{"product_id":"avantgarde-to-new-wave-czechoslovak-cinema-surrealism-and-the-sixties-author-jonathan-l-owen-mar2013-9780857459015","title":"AvantGarde to New Wave Czechoslovak Cinema","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe cultural liberalization of communist Czechoslovakia in the 1960s produced many artistic accomplishments, not least the celebrated films of the Czech New Wave. This movement saw filmmakers use their new freedom to engage with traditions of the avant-garde, especially Surrealism. This book explores the avant-garde''s influence over the New Wave and considers the political implications of that influence. The close analysis of selected films, ranging from the Oscar-winning \u003cem\u003eClosely Observed Trains \u003c\/em\u003eto the aesthetically challenging \u003cem\u003eDaisies\u003c\/em\u003e, is contextualized by an account of the Czech avant-garde and a discussion of the films'' immediate cultural and political background.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \t\u003cem\u003e\"Jonathan L. Owen’s book will be very valuable for scholars and students of Czech and Slovak cinema and of the Czechoslovak avant-garde generally, as well as for those interested in applying poststructuralist and psychoanalytic theory to film...Each individual film analysis is rich, detailed, well-researched, and original, as Owen smoothly adapts the insights of previous scholars in formulating his own…an undeniably masterful and highly significant study.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e  ·  \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSlavic Review\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t“…\u003cem\u003ea fine study of the Czechoslovak New Wave. It is impressively researched, well read in Czech and Slovak sources, and the contextualization of the New Wave is superb. It is original, and it offers a welcome new approach to the subject\u003c\/em\u003e.”\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e  ·  \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSlavonic \u0026amp; East European Review\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t“\u003cem\u003eOwen provides a useful overview of Czechoslovak avant-garde art from the 1920s to the 1980s and in-depth analysis of a number of movies, some of them not well known in the West. The book will be rewarding reading for those interested in Slavic culture, European avant-gardism, and film studies.\u003c\/em\u003e”\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e  ·  \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoice\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cem\u003e\"[T]he book's considerable lasting value lies in the quality and depth of the contextual material, accompanied by a lengthy bibliography. Owen's potted history of Czech Surrealism ... is a particularly valuable primer, as is his exploration of the peculiar historical, cultural and political conditions that allowed a surprisingly coherent film movement to spring into existence.\"\u003c\/em\u003e  ·  \u003cstrong\u003eSight \u0026amp; Sound\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cem\u003e\"This book can fill a significant lacuna in the scarce international research on and publications about the [Czechoslovak] New Wave … it presents a vital contribution to the study of the period.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cb\u003e  ·  \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePetra Hanáková\u003c\/strong\u003e, Charles University\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cem\u003e\"I think this is an excellent text. It deals with a very under-researched subject in an original yet comprehensive manner. It is well-written and well-structured.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cb\u003e  ·  \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eElisabetta Girelli\u003c\/strong\u003e, University of St Andrews\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 1.\u003c\/b\u003e Inspirations, Opportunities: Cultural and Historical Contexts\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 2.\u003c\/b\u003e Pavel Juráček’s \u003ci\u003eJosef Kilián\u003c\/i\u003e (1963) and \u003ci\u003eA Case for the Young Hangman\u003c\/i\u003e (1969): From the Surreal Object to the Absurd Signifier\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 3.\u003c\/b\u003e Jiří Menzel’s \u003ci\u003eClosely Observed Trains\u003c\/i\u003e (1966): Hrabal and the Heterogeneous\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 4.\u003c\/b\u003e Spoiled Aesthetics: Realism and Anti-Humanism in Věra Chytilová's\u003ci\u003eDaisies\u003c\/i\u003e (1966)\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 5.\u003c\/b\u003e Flights From History: Otherness, Politics and Folk Avant-Gardism in Juraj Jakubisko’s \u003ci\u003eThe Deserter and the Nomads\u003c\/i\u003e (1968) and \u003ci\u003eBirds, Orphans and Fools\u003c\/i\u003e (1969)\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 6.\u003c\/b\u003e Back to Utopia: Returns of the Repressed in Jaromil Jireš’s\u003ci\u003eValerie and Her Week of Wonders\u003c\/i\u003e (1970)\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 7.\u003c\/b\u003e Jan Švankmajer: Contemporary Czech Surrealism and the Renewal of Language\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \tBibliography\u003cbr\u003e \tIndex\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Berghahn Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51138198929751,"sku":"9780857459015","price":999.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780857459015.jpg?v=1751918414","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/avantgarde-to-new-wave-czechoslovak-cinema-surrealism-and-the-sixties-author-jonathan-l-owen-mar2013-9780857459015","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}