"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."
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