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Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Films, cinema
New Nonfiction Film: Art, Poetics and Documentary Theory is the
first book to offer a lengthy examination of the relationship
between fiction and documentary from the perspective of art and
poetics. The premise of the book is to propose a new category of
nonfiction film that is distinguished from - as opposed to being
conflated with - the documentary film in its multiple historical
guises; a premise explored in case-studies of films by
distinguished artists and filmmakers (Abbas Kiarostami, Ben Rivers,
Chantal Akerman, Ben Russell Pat Collins and Gideon Koppel). The
book builds a case for this new category of film, calling it the
'new nonfiction film,' and argues, in the process, that this kind
of film works to dismantle the old distinctions between fiction and
documentary film and therefore the axioms of Film and Cinema
Studies as a discipline of study.
From early twentieth-century stag films to 1960s sexploitation
pictures to the boom in 1970s "porno chic," adult cinema's vintage
forms are now being reappraised by a new generation of historians,
fans, preservationists, and home video entrepreneurs-all of whom
depend on and help shape the archive of film history. But what is
the present-day allure of these artifacts that have since become
eroticized more for their "pastness" than the explicit acts they
show? And what are the political implications of recovering these
rare but still-visceral films from a less "enlightened,"
pre-feminist past? Drawing on media industry analysis, archival
theory, and interviews with adult video personnel, David Church
argues that vintage pornography retains its retrospective
fascination precisely because these culturally denigrated texts
have been so poorly preserved on political and aesthetic grounds.
Through these films' ongoing moves from cultural emergence to
concealment to rediscovery, the archive itself performs a
"striptease," permitting tangible contact with these corporeally
stimulating forms at a moment when the overall physicality of media
objects is undergoing rapid transformation. Disposable Passions
explores the historiographic lessons that vintage pornography can
teach us about which materials our society chooses to keep, and how
a long-neglected genre is primed for serious rediscovery as more
than mere autoerotic fodder.
Citizen Kane is arguably the most admired and significant film
since the advent of talking pictures. No other film is quite so
interesting from both artistic and political points of view. To
study it even briefly is to learn a great deal about American
history, motion-picture style, and the literary aspects of
motion-picture scripts. Rather than a sterile display of critical
methodologies, James Naremore has gathered a set of essays that
represent the essential writings on the film. It gives the reader a
lively set of critical interpretations, together with the necessary
production information, historical background, and technical
understanding to comprehend the film's larger cultural
significance. Selections range from the anecdotal --Peter
Bogdanovich's interview with Orson Welles--to the critical, with
discussions on the scripts and sound track, and a discussion of
what accounts for the film's enduring popularity. Contributors
include James Naremore, Peter Bogdanovich, Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Robert L. Carringer, Francois Thomas, Michael Denning, Laura
Mulvey, Peter Wollen, and Paul Arthur.
This book examines the treatment of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his
work in twentieth and twenty-first century fiction, drama, music,
and film, specifically since 1950. The author uses these genres to
examine how text, music, performance, and visual images work as a
system of representation. In this book, the author strives to
clarify the many Dante Gabriel Rossettis, using thirteen of the
thirty easily identifiable roles in this system of representation
which the author has identified herself-roles by which Rossetti is
described and portrayed. The identified portrayals of Rossetti fall
easily into five groupings: first, the Italian-English man who is a
brother and a loyal friend; second, the poet who is a painter and
co-founder of an art movement which afforded him the chance to be a
mentor; third, the lover, seducer, husband, oppressor; fourth, the
murderer; and fifth, the tortured artist and addict who was
mentally ill. These are the portrayals are used throughout this
work. Several have chronological boundaries and are discrete
representations while others reoccur across the time period
covered. Using these categories, the author examines seven works of
prose fiction, a feature-length film, two television series, a
stage play, and the songs and lyrics of a contemporary band.
Al Brodax was the producer of and with Erich Segal and others a
co-author of the screenplay for The Beatles 'Yellow Submarine'. In
this book he recalls a frenzied, madcap escapade that came to be
reflected in an enduring piece of screen history. In addition to
John, Ringo, Paul and George, and Al, the "cast" included more than
a dozen animators, platoons of inkers, background artists,
soundmen, cameramen, and various essential expediters. Recruited
from the U.S., Europe, Australia and all over the U.K., they
produced, aside from the film, more than a dozen pregnancies and
one or two marriages. This story has been culled by the author from
a rich jumble of late-night, early-morning scribblings during
production. His generously illustrated book is a special gift to
fans of the Beatles, of 'Yellow Submarine' and of spirited,
flavourful writing about movies.
This insightful account analyzes and provides context for the films
and careers of directors who have made Latin American film an
important force in Hollywood and in world cinema. In this
insightful account, R. Hernandez-Rodriguez analyzes some of the
most important, fascinating, and popular films to come out of Latin
America in the last three decades, connecting them to a long
tradition of filmmaking that goes back to the beginning of the 20th
century. Directors Alejandro Inarritu, Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso
Cuaron, and Lucretia Martel and director/screenwriter Guillermo
Arriaga have given cause for critics and public alike to praise a
new golden age of Latin American cinema. Splendors of Latin Cinema
probes deeply into their films, but also looks back at the two most
important previous moments of this cinema: the experimental films
of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the stage-setting movies from
the 1940s and 1950s. It discusses films, directors, and stars from
Spain (as a continuing influence), Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina,
Peru, and Chile that have contributed to one of the most
interesting aspects of world cinema.
Comprising 91 A-Z entries, this encyclopedia provides a broad and
comprehensive introduction to the topic of religion within film.
Technology has enabled films to reach much wider audiences,
enabling today's viewers to access a dizzying number of films that
employ diverse symbolism and communicate a vast array of
viewpoints. Encyclopedia of Religion and Film will provide such an
audience with the tools to begin their own exploration of the
deeper meanings of these films and grasp the religious significance
within. Organized alphabetically, this encyclopedia provides more
than 90 entries on the larger religious traditions, the major
film-producing regions of the globe, the films that have stirred
controversy, the most significant religious symbols, and the more
important filmmakers. The included topics provide substantially
more information on the intersection of religion and film than any
of the similar volumes currently available. While the emphasis is
on the English-speaking world and the films produced therein, there
is also substantial representation of non-English, non-Western film
and filmmakers, providing significant intercultural coverage to the
topic. Presents 91 A-Z entries that illuminate topics of geographic
and regional interest, biographic data, categories common in the
study of religion, and examinations of specific films or
film-related events Contains contributions from a remarkable group
of distinguished, well-published authorities and younger scholars,
all with relevant backgrounds in religion, film, culture, or
multiple areas of expertise Includes images of important film
directors as well as film stills Provides selected bibliographic
information regarding the intersection of religion and film that
supplements the "for further reading" section of each entry Offers
an indexed filmography of works noted throughout the encyclopedia,
providing significant information about each film, such as year
released, director, and major actors
The prospect of dinner and a movie is always an enticing one.
Whether it is a date early on in a relationship with all the
apprehension and barely contained frisson that that entails or an
opportunity for a child free evening and the chance to watch a full
length film of your choice without having to keep your finger on
the remote to pause for toilet breaks, the combination of food and
cinema is a winning one. Food is inextricably linked to all aspects
of our lives, food for feasts, food to comfort, food to harm and
always food to raise the sexual tension. Cinematographers know this
too. So often there are dishes in a movie that deserve a mention in
the credits so pivotal are they to the storyline. You only have to
mention "Silence of the Lambs" for fava beans and chianti spring
into the conversation and apple pie is often off or suddenly back
on the menu for anyone who has recently watched American Pie for
the first time. Let us get one thing straight here the dishes
celebrated in this book are not physically available at the
pictures. Food served in containers too large to be used as airline
carryon baggage is not what this book is about. The recipes here
are for those movie moments that made you step away from the
popcorn bucket. Who doesn't want to slice garlic with a razor blade
to create the garlicky spaghetti sauce so lovingly made in
Goodfellas or jump through the screen to nibble absolutely
everything in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory (including Johnny
Depp although that may be just my own fantasy) and every woman on
this planet wants "what she's having" in When Harry met Sally! So
this is your chance, if it was eaten on screen then the recipe for
it may well be in this book. Unless of course you fancy making the
chilled monkey brains from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in
which case I suggest you still buy the book but change your dessert
plans. What about a nice Apple Strudel from the Sound of Music
instead?
This book analyses and describes a segment of Woody Allen's
cinematic discourse, focusing specifically on the performed (or
diegetic) interactions between actors in various roles in some of
his films. It is a case study of Woody Allen's cinematic discourse,
encompassing the on-screen, performed interaction in the films at
the level of the story-world. The analysis focuses on speech (film
dialogues), in both its verbal and prosodic forms, as well as
non-verbal types of interaction including gaze and gesture, taking
a social interactional approach and using multimodal conversation
analysis as a theoretical framework and analytical tool. The
'texts' under study are segments from five films by Woody Allen,
and the analysed interactions take place between male and female
interactants, which allows further examination of on-screen
interactions via a gender lens. The book aims to bridge the gap
between the disciplines of applied linguistics and cinema studies
and offer linguistic insights into performed interactions from a
multimodal point of view. It will be equally relevant to linguists
who are interested in how verbal and non-verbal language is used in
cinematic discourse, as well as to film workers, especially actors,
directors and screenwriters.
This "wickedly pacey page-turner" (Total Film) unfurls the
behind-the-scenes story of the making of The Godfather, fifty years
after the classic film's original release. The story of how The
Godfather was made is as dramatic, operatic, and entertaining as
the film itself. Over the years, many versions of various aspects
of the movie's fiery creation have been told--sometimes
conflicting, but always compelling. Mark Seal sifts through the
evidence, has extensive new conversations with director Francis
Ford Coppola and several heretofore silent sources, and complements
them with colorful interviews with key players including actors Al
Pacino, James Caan, Talia Shire, and others to write "the
definitive look at the making of an American classic" (Library
Journal, starred review). On top of the usual complications of
filmmaking, the creators of The Godfather had to contend with the
real-life members of its subject matter: the Mob. During production
of the movie, location permits were inexplicably revoked, author
Mario Puzo got into a public brawl with an irate Frank Sinatra,
producer Al Ruddy's car was found riddled with bullets, men with
"connections" vied to be in the cast, and some were given film
roles. As Seal notes, this is the tale of a "movie that
revolutionized filmmaking, saved Paramount Pictures, minted a new
generation of movie stars, made its struggling author Mario Puzo
rich and famous, and sparked a war between two of the mightiest
powers in America: the sharks of Hollywood and the highest echelons
of the Mob." "For fans of books about moviemaking, this is a
definite must-read" (Booklist).
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