This indispensable collection offers 51 chapters, each focused on a distinct American independent film. Screening American Independent Film presents these films chronologically, addressing works from across more than a century (1915-2020), emphasizing the breadth and long duration of American Independent Cinema. The collection includes canonical examples as well as films that push against and expand the definitions of "independence." The titles run from micro-budget films through marketing-friendly indiewood projects, from auteur-driven films and festival darlings to B-movies, genre pics, and exploitation films. The chapters introduce students to different approaches within film studies from historical and contextual framing, industrial and institutional analysis, politics and ideology, genre and authorship, representation, film analysis, exhibition and reception, and technology. Written by leading international scholars and emerging talents in film studies, this volume is the first of its kind. Paying particular attention to issues of diversity and inclusion for both the participating scholars and the content and themes within the selected films, Screening American Independent Film is an essential resource for anyone teaching or studying American cinema.

This indispensable collection offers 51 chapters, each focused on a distinct American independent film. Screening American Independent Film presents these films chronologically, addressing works from across more than a century (1915-2020), emphasizing the breadth and long duration of American Independent Cinema. The collection includes canonical examples as well as films that push against and expand the definitions of "independence." The titles run from micro-budget films through marketing-friendly indiewood projects, from auteur-driven films and festival darlings to B-movies, genre pics, and exploitation films. The chapters introduce students to different approaches within film studies from historical and contextual framing, industrial and institutional analysis, politics and ideology, genre and authorship, representation, film analysis, exhibition and reception, and technology. Written by leading international scholars and emerging talents in film studies, this volume is the first of its kind. Paying particular attention to issues of diversity and inclusion for both the participating scholars and the content and themes within the selected films, Screening American Independent Film is an essential resource for anyone teaching or studying American cinema.

Based on the best-selling novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides is director Sofia Coppola's evocative debut feature of young love, sex, loss and family pressures in mid-1970s America. Acclaimed by both critics and audiences on release, the film is now viewed as a remarkable and bold feature by a significant female director addressing many issues related to youth, female sexuality and family. This book helps readers understand the film's significance and the stylistic and storytelling choices made by director Coppola. The analysis of the film occurs around three interlocking arguments: the unusual structuring absence in the film, the intricate manner through which music is used in the drama, communication and character creation, and the film's careful and specific referencing of advertising in the 1970s (the decade of the film's narrative). The film's enigmatic structure and unique storytelling devices and their relationship to female adolescence, sexuality and ideology are also considered in depth. Without solving the mysteries of the film, the book is designed to uncover the reasons why the film continues to fascinate viewers so many years after its release.

Examines an under-analysed period of Robert Altman's career Provides new critical perspectives on the Altman oeuvre Features original interviews with key Altman collaborators Offers case studies of Popeye, Tanner '88, Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Cookie's Fortune and A Prairie Home Companion, among others Illuminating the industrial, cultural and aesthetic significance of the later years of one of American cinema's most influential auteurs, this anthology combines scholarly essays, original interviews with Robert Altman's collaborators and previously unseen photographs from the Robert Altman Papers held at the Special Collections Research Center, University of Michigan Library. The book considers post-1970s Altman as a way to rethink and reconceive his authorship, expanding our understanding of the development of Altman's personal aesthetic and production practices; his adaptation of existing source material; the representation of sex, gender and identity in his films; his relation to the changing landscape of American independent cinema; and his unfinished projects. Interviews with key Altman collaborators like Alan Rudolph, Ira Deutchman and Anne Rapp highlight their contributions to Altman's career. Rather than place aside the extensive work on Robert Altman to date, this comprehensive book offers texture and depth to previous ways of thinking about Altman's creativity and contribution to American cinema.

Examines an under-analysed period of Robert Altman's career.

Based on the best-selling novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides is director Sofia Coppola's evocative debut feature of young love, sex, loss and family pressures in mid-1970s America. Acclaimed by both critics and audiences on release, the film is now viewed as a remarkable and bold feature by a significant female director addressing many issues related to youth, female sexuality and family. This book helps readers understand the film's significance and the stylistic and storytelling choices made by director Coppola. The analysis of the film occurs around three interlocking arguments: the unusual structuring absence in the film, the intricate manner through which music is used in the drama, communication and character creation, and the film's careful and specific referencing of advertising in the 1970s (the decade of the film's narrative). The film's enigmatic structure and unique storytelling devices and their relationship to female adolescence, sexuality and ideology are also considered in depth. Without solving the mysteries of the film, the book is designed to uncover the reasons why the film continues to fascinate viewers so many years after its release.

Since the explosion in low-budget filmmaking in the 1960s, the "independent" film scene has produced some of the most innovative and successful films of recent years, such as "Easy Rider" and "The Blair Witch Project." But how independent is independent cinema today? And what are the artistic and economic concerns that separate it from Hollywood?
"Contemporary American Independent Film" is a comprehensive examination of the independent film scene. Exploring the uneasy relationship between independent films and the major studios, contributors trace the changing ideas and definitions of independent cinema, and the diversity of independent film practices. They consider the ways in which indie films are marketed and distributed, and how new technologies such as video, cable and the internet have offered new opportunities for filmmakers to produce and market independent films.
Turning to the work of key auteurs such as John Sayles and Haile Gerima, contributors ask whether independent filmmakers can also be stars, and consider how indie features like "Boys Don't Cry "and "Shopping for Fangs "address issues of gender, sexuality and ethnicity normally avoided by Hollywood.

Since the explosion in low-budget filmmaking in the 1960s, the 'independent' film scene has produced some of the most innovative and successful films of recent years, from sy Rider to e Blair Witch Project . But how independent is independent cinema today? And what are the artistic and economic concerns that separate it form Hollywood? ntemporary American Independent Cinema is a comprehensive examination of the independent film scene. Exploring the uneasy relationship between independent films and the major studios, the contributors trace the changing ideas and definitions of independent cinema, and the diversity of independent film practices. They consider the ways in which indie films are marketed and distributed, and how new technologies such as video, cable and the internet have offered new opportunities for filmmakers to produce and market independent films. Turning to the work of key auteurs such as John Sayles and Haile Gerima, contributors ask whether independent filmmakers can also be stars, and consider how indie features like ys Don't Cry and opping for Fangs address issues of gender, sexuality and ethnicity normally avoided by Hollywood.

"A thoughtful and informative exploration of the subject." -- Perry Katz, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Universal Pictures

Steven Spielberg once said, "I like ideas, especially movie ideas, that you can hold in your hand. If a person can tell me the idea in twenty-five words or less, it's going to make a pretty good movie." Spielberg's comment embodies the essence of the high concept film, which can be condensed into one simple sentence that inspires marketing campaigns, lures audiences, and separates success from failure at the box office.

This pioneering study explores the development and dominance of the high concept movie within commercial Hollywood filmmaking since the late 1970s. Justin Wyatt describes how box office success, always important in Hollywood, became paramount in the era in which major film studios passed into the hands of media conglomerates concerned more with the economics of filmmaking than aesthetics. In particular, he shows how high concept films became fully integrated with their marketing, so that a single phrase ("Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...") could sell the movie to studio executives and provide copy for massive advertising campaigns; a single image or a theme song could instantly remind potential audience members of the movie, and tie-in merchandise could generate millions of dollars in additional income.