Hal Hartley was one of the leading lights of the independent American cinema boom of the late 1980s and 1990s. Although his work never achieved the kind of crossover commercial success that other indie directors experienced, his work exhibits one of the most distinctive voices in recent American cinema. Combining wry, aphoristic dialogue with stylized performances and a muted, minimalist palette, Hartley's films challenge cinematic conventions, especially in performance, and resist easy empathetic identification. His later work has carved out an even more specific niche, and, since 1999, his work has often explored extreme digital stylization. Winner of the best screenplay award at the Cannes film festival in 1998 for Henry Fool, Hartley is best known for his films in the early-mid 1990s, including The Unbelievable Truth (1989), Trust (1990), Simple Men (1992), and Amateur (1994). His subsequent work has become more challenging, often examining the cultural role of the artist and the role of the work of art in the information age, as in Flirt (1995) and Henry Fool. Hartley has also experimented with digital video in his more recent work, including The Book of Life (1999), The Girl from Monday (2005), and Fay Grim (2006). Furthermore, he is well known as a prolific short filmmaker, including Surviving Desire (1991), Ambition (1991), Theory of Achievement (1991), The New Math(s) (1999) and two collections of short works released under his Possible Films label (2006 & 2010). The short films are experimental, formally challenging, and highly self-reflexive, capturing Hartley's approach in its purest form. With this first critical study of Hal Hartley's work, Steven Rawle examines the physical and cultural performance practices at play in Hartley's work. Focusing on the critical emphasis on performance and the performer in Hartley's work, the book charts the development of this central facet of his films, from The Unbelievable Truth to the digital features. Identifying the main critical approaches to performance that illuminate this trend in his work, Rawle delves into the reasons why Hartley's work has never gained popular recognition and explores why critical reactions to his films have never fully grasped the complete significance of performance. Part of this reason, Rawle argues, is the lack of critical tools by which to explore film performance. This book contributes to a growing body of work on film performance, taking this formerly critically neglected figure as its central case study. This book will be an important book for fans of Hartley's work as well as scholars of independent American cinema and of film performance.

This volume of spellbinding essays explores the tense relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann, providing new perspectives on their collaboration. Featuring chapters by leading scholars of Hitchcock's work, including Richard Allen, Charles Barr, Murray Pomerance, Sidney Gottlieb and Jack Sullivan, the collection examines the working relationship between the pair and the contribution that Herrmann's work brings to Hitchcock's idiom. Examining key works, including The Man Who Knew Too Much, Psycho, Marnie and Vertigo, the essays explore approaches to sound, music, collaborative authorship and the distinctive contribution that Herrmann's work with Hitchcock brought to this body of films, examining the significance, meanings, histories and enduring legacies of one of film history's most important partnerships. By engaging with the collaborative work of Hitchcock and Herrmann, the book explores the ways in which film directors and composers collaborate, how this collaboration is experienced in the film text, and the ways in which such partnerships inspire later work. -- .

From relatively humble beginnings in a King Kong-inspired Japanese studio picture, the kaij? eiga has developed into a global phenomenon. While the origins of giant kaij? the term often preferred to 'monster' remain firmly rooted in Japan, the figure has become a transnational spectacle. This book explores how kaij? went global, from the adoption of Godzilla movies in translation to the appropriation of cultural material across borders. With reference to the subgenre's global development, its exploitative western circulation and how it demonstrates shifting power bases in global cinema, the book examines how genres with deep national roots can become transnational phenomena.

This volume of spellbinding essays explores the tense relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann, providing new perspectives on their collaboration. Featuring chapters by leading scholars of Hitchcock's work, including Richard Allen, Charles Barr, Murray Pomerance, Sidney Gottlieb and Jack Sullivan, the collection examines the working relationship between the pair and the contribution that Herrmann's work brings to Hitchcock's idiom. Examining key works, including The Man Who Knew Too Much, Psycho, Marnie and Vertigo, the essays explore approaches to sound, music, collaborative authorship and the distinctive contribution that Herrmann's work with Hitchcock brought to this body of films, examining the significance, meanings, histories and enduring legacies of one of film history's most important partnerships. By engaging with the collaborative work of Hitchcock and Herrmann, the book explores the ways in which film directors and composers collaborate, how this collaboration is experienced in the film text, and the ways in which such partnerships inspire later work. -- .

An effective filmmaker needs to have a good understanding of how film language works, and more importantly, how to actively influence an audience's thoughts and feelings and guide their gaze around the screen. Packed with examples from classic and contemporary cinema, The Language of Film reveals the essential building blocks of film and explains how the screen communicates meaning to its audience. You will learn about fundamental theories and concepts, including film semiotics, narrative structures, ideology, and genre, as well as how elements such as shot size, camera movement, editing technique, and color come together to create the cinematic image. With insightful case studies and discussion questions, dozens of practical tips and exercises, and a new chapter on film sound, this new edition of The Language of Film is a must-have guide for aspiring filmmakers.

Many of the laws now on our books can be traced back to biblical precepts. Legal Strategies to Defend Biblical Truth is a lawyer's guide to provide practical application of legal strategies and methods employed by successful trial attorneys in defending their clients, maximizing results, and winning cases. It seeks to expand the reader's confidence and boldness in effectively advocating biblical authority and to assist the reader in countering the strongholds of false ideas, human philosophies, and compromise. It encourages readers to think independently, analytically, and critically, not just routinely accepting consensus of thought. Legal Strategies to Defend Biblical Truth: Uses the vocabulary of the law, principles of law, and practice as a correlation and parallel to advocating for biblical truth. Is intended for teen through adult and is especially tailored for those fascinated by the law and legal systems. Is thoroughly scriptural and includes analogy to legal concepts, rules, and principles that govern the practice of law. Includes analogies and parallels, not just from the legal field, but language, culture, politics, government, constitutional principles, and religious liberty issues.

You can find information on starting your own business almost anywhere - on television, on the radio, on the Internet, in books, etc. But have you ever really thought about why you should start your own business? Whether you have or not, this book "Habits for Success - Why You Should Start Your Own Business Today" gives you compelling reasons to do so. It goes into great detail on the benefits and advantages of being an entrepreneur. Even if you do not want to pursue your own business because you have a job already or you are pursuing other things, try doing it as a second career. Options are available for that which is thoroughly discussed in Chapter 5. You would be amazingly surprised at what's out there for you by just taking in some basic knowledge in relation to this pursuit. It is never too late and this book is a great way to consider or reconsider going down this path.