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The Greengrass Papers
Rabble-rouser. Trouble-maker. Speaker of truth to power. Released to coincide with his 13th feature, The Greengrass Papers reveals how Paul Greengrass came to be venerated as a game-changing director. In 2004, Greengrass's adaptation of Robert Ludlum's spy thriller, The Bourne Supremacy, gave the shooting of action films an entirely new cinematic syntax -- urgent, visceral, immersive, immediate -- that everyone rushed to replicate, including the Bond and Mission Impossible franchises. A veteran of Granada TV's groundbreaking current affairs programme, World in Action, Greengrass uses documentary techniques to imbue his thrillers and docudramas with the heat and crackle of chaotic, fast-moving, real-life events. This is the first time he has been involved in a book around his work, and he has given exclusive access to Tom Shone to share the story of the revolution he brought to Hollywood filmmaking, which is showcased here alongside never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photographs. As well as a portrait of a filmmaker, The Greengrass Papers is a deep-dive into espionage, assassination and the political violence that Greengrass has laid bare in his films, bringing these worlds to the screen with more visceral power than any other British director working today.
Rear Window
The definitive, in-depth look inside Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window--the all-time classic of voyeurism, paranoia, and murder that became one of Hollywood's greatest achievements and turned generations of viewers into "a race of Peeping Toms." A must-read for film buffs, Hitchock fans old and new, and fans of classic movies and Hollywood insider history. Before the internet and social media offered voyeuristic glimpses into the lives of others, the acclaimed Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, exposed the dangers and delights of looking--and knowing--too much in his 1954 masterpiece Rear Window. Widely hailed as one of the greatest films ever made, it stars James Stewart and Grace Kelly at the top of their game but, in an unusual gamble, is shot entirely from within a Greenwich Village apartment . . . Using this limited point of view, Hitchcock forces his audience to participate in his protagonist's voyeuristic impulses and darkest obsessions--a bold move in the era of the Hollywood Blacklist and restrictive Hays Code. But the gamble paid off, and Rear Window became a timeless classic. This eye-opening book goes straight to the source of Rear Window's genius by mining the original papers of Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart, and Thelma Ritter, revealing little-known facts behind the scenes: Why taking the role of Lisa Fremont was one of the toughest decisions Grace Kelly ever made; How Hitchcock intertwined suspense and romance with inspiration from Ingrid Bergman; How he used a topless scene to distract the censors from other scenes to which they may have objected; and how Hitchcock crafted the film's unforgettable villain, Lars Thorwald, by modeling him on a producer he loathed--the infamous David O. Selznick. Filled with eye-catching photographs, outrageous anecdotes, and delicious details, this exciting book pulls back the curtain on a classic thriller that's as relevant today as ever--and every bit as thrilling.
Bob Dylan as Filmmaker
"Michael Glover Smith's Bob Dylan as Filmmaker is the most compelling reconsideration of Bob Dylan's work as a filmmaker written to date." -- Erin C. Callahan, author of The Politics and Power of Bob Dylan's Live PerformancesA deep dive into one of the most overlooked -- and fascinating -- sides of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature winner: Bob Dylan, the filmmaker. While his music and lyrics have been studied endlessly, his work behind (and in front of) the camera remains largely unexplored. No other book has taken this angle, and with Dylan's legend still growing, the audience is more than ready for a bold new take. Bob Dylan as Filmmaker, the first book of its kind, opens up exciting new ways to think about the artistry of Bob Dylan. It offers a captivating exploration into movies that, according to Michael, showcase Bob Dylan not just as a subject, but as the primary author. These include Eat the Document--a short, experimental television film shot in 1966 and released in 1972; the sprawling, genre-blurring epic Renaldo and Clara (1978), both directed by Dylan himself; and the darkly surreal Masked and Anonymous (2003), directed by Larry Charles but co-written by and starring Dylan. Bob Dylan as Filmmaker explores what these movies reveal about "how it feels" to be Bob Dylan during three defining eras of his career: the revolutionary 1960s, the introspective 1970s, and the enigmatic early 2000s. Just as crucially, they illuminate Dylan's remarkable instinct for using film not merely as a medium, but as a deeply personal mode of expression. The book also provides an essential survey of Dylan's most recent movie projects, including those by other directors, in which Dylan's influence is less overt but no less powerful. Here, Michael argues that Dylan operates as a kind of "invisible co-author" in Martin Scorsese's Rolling Thunder Revue (2019), where Dylan appears as a slippery, self-mythologizing interviewee; Alma Har'el's haunting Shadow Kingdom (2021), a stylized livestream performance; and James Mangold's A Complete Unknown (2024), the Timoth矇e Chalamet-led biopic shaped in part by Dylan's behind-the-scenes "script approval."
John Ford at Work
John Ford at Work: Production Histories 1927-1939 explores the evolution of John Ford's career in the Hollywood studio system of the 1930s as the system itself changed in response to the coming of sound and the business downtown instigated by the Depression. Based upon a decade of research utilizing the studio files of Twentieth Century-Fox, RKO and Samuel Goldwyn, it delineates the director's collaborations with the producers, screen- writers, actors and cinematographers that had the most impact on his production practices. It traces the major literary, cinematic and musical sources from which he drew. It considers relevant changes in film technology and seeks to explain how they were incorporated into his style. Films analyzed include 4 Sons, The Black Watch, Arrowsmith, Air Mail, The Lost Patrol, The Informer, Judge Priest, Steamboat Round the Bend, The Prisoner of Shark Island, Wee Willie Winkie, Stagecoach and Young Mr. Lincoln.
Behind the Pink Curtain
Behind the Pink Curtain takes the reader on a wild joy ride deep into the hinterlands of Japanese culture, society and radical politics by way of the weird and wonderful world of the country's distinctive sex film movements. Jasper Sharp's definitive study focuses on one of the most notorious sectors of Japanese filmmaking, the erotic Pink Film, or pinku eiga genre, and the closely related Roman Porno films produced by Nikkatsu studios from 1971 to 1988. From the early '60s onwards major Japanese film studios and independent producers alike have kept up a conveyor belt level of output of pornographic features intended purely for cinema release. Up until the 2010s, just short of 100 such titles were shot on 35mm every year intended for screening in a specialist network of adult cinemas across the nation. Many such films have been released on home video in the West or screened at international film festivals, while a significant number of Japan's most noted filmmakers today cut their teeth in this industry. Based on extensive interviews with many of the leading figures in the field, Behind the Pink Curtain is a colourful and exhaustive expos矇 of Japan's most vibrant and prolific filmmaking sector. Read about: -- the ins and outs of Japanese censorship from the wartime onwards; -- how topless deep sea diving girls came to woo local audiences in the '50s; -- how a TV nature documentary maker made nude female Tarzan movies; -- how '60s mavericks K繫ji Wakamatsu and Masao Adachi met John and Yoko; -- how one of Nikkatsu's leading directors went it alone to make a film about powerboat racing and ended up in the bad books of the yakuza; -- how the sex farce Horny Home Tutor: Teacher's Love Juice was re-titled The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai and became one of the most talked-about Japanese films ever, playing at more than twenty international film festivals.
Wes Anderson All the Films
This deep dive into the world of Wes Anderson mines the details of the making of every feature-length movie and short film from the beloved director. The films of Wes Anderson are among the most iconic contemporary works of cinema. From Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums to The Grand Budapest Hotel and The French Dispatch, his movies are instantly recognizable for their highly stylized visuals, meticulous symmetry, idiosyncratic characters, and offbeat humor. Organized chronologically and covering every short film and movie that Wes has ever directed, Wes Anderson All the Films draws upon years of research to tell the behind-the-scenes stories of how each project was conceived, cast, and produced. The book explores his unique filmmaking style, his use of regular cast members like Owen Wilson and Bill Murray, recurring themes, and the visual and narrative elements that have made him a cult favorite in the world of cinema. Featuring hundreds of vivid photographs that celebrate one of film's most iconic artists, this authoritative guide will delight all Wes Anderson devotees and movie lovers in general.
Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas
Don't waste a second of your valuable holiday time on another boring Christmas movie. In this merry and informative guide, film critic Alonso Duralde takes us on a tinsel-bedecked tour of the best-and worst-films of the Yuletide season. Whether you're looking for the classics, family favorites, holiday horror, seasonally themed crime epics, or the most wonderfully awful cinematic lumps of coal, Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas serves up delightful recommendations in prose as brisk as a winter sleighride. From White Christmas to Bad Santa, Eyes Wide Shut to Gremlins, you'll find a marvelously electic selection of holiday fare and a thorough breakdown of the many screen Scrooges, including Alistair Sim, Jim Carrey, and ...Tori Spelling? And get ready to encounter movies you may never have heard of, from the gritty noir Blast of SIlence (filmed in New York City over Christmas 1959 without a single permit), to the loony Santa Claus, a Mexican kiddie movie in which St. Nick teams up with Merlin to fight the devil! Fun facts abound-did you know the actor cast as Uncle Billy in It's a Wonderful Life was also in the running to play mean old Mr. Potter?-making this a stocking stuffed with goodies you'll turn to every Christmas season. This fully revised and updated edition includes all Christmas movies of note to have been released in the fifteen years since the first edition was published, as well as gems omitted from the first edition.
Fast, Cheap & Under Control
Dying to make a feature? Learn from the pros!"We never put out an actual textbook for the Corman School of Filmmaking, but if we did, it would be Fast, Cheap and Under Control." Roger Corman, Producer★★★★★It's like taking a Master Class in moviemaking...all in one book!Jonathan Demme: The value of cameosJohn Sayles: Writing to your resourcesPeter Bogdanovich: Long, continuous takesJohn Cassavetes: Re-ShootsSteven Soderbergh: RehearsalsGeorge Romero: CastingKevin Smith: Skipping film schoolJon Favreau: Creating an emotional connectionRichard Linklater: Poverty breeds creativityDavid Lynch: Kill your darlingsRon Howard: Pre-production planningJohn Carpenter: Going low-techRobert Rodriguez: Sound thinkingAnd more!Learn the tricks and pitfalls of low-budget filmmaking from 33 successful independent films and the filmmakers who created them. Includes never before published interviews with low-budget mavericks such as Steven Soderbergh, Roger Corman, Jon Favreau, Henry Jaglom, and many more.Learn the lessons from such classics as Clerks, Night of the Living Dead, Swingers, Open Water, El Mariachi, Slacker, sex, lies and videotape, The Blair Witch Project, Eraserhead, Monty Python & The Holy Grail, Dark Star, Return of the Secaucus Seven, The Little Shop of Horrors, Caged Heat and Targets.Are you dying to make a movie? This is the one book that can help you make it a reality.Grab it now!★★★★★Praise for the Fast, Cheap and Under Control: "This terrific little book explains how to make every penny count on the often-arduous journey from script to screen." John Carpenter, Director, Halloween, Starman, Escape from New York"A helpful and funny guide for beginners and professionals alike." Jonathan Demme, Director, Silence of the Lambs"This book is as good as film school, and a lot less expensive. It's required reading in Tromaville." Lloyd Kaufman, President, Troma Entertainment, Creator, Toxic Avenger"I wish I'd read this book before I made Re-Animator."Stuart Gordon, director, Re-Animator"This simple and sensible book injects reality into the process and helps any filmmaker prevent their film from becoming a money pit. Lessons like those in this book are cheap at ten times the price."John Badham, director, Saturday Night Fever, Dracula, Blue Thunder"For everyone who wants to make art without breaking the bank, John Gaspard's book is worth every penny."Derek Pell, Editor, DingBat Magazine"A richly-detailed, highly readable and inspiring book jam-packed with information that will keep low-budget filmmakers from making costly mistakes. Filled with a ton-full (not a spoonful) of fascinating, insightful interviews, with a you-can-do-it approach."Dr. Linda Seger, consultant on over 2,000 screenplays, best-selling author of Making a Good Script Great and 7 other books
Hanyo (the Housemaid)
The upwardly mobile Kim family employs a young woman to help manage their new house. Mr. Kim begins an affair with the nameless 'housemaid', who soon drags the entire family into a terrible tragedy... The director Kim Ko-young played a formative part in South Korean cinema's "Golden Age" of the 1960s and 1970s; his 1960 masterpiece, Hanyo (The Housemaid), rescued and restored after almost being lost, is today widely regarded as one of the greatest South Korean films of all time. Directors such as Park Chan-wook, Im Sang-soo, Kim Ki-duk, Ryu Seung-wan and Kim Jee-woon have all praised the film, and Bong Joon-ho has referred to Hanyo as "the Citizen Kane of Korean cinema," citing it as an inspiration for his film, Parasite (2019). In this book, Youngmin Choe argues that Hanyo encapsulates the mood of social change in postwar South Korea during the period of tremendous upheaval and rapid transformation that followed the devastating war, which divided families across the newly formed Cold War boundaries. The housemaid - a figure that Kim Ki-young would explore repeatedly throughout his career - was a young woman driven by greed and envy, a femme-fatale set loose on the middle-class home. A monstrous embodiment of the destructive desires of capitalism, which recklessly eroded the foundations of tradition, this housemaid served as the conscience of a period that otherwise leaned heavily into economic transformation, pointing to the anxiety that undergirded what might be otherwise regarded as a time of 'progress'. Going beyond the traditionalist approaches that resist feminist readings of Hanyo, Youngmin Choe insists that the enduring legacy of Hanyo is both due to its uncanny aesthetics and - though it certainly was not intended to be an explicitly feminist film - in the questions it raises about class mobility, gender oppression and women's work.
The Costume House - The Inside Story of Cosprop
One of the world's most revered costume suppliers and creators, Cosprop was founded by John Bright, an Oscar-and BAFTA-winning costume designer, collector, and philanthropist. The Costume House explores some of the most celebrated film and television series in history, from Merchant Ivory to Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, and Peaky Blinders. Featuring interviews with leading costume designers, directors, and actors, and never-before-seen costume designs and photographs, this book is an unprecedented firsthand insight into costume design and making, and their significance to stage and screen worldwide. "We entered Cosprop as ourselves and walked out as the person we were playing."--Helena Bonham Carter CBE "Cosprop is a magical place that is an important part of the nation's rich cultural heritage. This book should be essential reading for lovers of costume drama and for aspiring costume designers and makers. The industry as a whole should value this document as a glimpse into what excellence can be achieved in one lifetime, with the right balance of vision and modest ambition."--Dame Judi Dench Distributed for Cosprop
South African Horror Cinema
This is the first study to explore South Africa both in horror cinema and as a formidable producer of celluloid scares.From framing the notorious apartheid system as a mental asylum in the ground-breaking and criminally underseen Jannie Totsiens (Jans Rautenbach, 1970) to such seventies exploitation shockers as The Demon (Percival Rubens, 1979) through to the blockbuster hit District 9(Neill Blomkamp, 2009) and beyond, this book suggests that South Africa should finally obtain its rightful place in the canon of wider genre studies and horror cinema fandom. Taking in the 80s nightmares of Darrell Roodt and concluding with an analysis of the recent boom-period in South African fright-films, including discussion of such contemporary efforts as The Tokoloshe(Jerome Pikwane, 2018) and the Troma-esque leanings of Fried Barry (Ryan Kruger, 2020), South African Horror Cinema focuses on ever-changing identities and perspectives, and embraces the frequently carnivalesque and grotesque elements of a most unique lineage in macabre motion pictures.
Reaching A Verdict
When Thames Television lost its franchise in 1992, The Bill was the only ongoing drama programme to avoid cancellation. For Michael Chapman and his team, their survival came with a new challenge: producing a continuous series to be broadcast three times a week, a first for any police procedural television drama.The third edition of REACHING A VERDICT investigates how the writers, actors and production team rose to the challenge, creating some of the most memorable episodes of all time and pulling in their highest ever ratings.Edward Kellett is back on the beat to explore how The Bill adapted to losing some of its most iconic officers, and examine the key storylines, themes and characters at the heart of 311 episodes packed with action, comedy, drama and tragedy.REACHING A VERDICT: REVIEWING THE BILL (1993-1994) opens with a Foreword by Police Advisor Trevor Hermes and an Afterword by writer Eddy Canfor-Dumas.
Reaching A Verdict
Between 1993-1994, The Bill was regularly beating rival EastEnders in the ratings. But having increased Albert Square's output to three episodes a week, the BBC were now winning the ratings war. Sun Hill needed to fight back.To ensure their survival, Michael Chapman and his team introduced an array of new characters, including CID sleuths Don Beech, John Boulton and Geoff Daly, while fresh-faced probationers Debbie Keane and Nick Slater joined the ranks in uniform.n the fourth edition of REACHING A VERDICT Edward Kellett investigates how hard-hitting storylines, surprise returns and shock exits helped The Bill increase its average audience and earn the crown of Most Popular Drama at the 1996 National Television Awards.REACHING A VERDICT: REVIEWING THE BILL (1995-1996) features a Foreword by Script Editor Rachel Wright and an Afterword by legendary writer Peter J. Hammond."Edward Kellett's Reaching A Verdict series keeps getting better and better" - Patrick Stratford, The Bill Obbocast"Another masterpiece by Edward Kellett! The perfect accompaniment to The Bill" - Sarah Went, The Billaton
A Second Life
German cinema is best known for its art cinema and its long line of outstanding individual directors. The double spotlight on these two subject has only deepened the obscurity surrounding the popular cinema. German Cinema performs a kind of archaeology on a period largely overlooked: the first two decades of German cinema. This collection of essays by established authors refocuses the terms of a debate that will develop in the years to come concerning the historical and cultural significance of popular cinema in Wilhelmine Germany.
You Can't Kill the Boogeyman
You Can't Kill the Boogeyman: The Ongoing Halloween Saga - 13 Movies and Counting is a cultural and critical examination of the legendary Halloween film franchise, considering the style, themes, and development of the series within temporal and industrial contexts. Through candid conversations with author Wayne Byrne, a variety of directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, composers, and actors from across the Halloween films offer exclusive insights into their careers, their unique aesthetic approaches, and their experiences of working on one of the most celebrated horror franchises within the history of American Cinema.
Hitchcock Annual
Hitchcock Annual volume 28 contains essays on Hitchcock's Catholicism, the reception of I Confess in France, Murder! and Mary, Rebecca and the Gothic, O in North by Northwest, and Annie Hayworth in The Birds. Detailed review essays cover recent books on selected shots in Hitchcock, Hitchcock and noir, and his use of storyboards.
Ray Milland
Ray Milland (1907-1986) was the inaugural Welshman to win the Best Actor Academy Award, as well as a performer boasting a rich and varied oeuvre from the silent era in 1920s Britain to New Hollywood in the 1980s. Despite being one of the most prolific actors in cinema history who left behind a legacy of almost 180 film and television appearances across seven different decades, Milland remains a somewhat forgotten figure of cinematic history. Ray Milland: Identity, Stardom, and the Long Climb to "The Lost Weekend" fills this void in scholarship by offering a detailed examination of Milland as one of Hollywood's most durable and fascinating performers of the studio era. The volume begins by exploring Milland's unique Welsh identity in Hollywood, which was essentially erased by the studios. It then turns to his underexplored early career at MGM prior to signing with Paramount Pictures, where he remained for over two decades. Author Gillian Kelly discusses his early roles as a stereotypical "Brit" in Hollywood as well as his "stardom years" at Paramount where he often provided support for the studio's leading ladies, including Claudette Colbert, Dorothy Lamour, and Paulette Goddard. A chapter is dedicated to his Oscar-winning performance in The Lost Weekend, and important later films like Dial M for Murder and Love Story also receive detailed analysis. Overall, Ray Milland provides a reappraisal of Milland's earlier career and situates his performances within the broader tradition of star studies.
Julie Dash
This collection of interviews with Julie Dash (b. 1952) offers an in-depth exploration of the life, career, and creative processes of one of the most groundbreaking filmmakers in American cinema. Dash, whose landmark film Daughters of the Dust (1991) became the first feature by an African American woman to receive a wide theatrical release in the United States, has continuously pushed the boundaries of cinematic representation, exploring African American history, culture, and identity through a distinctly poetic and visionary lens. Dash's use of Black feminist narrative and her ability to supplant the status quo of Black women's representation in cinema aligned with the evolution of Black women's writing and visual arts that exploded in the eighties and early nineties. Starting with her debut film Illusions (1982) and touching upon other works such as Praise House (1991), the eighteen interviews collected in this volume weave together the stylistic integrity and unconventional model of storytelling that Dash thoughtfully midwives into existence. Julie Dash: Interviews will put students, scholars, and admirers of Dash's oeuvre in close proximity to her creative thought process and influences as well as make accessible an archive of conversations in which she discusses the longevity of her career, intergenerational shifts, and the reception of her work across the globe.
Ray Milland
Ray Milland (1907-1986) was the inaugural Welshman to win the Best Actor Academy Award, as well as a performer boasting a rich and varied oeuvre from the silent era in 1920s Britain to New Hollywood in the 1980s. Despite being one of the most prolific actors in cinema history who left behind a legacy of almost 180 film and television appearances across seven different decades, Milland remains a somewhat forgotten figure of cinematic history. Ray Milland: Identity, Stardom, and the Long Climb to "The Lost Weekend" fills this void in scholarship by offering a detailed examination of Milland as one of Hollywood's most durable and fascinating performers of the studio era. The volume begins by exploring Milland's unique Welsh identity in Hollywood, which was essentially erased by the studios. It then turns to his underexplored early career at MGM prior to signing with Paramount Pictures, where he remained for over two decades. Author Gillian Kelly discusses his early roles as a stereotypical "Brit" in Hollywood as well as his "stardom years" at Paramount where he often provided support for the studio's leading ladies, including Claudette Colbert, Dorothy Lamour, and Paulette Goddard. A chapter is dedicated to his Oscar-winning performance in The Lost Weekend, and important later films like Dial M for Murder and Love Story also receive detailed analysis. Overall, Ray Milland provides a reappraisal of Milland's earlier career and situates his performances within the broader tradition of star studies.
Julie Dash
This collection of interviews with Julie Dash (b. 1952) offers an in-depth exploration of the life, career, and creative processes of one of the most groundbreaking filmmakers in American cinema. Dash, whose landmark film Daughters of the Dust (1991) became the first feature by an African American woman to receive a wide theatrical release in the United States, has continuously pushed the boundaries of cinematic representation, exploring African American history, culture, and identity through a distinctly poetic and visionary lens. Dash's use of Black feminist narrative and her ability to supplant the status quo of Black women's representation in cinema aligned with the evolution of Black women's writing and visual arts that exploded in the eighties and early nineties. Starting with her debut film Illusions (1982) and touching upon other works such as Praise House (1991), the eighteen interviews collected in this volume weave together the stylistic integrity and unconventional model of storytelling that Dash thoughtfully midwives into existence. Julie Dash: Interviews will put students, scholars, and admirers of Dash's oeuvre in close proximity to her creative thought process and influences as well as make accessible an archive of conversations in which she discusses the longevity of her career, intergenerational shifts, and the reception of her work across the globe.
Animality and Horror Cinema
Animality and Horror Cinema provides a wide-ranging overview of the role played by animals in the genre of horror cinema. Across four sections that unite affective and generic modes of horror with animals, animality, and the discourse of species, the volume demonstrates the multivalent operation of animality in transnational cinemas that look beyond the trope of monstrous adversity associated with the creature feature. With chapters focusing on the extrusion of animals from horror narratives, the multisensorial dimensions of animal horror, the intrusion of documentary violence, and the horrific contiguity of human and nonhuman flesh, it argues for the concept of creaturely fear as a lens through which to read horror's blurring of the species barrier. The collection appeals to those interested in the intersection of animal and film studies with memory studies, afropessimism and critical race theory, posthumanism, biopolitics, ecocriticism, queer theory and vegan theory.
Gangs Of Wasseypur
Running close to five hours and thirty minutes and boasting of no big stars, Gangs of Wasseypur is unlike any Hindi film you might have watched.It is also one of the most feted Hindi films of recent times in international circles. It has been spoken of as India's answer to landmark gangster films of the west, like The Godfather. In Gangs of Wasseypur: The Making of a Modern Classic, the authors go behind the scenes through its chaotic gestation to bring to life the trials and tribulations, the triumphs and ecstasies involved in following one's dream. Including the complete screenplay, the book is as much a testimony to the spirit of everyone associated with the film as it is a tribute to the intellectual honesty and indefatigable spirit of its director, Anurag Kashyap.
50 Indian Film Classics
An eclectic collection of essays by the winner of the National Award Swarna Kamal for Best Film Critic 1997 With more than a thousand films produced annually in over fifteen languages India is acknowledged as the largest producer of motion pictures in the world.50 Indian Film Classics provides detailed critical accounts of the most important Indian films beginning with Prem Sanyas (1925) to Rang De Basanti (2006) in languages ranging from Bengali and Hindi to Manipuri and Malayalam and representing a whole gamut of themes: from the 1930s mythological Sant Tukaram to the politically radical Calcutta '71, from art-house favourites like Uski Roti and Mukhamukham to blockbusters like Sholay and Lagaan. These perceptive essays introduce the reader to the many moods that inform Indian cinema, the austerity of Pather Panchali, the lavishness of Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!, the solemnity of Samskara and the fun and frolic of Amar Akbar Anthony.Illustrated with rare posters and stills this is an invaluable guide to the most significant cinema India has ever produced.
Mother Maiden Mistress
'Extraordinary ... details what makes women characters iconic in Hindi cinema and analyses them in relation to their directors and more importantly to the society at that point of time' -Rani Mukerji It's been a long hundred years since Dadasaheb Phalke had to settle for a man to play the heroine in India's first feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913) - and women in Hindi cinema have come a long way since then. Mother Maiden Mistress documents that journey: from a time in which cinema was considered a profession beneath the dignity of 'respectable' women to an era when women actors are icons and idols. Bhawana Somaaya, Jigna Kothari and Supriya Madangarli sift through six decades of history, bringing to life the women that peopled cinema and the popular imagination, and shaped fashion and culture. Contemporary readers will also find here a nuanced historical perspective - of the social milieu of the time, of the nation and of Hindi cinema itself. Also riveting are the first-person narratives of a leading actress from each decade - Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh, Hema Malini, Shabana Azmi, Madhuri Dixit and Rani Mukerji - all close-up examinations of how some of the iconic characters of Hindi cinema came to be. At once a guide, an archive and a cracking good read, the book records and reviews the woman in Hindi cinema - the mythical, the Sati-Savitri, the rebel, the avant-garde and the contemporary. In a journey through six decades of cinema, seemingly, the more things have changed, the more they have remained the same.
I Swallowed the Moon
A comprehensive analysis of the work of one of India's foremost poets Gulzar is arguably the most well-known contemporary poet writing in Hindustani. As a poet he occupies a unique place being a Progressive poet in a popular culture. His poetry appeals to all strata of society, without compromising either on literary merit or on its ability to convey the most exalted thought in an accessible idiom. In 'He Swallowed the Moon', Saba Bashir attempts to analyse what makes Gulzar the poet he is. What is his signature style? What are the issues that concern his poetry and what are the recurrent images in it? She also draws a parallel between the poet's film and non-film poetry and points out how they are used interchangeably. Including the most comprehensive list of all Gulzar's poems, film and non-film songs, this is a valuable addition to the corpus of work on a great poet.
Manik Da
Satyajit Ray, known to his intimates as Manik-da, remains India's most respected name in international film circles. This book reveals in its simplicity the ease and camaraderie between Satyajit Ray, one of India's finest film-makers, and Nemai Ghosh, photographer extraordinaire. Manik-da is the latter's endeavour to depict the man behind the director's mask. Ghosh first worked with Ray on Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, and Ray immediately found in him a kindred spirit who intuitively understood his requirements - and whom he understood. Thus was formed a partnership that spanned over a quarter of a century. In the process, Ghosh was able to photograph Ray at work and play, capturing on film the many moods of the master director. This nuanced and lucid translation from the Bengali original, which includes a perceptive Foreword by Sharmila Tagore, presents to the English reader Ghosh's thoughts on Ray with over fifty exquisite, never-before-seen photographs.
Mughal-e-Azam
A brilliant study of one of the greatest epics of Indian cinema Mughal-e-Azam (1960) embodies grandeur in Indian cinema like no other film. The imagination and hard work of the makers is evident in every scene. The gigantic setting, the great performances, the poetic language, the brilliant technical quality and the sublime music contribute to its enduring appeal. However, Mughal-e-Azam is much more than just lavish entertainment. The movie takes a historical legend and converts it into a film epic that is enriched by several artistic and cultural traditions. The film also corresponds to the progressive ideas that defined the first decade of independent India. In Mughal-e-Azam: Legend as Epic, film-maker and scholar Anil Zankar unravels its cinematic strength through an understanding of the script, mise en scene, music and the nature of the conflict in the film.
Amar Akbar Anthony
Even forty years after it was made, Amar Akbar Anthony remains the final word in film entertainment, which many film-makers aspire to, but seldom manage to replicate. Well-known journalist and author Sidharth Bhatia goes behind the scenes of one of the most loved Hindi films of all time to unravel the story of its making and what it means to Indian cinema. Talking to various people associated with the film - cameraman Peter Pereira, scriptwriter Kader Khan, composer Pyarelal and stars Rishi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan - who fondly remember how Manmohan Desai created this magical movie, he has written a book as entertaining as the film itself, a tribute both to the iconic film and to the incredible vision of its maker.
Deep Focus
Satyajit Ray is acknowledged to be one of the world's finest film-makers. This book brings together some of his most cerebral writings on film.With the economy and precision that marked his films, Ray writes on the art and craft of cinema, pens an ode to silent cinema, discusses the problems in adapting literary works to film, pays tribute to contemporaries like Godard and Uttam Kumar, and even gives us a peek into his experiences at film festivals, both as a jury member and as a contestant. Including fascinating photographs by and of the master, Deep Focus not only reveals Ray's engagement with cinema but also provides an invaluable insight into the mind of a genius.
Pakeezah
Meghnad Desai tracks the film's tortuous journey and reveals fascinating, little-known aspects of it. He foregrounds the craftsmanship, perseverance and perfectionism of its maker, Kamal Amrohi, who would wait weeks for the perfect sunset. Desai sees the film as a 'Muslim social' set in a 'Lucknow of the Muslim imagination', as a woman-centric film with a dancing heroine at a time when they were a rarity and above all, as a film that harkes back to an era of 'nawabi culture with its exquisite tehzeeb', a world that is lost forever. Pakeezah: An Ode to a Bygone World is a fitting tribute to a film that Meghnad Desai calls 'a monument to the golden age of Hindustani films'.
Deewar
Yash Chopra's 1975 film, Deewaar, one of the most iconic and influential works of superstar Amitabh Bachchan, has been (to borrow a line from the film itself) the 'lambi race ka ghoda', enjoying a nearly unrivalled popularity in the long history of Hindi cinema. Its remarkable plot, crisp dialogues and epic narrative structure, revolving around the familiar story of two brothers whose paths diverge and lead to a fatal collision, have endeared it to millions. And its most famous line, 'Mere paas ma hai', has been endlessly imitated, parodied and referenced in cinematic and cultural works. However, as Vinay Lal demonstrates in his study of Deewaar, the film lends itself to much more complex readings than is commonly imagined. Examining it in the context of the history of Hindi cinema, the migrations from the hinterland to the city, and the political and socio-economic climate of the early 1970s, he draws attention to Deewaar's dialectic of the footpath and skyscraper, the mesmerizing presence of the tattoo, the frequent appearance of the signature and the film's deep structuring in mythic material. In doing so, he assesses Deewaar's unique space in popular Indian culture as much as world cinema.
Armies of the Night
From the New York City Subway to Coney Island--uncover the gritty legacy of The Warriors, the cult classic that stormed the streets--and shaped mainstream culture--since 1979!The Warriors opened to scathing reviews, big box office, and major controversy. Walter Hill's stylized tale of gang warfare wasn't just another action movie--it rewrote the rules of the genre. Vilified and celebrated in equal measure, it rose above its notoriety to become a cult phenomenon. Today, it stands as an influential classic, spawning cross-media spinoffs and offering a vivid snapshot of late-1970s New York City. The history of The Warriors is a complex, sometimes tumultuous one. Armies of the Night: The Warriors and Its Legacy tracks the movie's long journey, beginning with its origins as a groundbreaking Sol Yurick novel, revealing the many changes it underwent from book to script to screen, recounting a turbulent production involving real gang encounters and a lead actor dropped mid-shoot, through to a detailed chronicle of the controversy The Warriors sparked. How did the film overcome the kind of obstacles only an all-nights NYC shoot could throw in its path? And how did a movie that does not actually contain much graphic violence ignite such a firestorm of outrage? Authors Michael Gingold (Fangoria, Ad Nauseam) and Chris Poggiali (These Fists Break Bricks, Temple of Schlock) answer those questions and many more via exclusive interviews with cast and crew, a wealth of vintage reportage and dozens of photos and promotional images. It's a story as unique and dramatic as The Warriors itself. Can you dig it?
Reaching A Verdict
As The Bill entered a new decade, the programme makers once again faced the challenge of finding a new location for Sun Hill police station. But this time they had to do so without a break in the gruelling filming schedule and ensure that new episodes of ITV's bi-weekly ratings smash were in constant production...In the second of his acclaimed REACHING A VERDICT series, TV historian Edward Kellett returns to investigate how from this testing period, The Bill emerged a show better than ever, willing to experiment with longer storylines and unlock the full potential of the half-hour format.Discover how the programme's greatest writers, under the command of executive producer Michael Chapman, joined forces to create 314 episodes of drama tackling contemporary issues in Britain and ensuring The Bill took no prisoners in the 1990s. REACHING A VERDICT: REVIEWING THE BILL (1990-1992) opens with a Foreword by producer Tony Virgo and an Afterword by legendary writer J.C. Wilsher."EDWARD KELLETT IS A MASTER STORYTELLER WHO VIVIDLY CAPTURES A REMARKABLE ERA OF BRITISH TELEVISION DRAMA" - Barry Appleton, legendary The Bill writer."THE AMOUNT OF DETAIL IN EDWARD KELLETT'S ERUDITE, CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BILL IS ASTONISHING" - Christopher Russell, legendary The Bill writer.
The Oxford Handbook of American Film History
The Oxford Handbook of American Film History offers a series of newly-commissioned chapters on the current intellectual and topical diversity of the study of American film history. It provides a thorough look at the complex history of American cinema, and showcases a variety of historiographic practices and methods. Within each of the five chronological sections, readers will find discourse on technology, reception, exemplary films and filmmakers, the culture of celebrity, and industry policy, procedure, and regulation -- on political economy, textual representation (form, style, diversity), scientific/technological innovation, and the cultural (and subcultural) resonance of movies with their time and place. The Oxford Handbook of American Film explores the delicate and imperfect balance between art and commerce, between entertainment and commercial enterprise. Approaching the history of American film from a dialectical perspective that allows for a close look at not only the important films and filmmakers, but also the complex and fascinating business conducted behind the scenes. Movies are complicated products of a complicated industry. Consequently, the history of film defies a simple formula, a unilateral methodology. It is a history shaped by multiple theses and voices and interests.
Film Critics and British Film Culture
For decades, cinema audiences have turned to the film reviews featured in national and local newspapers, listened to commentators via radio, television and, latterly, the internet, and read fan magazines to learn about the latest releases. These critics helped shape the responses of generations of film fans, creating success and failure, as well as controversy. This wide-ranging collection brings together some of the leading academics on British film history to consider the role of these commentators. It covers the work of influential critics like Dilys Powell and Raymond Durgnat and key magazines such as Time Out, Monthly Film Bulletin and Radio Times. Contributors include leading scholars such as James Chapman, Pamela Hutchinson and Julian Petley, along with the screenwriter and filmmaker David McGillivray and others who have worked as film journalists themselves. For film students or cinema enthusiasts anywhere, this volume provides an insightful analysis of the British film critic.
The Cinema of Kinoshita Keisuke
Kinoshita Keisuke was once thought of as the equal in importance and popularity to his colleague Ozu Yasujiro and friend Kurosawa Akira. In many ways, he was even more popular with audiences than they were, as well as being a critical favorite. He had built an overseas following with prestigious festival play and was considered an innovator for his use of color and widescreen. In addition, he was known for his cinematic depictions of the plight of women under rigid social restrictions along with his often-rebellious heroines who endured and sometimes triumphed. Yet he is much less known than his fellow filmmakers. Leading scholars from the US, Australia, the UK and Japan, relying on close analysis and numerous Japanese sources come together to redress this gap and demonstrate why Kinoshita deserves to be returned to the pantheon Japanese and world cinema.
Infinite Ontologies of the Chthulustream
Brown and Fleming employ the twin discourses of critical race theory and posthumanism in order to expose how multinational platforms like Netflix play a role in both problematising and perpetuating deeply entrenched violences lurking within the intersections of racism, capitalism, and technology. The authors dive into the racialised world-building of shows like Stranger Things, Watchmen, Lovecraft Country, Sense8, The Twilight Zone, The O.A., Ad Vitam and DEVS, and through their groundbreaking media philosophy diagnose and confront the oppressive and racialising nature of streaming media at the end of the world, in the so-called Chthulucene (or 'Chthulustream'). As Brown and Fleming demonstrate, streaming media can, at their best, liberate thought to confront overlapping infinite ontologies (∞O) that themselves offer a timely panacea and corrective to Object-Oriented-Ontology (OOO).
Action Heroines in the 21st Century
Action Heroines in the Twenty-First Century highlights the changing representation of female protagonists in recent action-led genres. It responds to an upturn in women-centred narratives over the past two decades, specifically, those that involve groups of women in action. The work demonstrates how this collective agency reflects an increasingly global rejection of violence towards women (illustrated through initiatives such as the #MeToo movement, and the united reactions to the deaths of Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa and the deaths of young Iranian women detained by security forces in Iran in 2022). It is against this backdrop that an escalating number of action films released over recent years counter contemporaneous perceptions of women as victims in the face of threat and enable progressive media representations of women. ​​​​​​​This book charts such representations from a diverse range of national cinemas and genres, moving from remakes of Charlie's Angels through to the Western, eco-activism, action-comedy and Marvel's superheroines, thus providing a broad platform for its argument and highlighting the growing significance of action heroines operating collectively.
Film as an Art of Society
The volume deals with the concept of art in relation to film, covering both aesthetic theory and concrete works. The spectrum includes feature films and documentaries. The focus is on the aesthetic innovations of the medium throughout its history and in the present. The development of visual ideas is related to the historical and social context of their creation and reception. The focus is on film authors, film artists and film movements that can be found not only in independent film but also in the mainstream.
Nahid Persson Sarvestani
This monograph offers a critical study of Nahid Persson Sarvestani's documentary practice across three decades. Highlighting the filmmaker's at times limited opportunities to record visible evidence in situ, the book frames her involvement with new documentary film technology and its influence on her practice. From a discursive point of view, Boel Ulfsdotter introduces the concept liquid authorship to position Persson Sarvestani's work by sparring the films' production history against different iterations of post-millennium documentary theory. In a bid to move the boundaries of traditional documentary forward, the author also studies how Persson Sarvestani applies first-person filmmaking in relation to the subject of documentary, including the relationship between director and enunciator. The filmmaker's documentary output is reflected against the tenets of feminist theory. To establish their discursive urgency, Boel Ulfsdotter unpicks the films' fabric to comment on their aesthetic merits, narrative composition, including the impact of voice-over, vis-?-vis contemporary documentary practice.
Female Robots and AI in Science Fiction Cinema
This book is the first comprehensive overview of the history of female-presenting AI and robots in US and UK live-action, science fiction films from 1949 to 2023. It offers an original taxonomy that aids in the examination of 80 films and over 135 characters' representations, starting with The Perfect Woman (1949) and ending with Robots (2023). Using its representational taxonomy, this book analyses the evolution of these depictions, showing the continuations, revisions, and shifts in the depiction of female-presenting AI and robots from objectified, eroticised, subordinated things to being autonomous moral agents who assert their right to equality and refuse their abusive, typically sexual, use. This book shows how these fictional, gendered constructions are products of a heterosexual, cisgender, male fantasy of an idealised, subordinated form of femininity. These artificial characters, along with their real-world counterparts, highlight a desire for a subordinated femininity, but also show how that subordination is a social construction often reinforced and countered in onscreen depictions. By examining the trends within its asserted Galatea, Girlfriend, Mother, and Deadly Seductress types, this book presents an exploration of what our female-presenting artificial creations could be, while addressing their contemporary, and our current, AI technologies, and how science fiction is influencing real life, while our reality seeks to mirror science fiction.
Refocus: The Films of John Singleton
In 1992, John Singleton became the first Black filmmaker, as well as the youngest, to be nominated for the Best Director award at the Oscars. In the following decade, Singleton cemented his reputation as a Hollywood auteur who could move across genres while making critically acclaimed films that share a preoccupation with the triumphs and tribulations of Black life in America. And yet, Singleton's films have received relatively little academic attention. ReFocus: The Films of John Singleton fills this scholarly vacuum. This collection of original chapters addresses Singleton's treatment of gender and racial difference, the family, urban space, and traumatic histories; it also identifies sources of inspiration in both Hollywood and world cinema, as well as draws connections between his films and the work of Black American literary figures. This collection is an invaluable resource for the future of Singleton studies.
Nahid Persson Sarvestani
This monograph offers a critical study of Nahid Persson Sarvestani's documentary practice across three decades. Highlighting the filmmaker's at times limited opportunities to record visible evidence in situ, the book frames her involvement with new documentary film technology and its influence on her practice. From a discursive point of view, Boel Ulfsdotter introduces the concept liquid authorship to position Persson Sarvestani's work by sparring the films' production history against different iterations of post-millennium documentary theory. In a bid to move the boundaries of traditional documentary forward, the author also studies how Persson Sarvestani applies first-person filmmaking in relation to the subject of documentary, including the relationship between director and enunciator. The filmmaker's documentary output is reflected against the tenets of feminist theory. To establish their discursive urgency, Boel Ulfsdotter unpicks the films' fabric to comment on their aesthetic merits, narrative composition, including the impact of voice-over, vis-?-vis contemporary documentary practice.
Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland is one of the most prolific actors in the history of cinema, and has starred in some of the greatest movies of our time. In a series of essays, Chris Wade explores Sutherland's performances on screen, from his early breakthrough roles in such films as MASH, Klute, and Don't Look Now, through classics like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Ordinary People, underrated gems like A Dry White Season, and modern hits including the Hunger Games movies. Still working today, Sutherland's body of work deserves to be celebrated and studied by all film lovers. Chris Wade is a UK based writer, musician and filmmaker. He writes fiction and non fiction books, makes documentaries on the arts, and runs the acclaimed music project, Dodson and Fogg.
Orgy Plus Massacre 4
Post-war cinema saw a rapid rise in the production of B-movies - low-budget genre films dealing with such subjects as horror, science fiction, juvenile delinquency and beatniks, bad girls and women in prison, bikers, gangsters, jungle terror, mondo, drug culture, and finally sexploitation, which eventually flourished due to a constant push-back against censorship. By the end of the 1960s, explicit sex and graphic violence had both become accepted in the mainstream. This new liberalism peaked in the mid-70s, when pretty much anything could be legally seen on commercially available film in one form or another, from picture houses to backstreet projection booths. ORGY PLUS MASSACRE is a book series which examines the three decades from 1950 to 1979, when film-makers were increasingly free to express their most expansive, exploratory, and often excessive visions on celluloid.ORGY PLUS MASSACRE 4 includes over 150 rare and unusual photographs, with accompanying informational texts, from the years 1963 to 1964. The book is divided into five sections: Horror, Science Fiction, Mayhem, Myth, and Sex.
