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Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Films, cinema > General
This comprehensive film guide lists the screen credits and provides
synopses of more than 5,400 silent western features, documentaries,
shorts and serials released from the 1890s through 1930. Numerous
one-, two- and three-reelers are included in this guide. These
westerns came from both the major and lesser known American film
studios, many long defunct. The term "western" is hard to define;
someone once commented that a western had to have a horse in it.
The genre generally applies to that post-Civil War period beginning
with the great cattle drives and ending around 1890. But the author
has included tales about early California, Mexico, various Indian
tribes along the Eastern seaboard, the building of the railroad,
the gold rush of 1849 and the search for gold in the Yukon. Other
films which seem to have less in common with the genre, such as
northern westerns, are listed in a separate appendix.
This book offers analyses of the roles of race, gender, and
sexuality in the post-apocalyptic visions of early twenty-first
century film and television shows. Contributors examine the
production, reproduction, and re-imagination of some of our most
deeply held human ideals through sociological, anthropological,
historical, and feminist approaches.
Steampunk Film: A Critical Introduction is a concise and accessible
overview of steampunk's indelible impact within film, and acts as a
case study for examining the ways with which genres hybridize and
coalesce into new forms. Since the beginning of the 21st century, a
series of high-profile and big-budget films have adopted steampunk
identities to re-imagine periods of industrial development into
fantastical histories where future meets past. By calling this
growing mass-cultural fetishism for anachronistic machines into
question, this book examines how a retro-futuristic romanticism for
technology powered by cogs, pistons and steam-engines has taken
center stage in blockbuster cinema. As the first monograph to
consider cinema's unique relationship with steampunk, it places
this burgeoning genre in the context of ongoing debates within film
theory: each of which reflecting the movement's remarkable interest
in reengineering historical technologies. Rather than acting as a
niche subculture, Robbie McAllister argues that steampunk's
proliferation in mainstream filmmaking reflects a desire to
reassess contemporary relationships with technology and navigate
the intense changes that the medium itself is experiencing in the
21st century.
Moby-Dick looms large - gargantuan in size, themes, symbols, and
influence. Its deep dives, comedic interludes, adventurous journey,
and surface effects demand a new approach. Instead of a traditional
academic analysis, Dive Deeper grapples in novel fashion with this
classic work. For each of the originals 135 chapters (along with
Etymology, Extracts, and Epilogue), Dive Deeper has a corresponding
brief chapter relating to themes and issues in the original. This
permits Dive Deeper to follow the flow of the original and to bring
forth new appreciation for the novel, its characters, and its
readers. At once creative and informative, Dive Deeper captures the
up and down history of the novel, from its original reception to
its resurrection in the 1890s, to its ecoming the central work in
the canon of American literature in the 1930s. Great books such as
Moby-Dick live outside the confines of libraries. They occupy a
central place in popular culture. Thus, Dive Deeper tracks the
novel as it appears in various motion pictures (more than five
major ones to date), comic routines and jokes, paintings, novels,
songs (from rock to classical to rap), and in other cultural forms.
In the process, Dive Deeper charts how, and why, this novel about a
whale and its pursuer has captivated generations of American
readers. And why it continues to do so today. Dive Deeper, then, is
a creative and original way of approaching a great novel. Readers
will gain information and a deeper understanding of an American
classic and its place in popular culture.
This lively and accessible collection explores film culture's
obsession with the past, offering searching and provocative
analyses of a wide range of titles from" Mildred Pierce" and "Brief
Encounter "to "Raging Bull "and "In the Mood for Love," It engages
with current debates about the role of cinema in mediating history
through memory and nostalgia, suggesting that many films use
strategies of memory to produce diverse forms of knowledge which
challenge established ideas of history, and the traditional role of
historians. The work of contemporary directors such as Martin
Scorsese, Kathryn Bigelow, Todd Haynes and Wong Kar-wai is used to
examine the different ways they deploy creative processes of
memory, arguing that these movies can tell us much about our
complex relationship to the past, and about history and identity.
Pam Cook also investigates the recent history of film studies,
re-viewing the developments that have culminated in the exciting,
if daunting, present moment. Classic essays sit side by side with
new research, contextualized by introductions which bring them
up-to-date, and provide suggestions for further reading. The result
is a rich and stimulating volume that will appeal to anyone with an
interest in cinema, memory and identity.
In Cinematic Political Thought, Michael J. Shapiro investigates
aspects of contemporary politics and articulates a critical
philosophical perspective with politically disposed treatments of
contemporary cinema. Reading such films as "Hoop Dreams, Lone Star,
Father of the Bride II "and "To Live and Die in LA "through the
lens of Deleuze, Derrida, Foucault and Lyotard, Shapiro
demonstrates what it can mean to think the political both in terms
of cinema studies and in wider aesthetic and social contexts.
Cinematic Political Thought is a polemical work, aimed at
encouraging critical, ethical and political thinking. Its breadth
of theoretical scope and empirical reference, and the innovative
style of presentation will make it vital reading for anyone with an
interest in the conjunction of culture and politics.
Explore the homeworld and vast dominion of Star Trek's most
formidable race, the Klingons, in this thrilling travel guide.
nuqneH! Bored of standard vacations to places like Risa or
Wrigley's Pleasure Planet? Want to discover a unique and ancient
culture not bound by standard niceties and social mores? Then
Qo'noS and the vast Klingon Empire are for you! This one-of-a-kind
travel guide will give you all the information you need to plan,
enjoy, and survive your trip to the very heart of Klingon
territory, from an overview of Klingon history to tips on what to
wear (fur and leather are very popular) to a glossary of important
phrases like "mamI' DaneH'a'? nItebHa' mamI' DaneH'a'?" (Would you
like to dance with me?). Every major location in the Klingon Empire
is covered in-depth, with tips on where to eat (you've not lived
until you've eaten Klingon skull stew), how best to get to and from
your chosen destination, and what to do if you find yourself
challenged to a bat'leth battle to the death.Locations include the
homeworld Qo'noS and its famous locales such as the First City, the
Caves of No'mat the Hamar Mountains, and the city of Krennla, plus
neighboring moons Corvix and Praxis, and many, many more must-see
areas. The book also features exclusive maps and illustrations that
bring to life the Klingon Empire and form the perfect reference
guide for any visitor. So what are you waiting for? Qapla'!
This fascinating collection of essays is the first full-length
scholarly study of the genesis and influence of Alan Peacock's
intellectually radical 'Report of the Committee on Financing the
BBC' (1986), which fundamentally altered the principles governing
the development of broadcasting policy in the UK.
By the time the Berlin Wall collapsed, the cinema of the German
Democratic Republic-to the extent it was considered at all-was
widely regarded as a footnote to European film history, with little
of enduring value. Since then, interest in East German cinema has
exploded, inspiring innumerable festivals, books, and exhibits on
the GDR's rich and varied filmic output. In Re-Imagining DEFA,
leading international experts take stock of this vibrant landscape
and plot an ambitious course for future research, one that
considers other cinematic traditions, brings genre and popular
works into the fold, and encompasses DEFA's complex
post-unification "afterlife."
In the 1950s, science fiction (SF) invasion films played a
complicated part in both supporting and criticizing Cold War
ideologies. George examines what these films reveal about the
tensions in the United States at the dawn of the atomic, age
especially concerning gender roles and expectations. Using a
cultural studies approach, she works from the assumption that
"invasion" films with their "us" versus "them" nature provide
important visual and verbal narratives for American citizens'
trying to understand and negotiate the social and political changes
that followed the allied victory in World War II. By reading these
invasion narratives as performances of middle-class, primarily
white Americans' excitement and anxieties about social and
political issues, George shows how they often played out as another
round in the battle of the sexes. This book examines the way
representation in these films tap into anxieties concerning the
feminine and alien other.
The essays collected in "Cinema and Technology" map out a new
interdisciplinary terrain, combining contemporary analyses of
material and visual culture, deploying the methods of film studies,
media and cultural studies, media anthropology, and science and
technology studies. Rather than describing a technological
"crisis," or separating the technological and aesthetic halves of
the cinema, they present a manifold, expansive reconsideration of
the life of technologies in the cultures, theories and practices of
cinematic production and consumption.
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.
Outer space, whether the homeland of demonic invaders or the
destination of intrepid explorers, seems to ignite the wildest
imagination of filmmakers and audiences alike. And back on earth we
all marvel when our planet is taken over by apes or when in a
laboratory beings are created that defy, or perhaps reflect, our
own humanity. This lavishly illustrated collection of essays begins
with 'Cinematic Views', written between 1907 and 1929 by the great
film pioneer Georges Melies. It goes on to explore the foundation
of science fiction films in writings from the 20s and 30s by such
masters of word and image as H G Wells, Luis Bunuel and Jorge Luis
Borges. With the genre established and flourishing, the book moves
in a variety of directions -- toward outer space, as a subject;
different periods in film history, each with its own style and
dominant themes; the work of specific directors and writers and,
finally, some classic science fiction films of the recent past.
Telling Migrant Stories explores how contemporary documentary film
gives voice to Latin American immigrants whose stories would not
otherwise be heard. Contributors analyze films including Harvest of
Empire, Sin Pais, The Vigil, De Nadie, Operation Peter Pan: Flying
Back to Cuba, Abuelos, La Churona, and Which Way Home as well as
internet documentaries distributed via platforms like YouTube. They
examine the ways these films highlight the individual agency of
immigrants as well as the global systemic conditions that lead to
mass migrations from Latin American countries to the United States
and Europe. <
The collection also features interviews with filmmakers Luis
Argueta, Jenny Alexander, Tin Dirdamal, Heidi Hassan, and Maria
Cristina Carrillo Espinosa. Their discussions emphasize that
because the genre is grounded in fact rather than fiction, it has
the ability to profoundly impact audiences. Documentaries prompt
viewers to recognize the many worlds migrants depart from, to
become immersed in the struggles portrayed, and to consider the
stories of immigrants with compassion and solidarity.
Novel Approaches to Lesbian History tells a tale about history and
community in our allegedly post-identity era, examining
contemporary novels that depict lesbian characters in recognizable
historical situations. These imaginative stories provide a
politically vital, speculative past in the face of a sketchy,
problematic archive. Among the memorable characters in some 200
novels are pirates, cowgirls, and famous artists, ghosts and time
travellers, immigrants and lovers. The best lesbian historical
novels are conscientious and buoyant as they engage critical
historiographical questions, but Novel Approaches also discusses
the class and race biases that weigh on the genre. Some lesbian
historical novels are based on archival evidence, others on
conjecture or fantasy, but all convey the true fact that identity
is elusive without a past, without which its future is nearly
impossible.
Teresa de Lauretis makes a bold and orginal argument for the
renewed relevance of the Freudian theory of drives, through close
readings of texts ranging from cinema and literature to
psychoanalysis and cultural theory.
Movie fans eagerly await each year's new edition of EScreen WorldE
the definitive record of the cinema since 1949. Volume 54 provides
an illustrated listing of every American and foreign film released
in the United States in 2002 all documented with more than 1000
photographs.THThe 2003 edition of EScreen WorldE features such
notable films as EChicagoE the Academy Award winner for Best
Picture; Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-nominated EGangs of New
YorkE; EThe PianistE featuring the surprise Academy Award winners
Adrien Brody for Best Actor and Roman Polanski for Best Director;
ESpider-ManE the highest grossing film of 2002; EThe HoursE with
Academy Award winner for Best Actress Nicole Kidman; and EAbout
SchmidtE starring Academy Award nominees Jack Nicholson and Kathy
Bates.THAs always Screen World's outstanding features include:
photographic stills and shots of the four Academy Award-winning
actors as well as all acting nominees; a look at the year's most
promising new screen personalities; complete filmographies a cast
and characters credits production company date released rating and
running time; and biographical entries a a priceless reference for
over 2 400 living stars including real name school and date and
place of birth. Includes over 1 000 photos!TH The enduring film
classic. THa EVarietyE
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