Description
Book SynopsisThe Fantasy Film provides a clear and compelling overview of this revitalized and explosively popular film genre. Providing in-depth historical and critical overviews of the genre, The Fantasy Film explores the boundaries of fantasy throughout history and the expansion of this important genre in contemporary film.
Trade Review"In true reflection of its straightforward—if generic—title, The Fantasy Film presents a useful foundation for deeper reflection on the complexities of the fantastic in film." (Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 1 February 2014)
"Written in prose that is careful and cogent, the book provides a defence of what Fowkes calls the "orphan" genre (unloved; neglected; even, perhaps, of questionable legitimacy), one which she argues has long been excluded from serious analysis by "dogmas of realism" that privilege "codes of . . . mimesis." (Times Literary Supplement, 18 February 2011)
Table of ContentsList of Plates ix
Acknowledgements xi
1 What’s in a Name: Defining the Elusive Fantasy Genre 1
2 Once upon a Time: A Brief Historical Overview 15
3 A Brief Critical Overview: Literary and Film Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror 38
4 The Wizard of Oz (1939): Over the Rainbow 55
5 Harvey (1950): A Happy Hallucination? 68
6 Always (1989): Spielberg’s Ghost from the Past 81
7 Groundhog Day (1993): No Time Like the Present 92
8 Big (1988): Body and Soul/‘‘Hearts and Souls’’ 104
9 Shrek (2001): Like an Onion 114
10 Spider-Man (2002): The Karmic Web 124
11 The Lord of the Rings (2001–3): Tolkien’s Trilogy or Jackson’s Thrillogy? 134
12 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005): A Joyful Spell 145
13 Harry Potter I–VI (2001–9): Words are Mightier than the Sword 156
14 Conclusion: Imagine That! 171
References 175
Index 186
