cinema and the Real of Time, Michael Walsh; 4: The Attitude of- Smoking and Observing': Slow Film and Politics in the Cinema Of Jean-Marie Straub and -Daniele Huillet, Martin Brady; Part II: Contextualising Slow Cinema: 5: Temporal Aesthetics of Drifting: Tsai Ming-Liang and a Cinema of Slowness, Song Hwee Lim; 6: Stills and Stillness in Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Cinema, Glyn Davis; 7: Melancholia: The Long, Slow Cinema of Lav Diaz, William Brown; 8: Exhausted Drift: Austerity, Dispossession and the Politics of Slow in Kelly Reichardt's Meek's Cutoff, Elena Gorfinkel; 9: lf These Walls Could Speak: From Slowness to Stillness in the Cinema of Jia Zhangke, Cecilia Mello; Part III: Slow Cinema And Labour: 10: Wastrels of Time: Slow Cinema's Labouring Body, The Political Spectator, and the Queer, Karl Schoonover; 11: Living Daily, Working Slowly: Pedro Costa's in Vanda's Room, Nuno Barradas Jorge; 12: Working/Slow: Cinematic Style as Labour in Wang Bing's Tie Xi Qu: West Of The Tracks, Patrick Brian Smith; 13: 'Slow Sounds': Duration, Audition and Labour in Liu Jiayin's Oxhide and Oxhide II, Philippa Lovatt; Part IV: Slow Cinema and the Nonhuman: 14: It's About Time: Slow Aesthetics in Experimental Ecocinema and Nature Cam Videos, Stephanie Lam; 15: Natural Views: Animals, Contingency and Death in Carlos Reygadas's Japon and Lisandro Alonso's Los Muertos, Tiago de Luca; 16: The Sleeping Spectator: Nonhuman Aesthetics in Abbas Kiarostami's Five: Dedicated to Ozu, Justin Remes; Part V: The Ethics and Politics of Slowness: 17: Bela Tarr: The Poetics and the Politics of Fiction, Jacques Ranciere; 18: Ethics of the Landscape Shot: A.K.A Serial Killer and James Benning's Portraits of Criminals, Julian Ross; 19: Slow Cinema and the Ethics of Duration, Asbjorn Gronstad; Part VI: Beyond 'Slow Cinema': 20: Performing Evolution: Immersion, Unfolding and Lucile Hadiihalilovic's Innocence, Matilda Mroz; 21: The Slow Road to Europe: The Politics and Aesthetics of Stalled Mobility in Hermakono and Morgen, Michael Gott; 22: Crystallising the Past: Slow Heritage Cinema, Rob Stone and Paul Cooke.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJust as BDL''s bestselling All the Songs series-which has over 400,000 copies in print-presents a comprehensive, song-by-song view of major bands and music history, Steven Spielberg All the Films: The Stories Behind Every Movie, Episode, and Short celebrates the inimitable Hollywood icon and his illustrious film career, from his earliest homemade movies to the 2022 release of his latest feature, The Fabelmans.Organized chronologically and covering every short film, television episode, and blockbuster movie that Steven Spielberg has ever directed, Steven Spielberg All the Films draws upon years of research to tell the behind-the-scenes stories of how each project was conceived, cast, and produced; from the creation of the costumes to the search for perfect locations; details about Spielberg''s work with longtime collaborators like George Lucas, producer Kathleen Kennedy, and composer John Williams; and of course, the direction of some

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the first full-length exploration of the relationship between religion, film, and ideology. It shows how religion is imagined, constructed, and interpreted in film and film criticism. The films analyzed include The Last Jedi, Terminator, Cloud Atlas, Darjeeling Limited, Hellboy, The Revenant, Religulous, and The Secret of my Success. Each chapter offers: - an explanation of the particular representation of religion that appears in film - a discussion of how this representation has been interpreted in film criticism and religious studies scholarship - an in-depth study of a Hollywood or popular film to highlight the rhetorical, social, and political functions this representation accomplishes on the silver screen - a discussion about how such analysis might be applied to other films of a similar genre Written in an accessible style, and focusing on Hollywood and popular cinema, this book will be of interest to both movie lTrade ReviewRelevant for students and scholars across a range of disciplines, Representing Religion in Film not only provides analyses of compelling case studies, but it also presents the theoretical tools necessary for studying religion and popular culture more broadly. Read with a highlighter and a bag of popcorn. * K. Merinda Simmons, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Alabama, USA *This book will change the way we think about religion and film studies. * William L. Blizek, Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA *Table of ContentsList of Contributors Forward, Tenzan Eaghll (independent scholar, USA) and Rebekka King (Middle Tennessee State University, USA) Introduction - Three Film Critics Walk into a Theatre: The Ideological Blindspot in the Academic Study of Religion and Film, Tenzan Eaghll (independent scholar, USA) 1. Atheistic Documentaries and the Critique of Religion in Bill Maher’s Religulous, Teemu Taira (University of Helsinki, Finland) 2. Capitalism, the Hero’s Journey, and the Myth of Entrepreneurship in The Secret to My Success and Joy, Dennis LoRusso (Princeton University, USA) 3. Oprah, Mindy, and Reese: The Holy Trinity of Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time, Leslie Dorrough Smith (Avila University, USA) 4. Race, Colonialism, and Whiteness in Scorsese’s Silence, Malory Nye (Aberdeen University, UK) 5. We Haven’t Located Us Yet: The Mystic East in Wes Anderson’s Darjeeling Limited, Michael J. Altman (University of Alabama, USA) 6. Lost in Žižek, Redeemed in Cloud Atlas: Buddhism and Other Tales of “Asian Religions” in Western Cinema and Affective Circulation, Ting Guo (University of Toronto, Canada) 7. Magical realism, Anti-modernity, and the Religious Imaginaries of Latin American cinema: A look through Ciro Guerra’s The Wind Journeys, Rebecca Bartel (San Diego State University, USA) 8. Unsettling Settler-Colonial Myths about Native Americans in The Revenant, Matt Sheedy (Bonn University, Germany) 9. From the Horrors of Human Tragedy and Social Reproduction to the Comfort of a Demonic Cult: Agency in the Film Hereditary, Sean McCloud (University of North Carolina-Charlotte, USA) 10. Superheroes, Apocalyptic Messiahs, and Hellboy, Aaron Ricker (McGill University, Canada) 11. AI Apocalypticism and the Religious Impulse In, and From, the Terminator Franchise, Beth Singler (University of Cambridge, UK) 12. Myth of the Auteur and the Authentic in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Richard Newton (University of Alabama, USA) Conclusion - Religion as Film: Constructing a Course as a Critique of a Dominant Paradigm, Tenzan Eaghll (independent scholar, USA) Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisJanet Harbord is Professor of Film at Queen Mary, University of London, UK. She has written on film archaeology, minor cinemas and the philosophy of Giorgio Agamben. She is co-principal investigator of Autism through Cinema, supported by Wellcome.

Read more less

Book SynopsisExamines the work of Turkish director, Nuri Bilge CeylanTrade Review"An intriguing collection of essays on the work of the celebrated Turkish film director, Nuri Bilge Ceylan. A rewarding read for anyone interested in world cinema, it succeeds in placing Ceylan within his cultural context and analysing his wider significance within Film Studies." -Oliver Leaman, University of Kentucky

Read more less

Book SynopsisExamines the work of women filmmakers in comtemporary Turkey.

Read more less

Book SynopsisGilles Deleuze was one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century philosophy, whose master-works, Difference and Repetition and with Felix Guattari - A Thousand Plateaus and Anti-Oedipus have become one of the most widely-influential bodies of work in contemporary thought. Cinema II is Deleuze's second work on cinema, completing the reassessment of the art form begun in Cinema I. Influenced by the philosophy of Henri Bergson, Deleuze here offers a compelling analysis of the cinematic treatment of time and memory, thought and speech. The work draws on examples from major film makers, including Federico Fellini, Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles, among many others.Trade Review "Cinema I and Cinema II must be understood as works of philosophy, not of film criticism. They are Deleuze's reflection on the new ways the cinema enables us to think about time and movement, opening up insights into semiotics and our ideological construction of a world increasingly experienced through representational media.... The main purpose of these books is to identify and explore the implications of a vital shift from classical, pre-World War II cinema of the movement-image to post-World War II cinema of the time-imaging.... "Cinema 1 and Cinema 2 perhaps ultimately have more to teach us about philosophy, conceptions of subjectivity, and hermeneutics than to say something about any specific film. These books are challenging because they develop their own vocabulary in dialogue with the history of philosophy, and they assume a wide knowledge of films from the Soviet, European and Hollywood traditions. They reward the effort required to read them, however, for the original tools with which they provide us to understand cinema and semiotics more generally. Deleuze concludes that it is important to think of cinema not as a language, but as a way of bringing to light 'intelligible content' which is a condition through which language constructs its objects (Cinema 2, p.251). Thus, purely optical and sound images which do not extend into action might be one way in which aesthetics might help us break outside of the determining structure of linguistic systems, enabling us to imagine the world otherwise. Deleuze helps us to see cinema as more than just a collection of texts but as additionally 'a new practice of images and signs, whose theory philosophy must produce as conceptual practice' (Cinema 2, p. 269)."- Sherryl Vint, Film International, Issue 27 -- Film InternationalTable of ContentsPreface to the English Edition \ Translator's Introduction \1. Beyond the Movement-Image \ 2. Recapitulation of Images and Signs \ 3. FromRecollections to Dreams: Third Commentary on Bergson \ 4. The Crystals of Time\ 5. Peaks of Present and Sheets of Past: Fourth Commentary on Bergson \ 6. ThePowers of the False \ 7. Thought and Cinema \ 8. Cinema, Body and Brain,Thought \ 9. The Components of the Image \ 10. Conclusions \ Notes \ Glossary \Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisArgues that Kafkaesque cinema is a critical category that can enable us to consider the interconnections between historical events, politics and aesthetics in films across the globe

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Battle of Algiers, a 1966 film that poetically captures Algerian resistance to French colonial occupation, is widely considered one of the greatest political films of all time. With an artistic defiance that matched the boldness of the anticolonial struggles of the time, it was embraced across the political spectrum—from leftist groups like the Black Panther Party and the Palestine Liberation Organization to right-wing juntas in the 1970s and later, the Pentagon in 2003. With a philosophical nod to Frantz Fanon, Sohail Daulatzai demonstrates that tracing the film’s afterlife reveals a larger story about how dreams of freedom were shared and crushed in the fifty years since its release. As the War on Terror expands and the “threat” of the Muslim looms, The Battle of Algiers is more than an artifact of the past—it’s a prophetic testament to the present and a cautionary tale of an imperial future, as perpetual war has been declared on permanent unrest.Forerunners: Ideas First is a thought-in-process series of breakthrough digital publications. Written between fresh ideas and finished books, Forerunners draws on scholarly work initiated in notable blogs, social media, conference plenaries, journal articles, and the synergy of academic exchange. This is gray literature publishing: where intense thinking, change, and speculation take place in scholarship.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book explores how British filmmakers of the 2000s engaged with the themes of love, sex and desire. It ranges from powerful contemporary dramas such as Kidulthood, Closer and Disobedience to the lighter mood of the Bridget Jones series, as well as exploring dramatisations of the lives of Oscar Wilde, Sylvia Plath and Iris Murdoch. -- .

Read more less

Book SynopsisA comprehensive history and analysis of Secret Cinema the leading producer of large-scale immersive experiences in the UK. The book examines how they have evolved their format over twelve years from experimental and artisanal beginnings to becoming a global leader in large scale immersive entertainment. -- .

Read more less

Book Synopsis'A blast' - Ian Rankin'A joyous celebration of 80s action cinema' - Robbie Collin, Telegraph'Vastly entertaining' - The TimesThe behind-the-scenes story of the action heroes who ruled 1980s and 90s Hollywood and the beloved films – from Die Hard to The Terminator – that made them stars.This wildly entertaining account of the golden age of the action movie charts Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagan’s America and the Cold War. Revealing fascinating untold stories of the colourful characters who ascended in their wake – high-kickers Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan, glowering tough guys Dolph Lundgren and Steven Seagal, and quipping troublemakers Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Willis – it chronicles the rise of the invincible action hero who used muscle, martial arts or the perfect weapon to save the day. And how, as the 1990s rolled on, the glory days of these macho men – and the vision of masculinity they celebrated – began to fade.Drawing on candid interviews with the action stars themselves, plus their collaborators, friends and foes, The Last Action Heroes is a no-holds-barred account of a period in Hollywood history when there were no limits to the heights of fame these men achieved, or to the mayhem they wrought, on-screen and off.______'Highly entertaining' - Sunday Telegraph'A rollicking, anecdote-packed tribute to the cavalier days' - Literary ReviewTrade ReviewA book as big and brash as the stars who are its focus. I had a blast reading it - no CGI required. -- Ian RankinA lively celebration of 1980s action stars: Sly, Arnie and ‘the muscles from Brussels'. * The Times *If it's bulging biceps, titanic tantrums, sculpted shoulders and Herculean drug habits you're after, then Nick de Semlyen is the author for you. His book The Last Action Heroes is not bad either, a hugely entertaining romp through 80s and 90s action cinema, every page riddled with a zillion bullet holes. -- Edgar WrightThis book takes you so close to the action, you can smell the sweat, cigar smoke, and bad cologne that brought these movies to life. Along the way, Nick de Semlyen reveals tales of stunts gone wrong, conversations between Stallone and Reagan, the origin of Jean Claude Van Damme’s buns, and all of the stories from set that people were too afraid to tell—until now. -- Paul ScheerThe action stars of the ‘80s and ‘90s weren’t out to make history at the outset of their careers, but that’s what they did all the same. Nick De Semlyen chronicles the rise and fall (and sometimes rise-again) of the world’s most popular action heroes in this juicy, highly entertaining, and informative book. -- Leonard MaltinA rollicking, anecdote-packed tribute to the cavalier days. * Literary Review *In his riveting chronicle of the ass-kicking, neck-snapping, biceps-rippling action heroes of the ‘80s and ‘90s, Nick de Semlyen not only paints the story of the movies and stars of the Reagan era, he shines a light on what they meant—and still mean—to us. A juicy, fun as hell read. -- Chris Nashawaty, author of Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella StoryA testosterone-fueled ode to action movies . . . packs a punch. * Publishers Weekly *Nick de Semlyen’s love letter to the action cinema of the ’80s and ‘90s reads like those films play: fast-paced, wryly funny, and unapologetically entertaining. His research is meticulous and his analysis is impeccable, but he also keenly understands why these movies hit like they did: because they were fun. And, unfailingly, so is The Last Action Heroes. -- Jason Bailey, author of Fun City Cinema: New York City and the Movies That Made ItIn his revelatory history of the Golden Age of action cinema, Nick de Semlyen vividly renders the story of the larger-than-life legends who defined and shaped an era. Equally insightful and entertaining, this book is an absolute blast to read, as thrilling as the genre itself. -- Priscilla Page

Read more less

Book SynopsisGangster movie, Western, film noir, rom com, screwball, musical, even the Biblical epic... There are few genres left untouched and untwisted by sibling visionaries Joel and Ethan Coen. Since 1984''s Blood Simple, the inscrutable brothers have effortlessly forged their own cinematic path, avoiding prevailing trends while crafting bold, stylish and witty movies that feel fresh and distinctive despite being deeply rooted in their creators'' filmic passion and knowledge.This is a definitive guide to that path, bringing the reader through Joel and Ethan''s 20 features (not counting the mezzanine) and exploring thethemes, the tropes, the gags, the familiar faces - while also taking in all the Coen curios that litter this quirkily winding byway.From Texas to Minnesota, from Homer to Shakespeare, from Bluegrass to Busby Berkeley, from wrestling to bowling, from lost hats to severed toes, this book covers everything that one might reasonably consider (to use a wor

Read more less

Book SynopsisReconsidering the German tendency to define itself vis-à-vis an eastern "Other" in light of fresh debate regarding the Second World War, this volume and the cultural products it considers expose and question Germany's relationship with its imagined East. Germany has long defined itself in opposition to its eastern neighbors: its ideas around cultural prestige and its expressions of xenophobia seem inevitably to return to an imagined eastern "Other." Central to the consideration of such projections is the legacy of the Second World War, the subject of fresh debate since 1989: after four decades of political antagonism and cultural disjuncture, the events of the war on the Eastern Front have been rediscovered by Western audiences and have come to occupy complex, shifting positions in the memory culture of the postsocialist states. However, German ignorance of Eastern European experiences of war and genocide, enduring stereotypes, and prescriptive ideas about remembrance have been major stumbling blocks to the emergence of a transnational memory culture considered just by all parties. Despite mass immigration to Germany from the east and intensive contact between German speakers and its cultures, German-language cultural production continues largely to represent Eastern Europe as unknown, wild, and inaccessible. By contrast, the writers and filmmakers under discussion in the present volume have worked with and against such tropes to put forward alternative perspectives. Like their works, the contributions to this volume place the conflicts and prejudices of the twentieth century into a wider historical perspective, exposing and questioning the nature of Germany's relationship with its imagined East. Contributors: Deirdre Byrnes, Raluca Cernahoschi, Shivani Chauhan, Enikő Dácz, Olha Flachs, Daniel Harvey, Jakub Kazecki, Amy Leech, Paul Peters, Ernest Schonfield, Karolina Watroba.Table of ContentsBetween Estrangement and Entanglement: An Introduction to German Visions of Eastern Europe in the Twentieth (and Twenty-First) Century - Jenny Watson Colonizing a Central European City: Transnational Perspectives on Kronstadt/Brașov/Brassó in the First Half of the Twentieth Century - Enikő Dácz Exile as a Literary-Political Mission: Leo Katz's Antifascist Bukovina Novel Totenjäger (1944) - Olha Flachs Brunnenland: The Image of the Bukovina in Paul Celan - Paul Peters "Auch bei uns im fernen Transsilvanien": The Transylvanian Saxons and the Long Shadow of the Third Reich in the Work of Bettina Schuller - Raluca Cernahoschi Through an Orientalist Lens: Colonial Renderings of Poland in German Cinema after 1989 - Jakub Kazecki The Nazi Ghost and the Sinti Woman in Kerstin Hensel's Bell Vedere (1982) - Ernest Schonfield The Haunted Landscape of Babi Yar: Memory, Language, and the Exploration of Holocaust Spaces in Katja Petrowskaja's Vielleicht Esther (2014) - Deirdre Byrnes "dann hüpfe ich auch, komisch und ungeschickt, wie eine Nadel auf einer abgespielten Platte...": The Ethics and Affects of Translation in Katja Petrowskaja's Vielleicht Esther (2014) - Daniel Harvey Expanding the Nationalgeschichte: Entangled European Memory in Nino Haratischwili and Saša Stanišić - Amy Leech Reading Photographic Images and Identifying Mnemonic Threads of the Post-Memorial Project in Sie kam aus Mariupol (2017) by Natascha Wodin - Shivani Chauhan Navid Kermani's Entlang den Gräben (2018) and Its Readers: Remapping Europe's East - Karolina Watroba

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe perfect companion to AMC’s six-part television series James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction, this unique book explores the history and evolution of the genre with contributions from the filmmakers who have helped bring it to lifeFor the show, James Cameron personally interviewed six of the biggest names in science fiction filmmaking—Guillermo del Toro, George Lucas, Christopher Nolan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ridley Scott, and Steven Spielberg—to get their perspectives on the importance and impact of the genre. This book reproduces the interviews in full as the greatest minds in the genre discuss key topics including alien life, time travel, outer space, dark futures, monsters, and intelligent machines. An in-depth interview with Cameron is also featured, plus essays by experts in the science fiction field on the main themes covered in the show. Illustrated with rare and previously unseen concept art from Cameron’s personal archives, plus imagery from iconic sci-fi movies, TV shows, and books, James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction offers a sweeping examination of a genre that continues to ask questions, push limits, and thrill audiences around the world.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Short Story of Film is a new and innovative introduction to the art of film-making. Simply constructed, the book explores 50 key movies, from superhero blockbusters to indie darlings. The design of the book allows the reader to navigate their way around key genres, movements and techniques with ease. Accessible, concise and fun to read, this pocket guide will give moviegoers a new way to enjoy their favourite films and to discover new ones to watch.The perfect book for all movie lovers who want to understand how, why and when film changed

Read more less

Book SynopsisDrawing on historical, literary and cultural studies perspectives, this book examines the phenomenon of the “Returned Yank” in the cultural imagination, taking as its point of departure the most exhaustively discussed Returned Yank narrative, The Quiet Man (dir. John Ford, 1952). Often dismissed as a figure that embodies the sentimentality and nostalgia of Irish America writ large, this study argues that the Returned Yank’s role in the Irish cultural imagination is much more varied and complex than this simplistic construction allows. Throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, s/he has been widely discussed in broadcast and print media, and depicted in plays, novels, short stories and films. The imagined figure of the Returned Yank has been the driving impetus behind some of Ireland's most well-known touristic endeavours and festivals. In the form of U.S. Presidential visits, s/he has repeatedly been the catalyst for questions surrounding Irish identity. Most significantly, s/he has been mobilised as an arbiter in one of the most important debates in post-Independence Ireland: should Ireland remain a "traditional" society or should it seek to modernise? His/her repeated appearances in Irish literature and culture after 1952 – in remarkably heterogeneous, often very sophisticated ways – refute claims of the “aesthetic caution” of Irish writers, dramatists and filmmakers responding to the tradition/modernity debate.Trade Review'An incisive and impressively contextualized study of the trope of "the Returned Yank" in Irish culture. This fascinating and outstanding book will make an invaluable and timely contribution to Irish and American Studies, as well as to diaspora studies more widely.'Dr Tony Murray, Director of the Irish Studies Centre at London Metropolitan University'Extremely commendable in its scope and ambition, this book offers a valuable contribution to Irish cultural studies, in particular to research on the complex relationship between "tradition" and "modernity" in Irish culture. It fills a genuine gap in existing scholarship, and its sustained analysis across several decades and multiple forms of representation is especially impressive, as it allows the reader to track a complex and historically-informed narrative arc for the "Returned Yank" figure.'Dr Stephanie Rains, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Media Studies, Maynooth UniversityReviews 'Sinéad Moynihan’s Ireland, Migration and Return Migration is an impressively wide-ranging and insightful study of migration to and from the United States in Irish literature, film, and culture. This book pushes beyond simplistic models of deracination, exile or the émigré, to think about the recurring nature of migration and return migration, and raises questions about decolonization, neo-colonialism, and the nature of “modern” Ireland both before and after the Celtic Tiger. Moynihan's work interrogates gendered mythologies about maternity and return, and similarly reworks notions of return in relation to literary forebears and genres. She combines an impressive range of cultural sources with nuanced close readings in an important and timely contribution to Irish Studies.' 2019 ACIS Michael J. Durkan PrizeTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroduction - “The Meanest Form of Animal”?: The Returned Yank in the Cultural ImaginationChapter 1. “Quiet Men”: Film and Filmmaking in Returned Yank Fictions of the TroublesChapter 2. “Mother Macree ad nauseam”: Maternity, Modernity and the Female Returned Yank Chapter 3. Erin’s Acres: The Returned Yank, Property Disputes and the Rise and Fall of the Irish EconomyChapter 4. “The Secret Dotted Line”: Return, Roots Journeys and Irish Literary GenealogiesCoda - “We are where we are”: Mythologies of Return and the Post-Celtic Tiger MomentWorks CitedIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book marks a return for Laura Mulvey to questions of film theory and feminism, as well as a reconsideration of new and old film technologies. Its title, Afterimages, alludes to the dislocation of time that runs through many of the films and works in this book, and the way we view them. Structured in three main parts the book begins with a section on the theme of woman as spectacle. Part Two focuses on films drawn from different parts of the world, directed by women and about women, and all adopting radical cinematic strategies. In Part Three Mulvey considers moving image works made for art galleries and argues that the aesthetics of cinema have persisted into this environment. Afterimages also features an appendix of ten frequently asked questions on her classic feminist essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, in which Mulvey addresses questions of spectatorship crucial to our era of #MeToo. An urgent and compelling book for anyone interested in the power and pleasures of moving images.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMartin Scorsese’s Cape Fear (1991) opens with a shot of water and climaxes on a raging river. Despite, or perhaps because of, the film’s great commercial success, critical analysis of the film typically does not delve beneath the surface of Scorsese’s first major box office hit. As it reaches its 30th anniversary, Cape Fear is now ripe for a full appraisal. The remake of J. Lee Thompson’s 1962 Cape Fear was originally conceived as a straightforward thriller intended for Steven Spielberg. Author Rob Daniel investigates the fascinating ways Scorsese’s style and preoccupations transform his version into a horror epic. The director’s love of fear cinema, his Catholicism and filmmaking techniques shift Cape Fear into terrifying psychological and psychosexual waters. The analysis also examines the influence of Gothic literature and fairy tales, plus how academic approaches to genre aid an understanding of the film. Trade Review'[Daniels] attempts to weave the film into the profile of Scorsese‘s filmography, with the unique take that Cape Fear is really a horror film and that certain horror film tropes and styles have informed most of his films... Mr. Daniel makes a thorough case and the reader learns a lot about Scorsese from this slim volume... Cape Fear is a must read for any student of Martin Scorsese.' Douglas Holm, KBOO

Read more less

Book SynopsisThere had been stars before. There had been films prior to Cleopatra. But in all the cynical, greedy, magical, histrionic history of the movies, there had never been a combination like that of Elizabeth Taylor and Cleopatra.Other films may have taken more money, won more awards or attracted better reviews, but none have come close to the legend that is Cleopatra.What began in 1958 as a remake of the 1917 Theda Bara film, which starred Joan Collins and was projected to cost $2 million, would open five years later, having cost nearly twenty times as much. The budget had skyrocketed enormously as the production went through extravagant sets in two different countries, two directors and six leading men – and this was on top of Elizabeth Taylor’s $1 million fee.But it was the off-screen romance between the two on-screen leads that really cemented Cleopatra’s place in cinema history. Within weeks of Richard Burton’s arrival in Italy, he and Taylor embarked on a tumultuous and passionate love affair that kept the Cuban Missile Crisis off the front pages and was denounced by the Vatican. Cleopatra and the Undoing of Hollywood is a story of lust, excess and hubris – and how one film nearly brought Hollywood to its knees.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book considers the presence of the supernatural and Gothic elements of the Western on screen. These dark and sinister undertones often exist in Western narratives to draw attention to the ever-present issue of death and its haunting resonance and at times as terrifying entities which characters encounter. This book examines this through key historic moments in Western film and its contemporary incarnations. The book detects imposing correlations in themes and currents between the Gothic and the Western tradition as much as Greek tragedy. These themes are the tensions between the old and the new, the deranged insistence on civility and order in a chaotic landscape, disillusionment and the shattering of faith in the natural order, and even order itself. The Western, just like the Gothic tale, reminds us that new frontiers are mired in the past; optimism and survival are hunted down by the guilt-ridden anxieties of that past.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPicasso apparently said, "when critics get together, they talk about theory. When painters get together, they talk about turpentine.' That has been my experience, as far as film and film studies are concerned. Critics, academics, and theoreticians talk theory. That is what they know. Artists talk about their processes in making art. This is my attempt to apply what I know to a beginning study of film. Emerging filmmakers need to know the basics of their art form: the language of the camera, and lenses, the different crew roles, the formats, the aspect ratios. They also need to know some bare-bones theory: what an auteur is, what montage is, what genres are. Words like these are our currency: they must be known. But, even more urgently, young filmmakers need answers to their questions -- what lens was used? how did they do that effect? who paid for that picture? how did they get it past the censor? Most important, all filmmakers require serious grounding in film. You cannot be a great artist if you aren't versed in great art. And this doesn't just apply to the cinema. I believe 100% that a reasonably educated and intelligent person in any country of the world should be able to have a conversation about Luis Buñuel, about Akira Kurosawa, about Stanley Kubrick, about Fellini or Bergman, and talk knowledgeably about at least one of their films. Read this book, watch the films, and you can!Trade ReviewThis book by Alex Cox will give you great insights into the filmmaking process, from idea to production to cinema * Lock and Load, Brides of Christ *A thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable read -- Colin Odell and Michelle Le BlancAN INTRODUCTION TO FILM is setting out to reinvent film studies -- Simon Kennedy

Read more less

Book SynopsisDirector J.J. Abrams’ new vision of the greatest space adventure of all time, Star Trek features a young, new crew venturing boldly where no man has gone before, as it tells the story of how the brash Starfleet cadet James T. Kirk first meets a Vulcan named Spock, and earns the Captain’s chair of the Starship Enterprise. The film quickly became a critical and commercial smash hit worldwide, as audiences — confirmed Trekkers and newcomers alike — thrilled to a state-of-the-art action epic which both respected the legacy of Gene Roddenberry’s archetypal modern myth and forged ahead into an exciting future of its own. Star Trek: The Art of the Film is a lavishly illustrated celebration of that new vision, tracing the evolution of the movie’s look through a stunning array of previously unseen pre-production paintings, concept sketches, costume and set designs, unit photography and final frames. Written by New Yor

Read more less

Book SynopsisAt the time of its release in 1983, Local Hero, starring Burt Lancaster and Fulton MacKay, was the most expensive film ever to be made in Scotland. It remains as important and influential today as it was then. David Manderson''s SCOTNOTE study guide considers the impact of Local Hero on the Scottish film industry and the rest of the world, while evaluating the film''s influence on Scottish filmmakers. This study guide explores important aspects of the film, including the story of its production, inspirations for the plot, characters, themes and critical reception. It also examines the language of film and includes a guide to cinematography and a glossary of technical terms. These notes are suitable for media studies students, senior school pupils and students of all levels.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe films of David Lynch are sometimes said to be unintelligible. They confront us with strange dreamscapes populated with bizarre characters, obscure symbols and an infuriating lack of narrative consistency. Yet despite their opacity, they hold us transfixed. Lynch, who once told an interviewer, “I love dream logic,” would surely agree with Sigmund Freud’s famous claim that “before the problem of the creative artist, psychoanalysis must lay down its arms.” But what else might the two agree on? Rather than presuming to fill in what Lynch leaves open by positing some forbidden psychosexual reality lurking behind his trademark red curtains, this book instead maintains a fidelity to the mysteries of his wonderful and strange filmic worlds, finding in them productive spaces where thought and imagination can be set to work. With contributions from scholars, psychoanalysts, cinephiles, and filmmakers, this collection of essays explores potential affinities and disjunctions between Lynch and Freud. Encompassing themes such as art, identity, architecture, fantasy, dreams, hysteria and the unconscious, Freud/Lynch takes as its point of departure the possibility that the enterprise in which these two distinct investigators are engaged might in some sense be a shared one.Trade Review‘this collection raises several important questions, pertinent both to psychoanalysis and an appreciation of Lynch. What are the implications of trying to interrupt trauma? To what extent is Lynch’s oeuvre an attempt to confront the malevolence of the Other? At what point do hysteric representations begin to hystericize the spectator? Can the free association of psychoanalysis be reconciled with the free association of transcendental meditation? By exploring these questions, the reader can begin to peer behind the Lynchian curtain and will, most likely, see quite a bit more than they might have expected to. The collection feels fresh and unquestionably offers more than just a rehashing of the popular psychoanalytic readings of Lynch.' -- Oliver Cutler, Cinematheme Magazine 2022'Freud and Lynch are predestined to meet. Only through Freud can we discern in Lynch’s films an authentic effort of thought, not just a postmodern confusion. And only through Lynch’s films can we see how relevant Freud’s theory remains for grasping the crazy predicament we live in. Freud/Lynch is thus a collection of essays which was predestined to be written.' -- Slavoj Žižek'Freud–Lynch, in their respective deployment of the tools of analysis and immersion, are among the West’s most important cartographers of the dream space. Approaching this mutual territory from contending directions, an important unification is achieved through the essays in this spirited collection: what appear to be opposing modes of uncovering the most obscured patches of human consciousness are revealed to not just share complementary features. They in fact inhabit an entangled perspective, suggesting a common oneiric logic.' -- Bobby K, 'Diane Podcast''[A] must-read book [...] born out of a conference the two organized in London on the topic in 2018, which garnered attention and positive reactions. [...] Lynch requested copies of the book to be added to his library.' -- Avshalom Halutz, 'FINDING FREUD BEHIND LYNCH’S RED CURTAIN', 'Haaretz Magazine', 2023Table of ContentsIntroduction Jamie Ruers and Stefan Marianski Chapter 1 “Listen, do you want to know a secret?” Lynch stays silent Chris Rodley Chapter 2 What’s so Lynchian about that? Defining a cultural moment with some notes from Freud and Lacan Carol Owens Chapter 3 Dream Logic in Mulholland Drive Olga Cox Cameron Chapter 4 Lost Angels in Los Angeles: Lynchian psychogenic fugues Mary Wild Chapter 5 “It’s a strange world, isn’t it?” A voyeuristic lens on David Lynch's Blue Velvet Andrea Sabbadini Chapter 6 The Fragmented Case of the Lynchian Hysteric Jamie Ruers Chapter 7 Möbian Adventures on the Lost Highway Stefan Marianski Chapter 8 “It is an illusion”: The Artful Life of David Lynch Allister Mactaggart Chapter 9 David Lynch Sprawls Richard Martin Chapter 10 Waiting for Agent Cooper: The Ends of Fantasy in Twin Peaks: The Return Todd McGowan Chapter 11 Panel Discussion on Twin Peaks: The Return Tamara Dellutri, Richard Martin, Allister Mactaggart and Todd McGowan

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Stepford Daughters, Johanna Isaacson explores an emerging wave of horror films that get why class horror and gender horror must be understood together. In doing so, Isaacson makes the case that this often-maligned genre is in fact a place where oppressed people can understand, navigate and confront an increasingly ugly and horrifying world. Films like Hereditary and The Babadook show women coming apart at the seams as the promises of both the family and waged work fail them. In Get Out, we see how poor women and women of color perform the invisible labor that holds up our society, experiencing domestic work as a kind of possession. In “coming of rage” films such as Assassination Nation and Teeth, we see the ways social reproduction leads to a futureless horizon. Robbed of their dreams but not their power to resist, these heroines emerge as the monsters and avengers we need.Trade ReviewCapitalism and patriarchy create monsters—but inside the darkness there lurks a strange utopia. In Stepford Daughters, Johanna Isaacson explores an emerging wave of horror films that get why class horror and gender horror must be understood together. In doing so, Isaacson makes the case that this often-maligned genre is in fact a place where oppressed people can understand, navigate and confront an increasingly ugly and horrifying world.What happens when your smile is no longer yours? Films like Hereditary and The Babadook show women coming apart at the seams as the promises of both the family and waged work fail them. In Get Out, we see how poor women and women of color perform the invisible labor that makes society run while experiencing domestic work as a kind of possession. In “coming of rage” films such as Assassination Nation and Teeth, we see the ways social reproduction leads to a futureless horizon. Robbed of their dreams but not their power to resist, these heroines emerge as the monsters and avengers we need.Product DetailsAuthors: Johanna IsaacsonPublisher: Common NotionsISBN: 9781942173694Published: October 2022Format: PaperbackSize: 5.5 x 8.5Page count: 208Subjects: Feminism/Social Reproduction/HorrorAbout the AuthorJohanna Isaacson writes academic and popular pieces on horror and politics. She is a professor of English at Modesto Junior College and a founding editor of Blind Field Journal. She is the author of The Ballerina and the Bull, has published widely in academic and popular journals, and runs the Facebook group "Anti-capitalist Feminists Who Like Horror Films."Advance Praise“Johanna Isaacson’s Stepford Daughters is a brilliant and critically important elucidation of how ‘class horror is gender horror’ in the twenty-first century. The book explores twenty contemporary horror films that depict how public and private, work and family, have become intertwined under neoliberal politics—and how labor at home and in the workplace has become increasingly feminized and devalued. With an incisive theoretical framework and incredibly rich and illuminating readings, Isaacson’s book offers a much-needed approach to horror, eloquently demonstrating how horror films can both diagnose the problems of neoliberal and gendered capitalism and give us monstrous figures who resist and transform.” —Dawn Keetley, editor of Jordan Peele's Get Out: Political Horror “Johanna Isaacson is a worthy successor to Robin Wood and Carol Clover, and Stepford Daughters deftly analyzes some of the most popular and accomplished contemporary horror films at the nexus of feminism and capitalism. Full of brilliant insights that apply decades of feminist theory to horror cinema, this is essential reading for horror scholars, pop culture enthusiasts, and anyone who desires a greater insight into the intersectional dynamics of the capitalist class war.” —Michael Truscello, author of Infrastructural Brutalism: Art and the Necropolitics of Infrastructure“Surveying dozens of recent horror films and engaging a rich critical archive of social reproduction theory, Stepford Daughters makes provocative and evocative interventions into contemporary cultural theory. A leading scholar in the field of horror criticism whose work is also broadly accessible, Isaacson offers readings that are at once militant and playful, and she persuasively locates in the horror genre a radical current of Marxist-feminist critique that we need now more than ever”. —Annie McClanahan, author of Dead Pledges: Debt, Crisis, and 21st-Century Culture“In this brilliant and compulsively readable book, Johanna Isaacson unpacks a bunch of recent horror films, focusing on what they tell us about gender and class oppression. Horror films in the 21st century are a kind of social realism. They hold a mirror up to social conditions that are so ubiquitous and so commonly taken for granted that we have forgotten that we can fight back against them. Isaacson shows us how horror films can work as tools for understanding, and even for social transformation.” —Steven Shaviro, DeRoy Professor of English, Wayne State University“Johanna Isaacson's Stepford Daughters draws from social reproduction to explore the way in which contemporary horror illustrates the intimacy of exploitation. It proposes not just a new understanding of recent horror films, but a groundbreaking illustration of the monstrosity of daily life under contemporary capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy.”—Jason Read, author of The Production of Subjectivity: Marx and Philosophy"Stepford Daughters is a powerful exploration of the trans-generational horror of women’s experience under contemporary capitalism. In an analysis attentive to the possibilities of horror film as a mode of realism, which explores in horror form the anxieties that shape our lives, Isaacson expertly brings together Marxism, feminism, and Queer readings into exciting new configurations. Tapping into the 21st-century horror film renaissance, Stepford Daughters offers an insightful reading of our bad times and how we might end them.” —Benjamin Noys, author of Malign Velocities: Accelerationism & Capitalism “Johanna Isaacson is one of the boldest, most lucid critics working on horror today. Stepford Daughters includes some of her most original and paradigm-defining works on the subject, opening in particular a whole new avenue of thinking regarding the intersections between class and gender in horror. Full of exciting insights and bravura readings, this book is a landmark not only for the study of horror, but for the study of contemporary cinema in general.” —Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado, author of Screening Neoliberalism: Transforming Mexican Cinema, 1988–2012 "Jo Isaacson is one of Marxist feminism’s leading lights, and this box of “tools” for horror viewers is more like an arsenal, chockful of weapons with which to abolish the present state of things. Teaching us how to read both with and against the grain of domestic horror cinema, uncovering the bathtubs full of blood in the “hiddener abodes” of social reproduction, Stepford Daughters is a true triumph of cultural criticism, and beautifully written, to boot. Via entertaining and ingeniously grouped readings of movies by turns scary, gory, creepy and uncanny, Isaacson takes us on a denaturalizing journey through housework, motherhood, stratified reproduction, emotional labor, migrant and indigenous oppression, and queer monstrosity, bravely pointing towards the horizon called “abolition of the family.” In these pages, we experience the full potential of the critically utopianist “antiwork” sensibility for which Blind Field, the journal of cultural inquiry Isaacson co-founded, is best known. Inside these elegant interlocking critiques, we glimpse horizons of social possibility beyond the family, beyond whiteness, beyond gender, beyond the state, and beyond capital itself."—Sophie Lewis, author of Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and LiberationTable of ContentsIntroduction: "Class Horror is Gender Horror"Combining Marxist and feminist analysis, it makes a case for social reproduction feminism as a theory that understands that capitalist logic is always gendered. Chapter One: "It's Coming from Inside/Outside the House: Horror as Care Strike" Discusses the horror genre as a place that doesn’t see the home as a protection from “the other,” but as itself a source of horror. For example, using the film Hereditary, which illustrates the family as a source of terror, it discusses the resurgence of a call for “family abolition.” Chapter Two: "It's Coming from Inside the Boss’s House: Horror and the Domestic Worker"This chapter explores social reproduction and horror through looking at waged domestic work. Looking at films including Housekeeping, Get Out, and La Llarona, it makes the case that while reproductive labor is often personified by the bourgoise housewife poor and women of color domestic workers and surplus populations are the most exploited and diagnostic categories of social production. Chapter Three: "It's Coming from Inside the Telltale Managed Heart: Service Labor and Emotional Labor in Horror" This chapter looks at the ways that the contemporary boom in service work leads to the expansion of emotional labor as a key element of social reproduction. Horror movies in which figures such as personal assistants and sex workers appear, give us a way to understand the problems when love becomes labor, or when a person becomes alienated from her own smile.Chapter Four: "Girls Gone Wild: Coming of Rage into the Futureless Future" This chapter explores the crisis of social production as it produces a sense of futurelessness–the contemporary girls of horror are monstrous in the sense that they threaten the social order as we know it. They are utopian in that the carry a hope that witches and final girls will not give into passivity, but fight for a new, unimaginable world. Conclusion: "Violent Femmes against Rape Economies"The book concludes with the film American Mary and a consideration of questions in feminism about rape culture and how these questions connect to theories of social reproduction.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less