A Critical Companion to Steven Spielberg offers a comprehensive, detailed study of the works of Steven Spielberg. Spielberg's early productions stand as landmarks in contemporary cinema, and his involvement with film spans all cinematic genres. Today, Spielberg enjoys an immense and enduring popularity around the globe, and his productions have attracted (and continue to attract) both public and critical attention. This book investigates several distinct areas of Spielberg's works and addresses the different approaches and the range of topics invited by the multidimensionality of his oeuvre. The eighteen chapters in this book use different methodologies, offering a variegated and compelling picture of Spielberg's films, from his earliest works such as Duel (1971) and The Sugarland Express (1974) to his most recent productions, such as The BFG (2016), The Post (2017), and Ready Player One (2018).

This impressive volume takes a broad critical look at Irish and Irish-related cinema through the lens of genre theory and criticism. Secondary and related objectives of the book are to cover key genres and sub-genres and account for their popularity. The result offers new ways of looking at Irish Cinema.

With a detailed range of approaches, this new collection investigates how cinematic narratives can and have been used to portray different political 'threats' and 'dangers'. Including a range of chapters with a contemporary focus, it studies issues such as: how the geopolitical world has been constructed through film how cinema can provide explanatory narratives in periods of cultural and political anxiety, uneasiness and uncertainty. Examining the ways in which film impacts upon popular understandings of national identity and the changing geopolitical world, the book looks at how audiences make sense of the (geo)political messages and meanings contained within a variety of films - from the US productions of Hollywood, to Palestinian, Mexican, British, and German cinematic traditions. This thought-provoking book draws on an international range of contributions to discuss and fully investigate world cinema in light of key contemporary issues. This book was previously published as a special issue of Geopolitics.

"The most detailed and up-to-date book on independent cinema, an invaluable reference work." - Molly Haskell, "Washington Post"

"Thoughtful and substantial." - Stuart Klawans, "The Nation"

"An indispensable text for anyone who wants to understand the independent world." - David Ansen of "Newsweek"

"At a time when independent American films are more visible and important than ever before, this is an invaluable study. Emanuel Levy's writing is wise, passionate, and amazingly well-informed." - Roger Ebert

"The time is ripe for an intelligent, informed, well-organized book on the world of independent cinema - and Emanuel Levy has given us just that." - Leonard Maltin

A Los Angeles Times Bestseller

The most important development in American culture of the last two decades is the emergence of independent cinema as a viable alternative to Hollywood. Indeed, while Hollywood's studios devote much of their time and energy to churning out big-budget, star-studded event movies, a renegade independent cinema that challenges mainstream fare continues to flourish with strong critical support and loyal audiences.

Cinema of Outsiders is the first and only comprehensive chronicle of contemporary independent movies from the late 1970s up to the present. From the hip, audacious early works of maverick David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, and Spike Lee, to the contemporary Oscar-winning success of indie dynamos, such as the Coen brothers ("Fargo"), Quentin Tarentino ("Pulp Fiction"), and Billy Bob Thornton ("Sling Blade"), Levy describes in a lucid and accessible manner the innovation and diversity of American indies in theme, sensibility, and style.

Documenting the socio-economic, political and artistic forces that led to the rise of American independent film, Cinema of Outsiders depicts the pivotal role of indie guru Robert Redford and his Sundance Film Festival in creating a showcase for indies, the function of film schools in supplying talent, and the continuous tension between indies and Hollywood as two distinct industries with their own structure, finance, talent and audience.

Levy describes the major cycles in the indie film movement: regional cinema, the New York school of film, African-American, Asian American, gay and lesbian, and movies made by women. Based on exhaustive research of over 1,000 movies made between 1977 and 1999, Levy evaluates some 200 quintessential indies, including "Choose Me," "Stranger Than Paradise," "Blood Simple," "Blue Velvet," "Desperately Seeking Susan," "Slacker," "Poison," "Reservoir Dogs," "Gas Food Lodging," "Menace II Society," "Clerks," "In the Company of Men," "Chasing Amy," "The Apostle," "The Opposite of Sex," and "Happiness,"

Cinema of Outsiders reveals the artistic and political impact of bold and provocative independent movies in displaying the cinema of "outsiders"-the cinema of the "other America."

"Road Movies" engages with two foundational twentieth century technologies: cinematic and automotive. It is a book about road movies, a genre burdened by its own seductiveness. It is also, however, a book about images of human mobility more generally and the social function those images have served. From Eadweard Muybridge's pre-cinematic experiments through contemporary films by David Lynch and Abbas Kiarostami, road movies are part of a larger imagistic tradition focused on the social costs of modernity and the consequences of a culture moving, often quite rapidly, away from the stabilizing structures of community and communication.

The history of cinema, and notably that of post-war Italian cinema, can only be understood adequately in the context of other contiguous cultural disciplines. World literature, including that of France, Germany, and Russia, played a key role in the development of post-war Italian film and the cinematic technique it has come to embody. Moving away from the usual modes of defining this period--a trajectory that begins with neorealism and ends with Bertolucci--author Carlo Testa offers proof that coming to terms with literary texts is an essential step toward understanding the motion pictures they influenced.

The means of recreating literature for the screen has changed drastically over the last half-century, as has the impact of different national traditions on Italian cinema. Testa's work is the first to explicitly and deliberately link postwar Italian cinema to general intellectual concerns such as the relationship between literary authors and cinematic auteurs. Moreover, his analysis of the impact of French, German, and Russian cultures on Italy brings forth a new reading of Italian cinema, a new paradigm for exploring complex issues of authorship, culture, and art.

This book studies American science fiction films depicting invasions of the USA and Earth by extra- terrestrials within the context of imperialism from 1950-2020. It shows how such films imagine America and its allies as objects of colonial control. This trope enables filmmakers to explore the ethics of American interventionism abroad either by defending the status quo or by questioning interventionism. The study shows how these films comment on American domestic hegemonic practices regarding racial or gender hierarchies, as well as hegemonic practices abroad. Beginning with the Cold War consensus in the 1950s, the study shows how hegemony at home and abroad promotes division in the culture.

Sinophone Cinemas considers a range of multilingual, multidialect and multi-accented cinemas produced in Chinese-language locations outside mainland China. Showcasing a variety of new and fascinating case studies from Britain, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia, and canvassing a range of formats including commercial co-productions, short films, documentaries and independent films, the book highlights the contemporary screen cultures of Chinese-language communities situated on the margins of China and Chineseness. It engages new sites of localisation, multilingualism, and difference that have emerged in Chinese film studies, ones that are not easily contained by the notion of diaspora. The chapters cover a number of historical periods, geographical locations, and critical and methodological perspectives, such as the political economy of Sinophone film production, distribution, consumption and regulation; cinematic practices of Chinese and non-Chinese language resistance, complicity and transformation; and Sinophone communities as sites of cultural production and visual economies.

Get the full Solo: A Star Wars Story experience as The Ultimate Souvenir Guide reveals all the behind-the-scenes secrets of the Star Wars' universe's favourite scoundrel! Presenting in-depth interviews with the all-star cast, exclusive revelations from the crew on the making of the movie, concept art, behind-the-scenes photography and more, Solo: A Star Wars Story: The Ultimate Souvenir Guide is the complete, official, authoritative guide to the film.

From the Arthurian epic poem Parzival to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and the Assassin's Creed video game series, the Knights Templar have captivated artists and audiences alike for centuries. In modern times, the Templars have featured in many narrative contexts, evolving in a range of contrasting story roles: the grail guardian, the heroic knight, the villainous knight, and the keeper of conspiracies. This study explores why these gone but not forgotten warrior monks remain prominent in popular culture, how history influenced the myth, and how the myth has influenced literature, film and video games.

The book examines how medical knowledge is produced around bodies that do not fit in the heteronormative framework of the state's rationale and processes. The marginal bodies studied in this research are termed MSM, men who have sex with men, categorized as a high-risk group in the backdrop of HIV/AIDS. These Queer bodies entered the registers of epidemiology and governmentality. This classification is the point of departure for the book. The book interrogates and asks how does a sexual subject become a political question? To answer this political trajectory, the book analyses the category of risk in biomedicine. It investigates how the category of risk becomes critical to the Indian state's rationale and policies wherein, through the ambit of health and population, sexuality is managed. Unearthing the sexual politics in South Asia, the book, based on rich empirical evidence derived from the lived experiences of MSM, narrates the construction of sexual subjectivity and masculinity. The process of construction occurs in negotiation with the Indian state, bringing forth the dimension of the Indian state as a medico-legal governmentality regime and how MSM takes on the identity of a medicalized subject.

In the past, foreign policy and security concerns have trumped any efforts to reform the North Korean economy. Today, the linkage between security and economic policies is being reconsidered as part of a larger debate in the North Korean leadership that has already transformed the country in fundamental ways. Despite renewed tensions with the United States, North Korea has begun to implement important economic reforms. Moreover, underneath the cover of the ever-present military-first slogan in the controlled media, a debate is taking place between reformers and conservatives over whether Pyongyang s bloated military industrial complex should be scaled back to help ensure the success of economic reform.

Not only do these developments reflect strong political forces in the North Korean leadership that support reform, but they could also have profound implications for the future of Pyongyang s national security policy. North Korea may decide that it will need a more favourable external security environment in order to secure greater access to international economic and financial assistance for its reform measures and, ultimately, downsizing its military. Pyongyang could launch a new policy of engagement that would include greater flexibility in the Beijing Six Party Talks. A second scenario is continued internal struggle over reform that could lead to an inability to act decisively on key security and foreign policy issues, including at the nuclear talks. Finally, progress in reform may, paradoxically, strengthen conservatives, leading to hopes in Pyongyang that it can improve the economy, while simultaneously maintaining a large powerful military. Whether Washington can do anything at this point to influence directly the emerging debate in Pyongyang is unclear, but a renewed policy of engagement on its part could enhance the chances of success for North Korean advocates of reform.

This is the first anthology devoted exclusively to the subject of colour in film and its history, production and technology. Set out in thematic sections, the book addresses key issues in the field including: the development of colour technology how visual stule was affected by the shift from black and white to colour colour in film theory and the writings of authors such as Bresson, Eisenstein and Oshima colour in the films of Godard, Hitchcock, Almodovar and many more. Including case studies too, this is the perfect introductory guide to a key element in film form and theory. A must for any student starting a film studies course.

Filming the Gods examines the role and depiction of religion in Indian cinema, showing that the relationship between the modern and the traditional in contemporary India is not exotic, but part of everyday life. Concentrating mainly on the Hindi cinema of Mumbai, Bollywood, it also discusses India's other cinemas. Rachel Dwyer's lively discussion encompasses the mythological genre which continues India's long tradition of retelling Hindu myths and legends, drawing on sources such as the national epics of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana; the devotional genre, which flourished at the height of the nationalist movement in the 1930s and 40s; and the films made in Bombay that depict India's Islamicate culture, including the historical, the courtesan film and the 'Muslim social' genre. Filming the Gods also examines the presence of the religious across other genres and how cinema represents religious communities and their beliefs and practices. It draws on interviews with film stars, directors and producers as well as popular fiction, fan magazines and the films themselves. As a result, Filming the Gods is a both a guide to the study of film in religious culture as well as a historical overview of Indian religious film.

The park is open! Celebrate one of the most thrilling movie sagas of all time with this in-depth look at the making of the Jurassic World trilogy. Following the release of director Colin Trevorrow's smash hit Jurassic World in 2015, the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar once again dominate the public imagination. This book delivers a comprehensive look at the making of the first hit film, as well as its thrilling sequels Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World: Dominion. Through rare and never-before-seen imagery and exclusive interviews with key creatives, this deluxe volume explores the entire creative process, from the films' stunning dinosaur designs to the epic location shoots and the creation of the films' incredible visual effects. Fans will also discover a fascinating look at the wider world of the saga, including the Netflix animated series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, video games, toys, comics, theme park attractions, and more. Unearth the story behind the making of the Jurassic World trilogy with this definitive collector's book, a must-have for fans of the action-packed saga.

In Indigenous North American film Native Americans tell their own stories and thereby challenge a range of political and historical contradictions, including egregious misrepresentations by Hollywood. Although Indians in film have long been studied, especially as characters in Hollywood westerns, Indian film itself has received relatively little scholarly attention. In Imagic Moments Lee Schweninger offers a much-needed corrective, examining films in which the major inspiration, the source material, and the acting are essentially Native. Schweninger looks at a selection of mostly narrative fiction films from the United States and Canada and places them in historical and generic contexts. Exploring films such as Powwow Highway, Smoke Signals, and Skins, he argues that in and of themselves these films constitute and in fact emphatically demonstrate forms of resistance and stories of survival as they talk back to Hollywood. Self-representation itself can be seen as a valid form of resistance and as an aspect of a cinema of sovereignty in which the Indigenous peoples represented are the same people who engage in the filming and who control the camera. Despite their low budgets and often nonprofessional acting, Indigenous films succeed in being all the more engaging in their own right and are indicative of the complexity, vibrancy, and survival of myriad contemporary Native cultures.

Throughout most of history, deep male bonds anchored a man's life. Why, then, are male friendships so impoverished in America today? Mamet's plays and films dramatize the conflicts, contradictions, and covert affection between men. No other American playwright has explored the war zone we call male friendship with as sharp a scalpel as Mamet's. His work shows both the necessity of and the difficulty in male friendships. Using insights from psychology, sociology, anthropology, and the history of sexuality, Holmberg explores the ambiguity that drives male bonding. Personal interviews with Mamet and with the actors who have interpreted his major roles shed new light on how and why men bond with each other and complement - in an unexpected and unique way - Holmberg's close analysis of Mamet's texts.

One of Hollywood's great leading men, James Garner boasts a career that spans six decades. Whether known as Bret Maverick, Jim Rockford, or Noah Calhoun, Garner's mass appeal transcends generations, but few know the true story of his life, now told in his intimate memoir of growing up in Oklahoma and making it in Hollywood. After suffering physical abuse at the hands of his stepmother, Garner left home at fourteen. He went on to become Oklahoma's first draftee of the Korean War and was honoured for his bravery with two Purple Hearts. Garner eventually returned to Los Angeles where his acting career took off. Working alongside some of the most renowned celebrities - among them Julie Andrews, Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood - Garner became a star in his own right.

The essays which appear in this book for the most part originated as papers delivered at a conference on Britain and the cinema in the Second World War held in London in May 1985.