Volume 1 of 3. Learn from the feature players of Hollywood what it was like to work on films during its Golden Era. Enjoy their often humorous and exciting stories as they lived out their lives and careers behind and in front of the camera.

"This is simply the most significant analysis of contemporary Mexican cinema to date, and it will make an incalculably important contribution to the field.... Rashkin's incisive analyses and brilliant juxtaposition of cultural and socio-political determinants will become the new standard that other scholars will seek to emulate." -- Ana M. Lo pez, Associate Professor of Film Studies and Communication, Tulane University

Women filmmakers in Mexico were rare until the 1980s and 1990s, when women began to direct feature films in unprecedented numbers. Their films have won acclaim at home and abroad, and the filmmakers have become key figures in contemporary Mexican cinema. In this book, Elissa Rashkin documents how and why women filmmakers have achieved these successes, as she explores how the women's movement, film studies programs, governmental film policy, and the transformation of the intellectual sector since the 1960s have all affected women's filmmaking in Mexico.

After a historical overview of Mexican women's filmmaking from the 1930s onward, Rashkin focuses on the work of five contemporary directors-- Marisa Sistach, Busi Corte s, Guita Schyfter, Mari a Novaro, and Dana Rotberg. Portraying the filmmakers as intellectuals participating in the public life of the nation, Rashkin examines how these directors have addressed questions of national identity through their films, replacing the patriarchal images and stereotypes of the classic Mexican cinema with feminist visions of a democratic and tolerant society.

This examination of the distinctive cinema of Joel and Ethan Coen explores the theme of violence in their wide-ranging body of work. The Brothers Coen: Unique Characters of Violence spans the career of the two-time Oscar-winning producer/director team, exploring the theme of violence that runs through a genre-spanning body of work, from the neo-noir of Blood Simple to the brutal comedy Burn After Reading (2008). In chapters focusing on major characters, Ryan Doom looks at the chaotic cinematic universe of the Coens, where violent acts inevitably have devastating, unintended consequences. The remarkable gallery of Coen characters are all here: hardboiled gangster Tom Regan from Miller's Crossing (1990), overmatched amateur kidnapper Jerry Lundergaard from Fargo (1996), accidental private eye "The Dude" from The Big Lebowski (1998), psychopathic assassin-for-hire Anton Chigurh from the 2007 Academy Award winner No Country for Old Men, and more. Chronology of each of the Coen brothers' 13 major films Photos of major characters from each of the Coen brothers' films under examination.