Catalog Search Results
Author
Series
Short cuts volume 07
Summary
The Western Genre: From Lordsburg to Big Whiskey offers close readings of the definitive American film movement as represented by such leading exponents as John Ford, Howard Hawks, and Sam Peckinpah. In his consideration of such iconic motifs as the Outlaw Hero and the Lone Rider, John Saunders traces the development of perennial aspects of the genre, its continuity and, importantly, its change. Representations of morality and masculinity are also...
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A comprehensive introduction to the history and key themes of the genre. The main issues and debates raised by horror, and the approaches and theories that have been applied to horror texts are all featured. In addressing the evolution of the horror film in social and historical context, Paul Wells explores how it has reflected and commented upon particular historical periods, and asks how it may respond to the new millennium by citing recent innovations...
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This book "explores the distinctive language of animation, its production processes, and the particular questions about who makes it, under what conditions and with what purpose. In this first study to look specifically at the ways in which animation displays unique models of 'auteurism' and how it revises generic categories. Paul Wells challenges the prominence of live-action movie-making as the first form of contemporary cinema and visual culture....
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Short cuts volume 34
Summary
'Romantic Comedy' offers an introduction to the analysis of one of the most popular but generally overlooked film genres. The book provides an overview of Hollywood's romantic comedy conventions, examining the iconography, narrative patterns and ideology which inform such films.
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Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen is a detailed look at the depiction of teens on film and its impact throughout film's history. Timothy Shary looks at the development of the teen movie -- the rebellion, the romance, the sex and the horror -- up to contemporary portrayals of ever-changing youth. Films studied include: Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Splendor in the Grass (1961), Carrie (1976), The Breakfast Club (1985), and American Pie (1999).
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Short cuts volume 06
Summary
Stephen Keane's history of the disaster genre offers a detailed analysis of films such as The Towering Inferno, Independence Day, Titanic, and The Day After Tomorrow. He looks at the ways in which disaster movies can be read in relation to both contextual considerations and the increasing commercial demands of contemporary Hollywood. In this second edition, he adds new material regarding cinematic representations of disaster in the wake of 9/11 and...
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Short cuts volume 51
Summary
Action Movies: The Cinema of Striking Back is a study of action cinema, exploring the ethics and aesthetics of the genre with reference to its relatively short history. It moves from seminal classics like Bullitt (1968) and Dirty Harry (1971) through epoch-defining films like Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Die Hard (1988) to revisions, reboots, and renewals in films like Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003), Taken (2008), and The Expendables (2010). The...
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Short cuts volume 10
Formats
Summary
Gibbs presents a detailed exploration of classics such as Rebel Without a Cause and Lone Star. The book is an invaluable tool in understanding the expression of visual style, and an unrivalled text for the understanding of interpretative methodologies.
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Short cuts volume 44
Summary
"Often dismissed as simple escapist tales of sword and sorcery, fantasy is one of the fundamental impulses in filmmaking, a source of some of the most vivid and memorable films ever made that reaches far beyond the confines of a single genre. As well as some of the major genres, stylistic approaches and exponents of cinematic fantasy--from Georges Maeliaaes, Walt Disney, and Andrei Tarkovsky to contemporary fantasists such as Terry Gilliam and Peter...
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Short cuts volume 33
Summary
Offering a concise analysis of film genre, this text introduces the topic in an accessible manner, covering theory and sample analyses of genre films such as the western, science fiction and the musical, through to horror, comedy and the thriller.
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Summary
"In discussing films such as Touching the Void (2003), Capturing the Friedmans (2003) and the work of Nick Broomfield, this timely introduction to the growing field of documentary explores the definition and understanding of the form, as well as the relationship between documentary and drama, specifically the notion of reconstruction and re-enactment. Paul Ward also examines animated documentaries, the meeting point of comedy and documentary modes,...
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Short cuts volume 39
Summary
"With its unparalleled capacity for realism, cinema seems uniquely positioned to bring history to life for a mass audience. Whether retelling stories about past events or reflecting more contemporary issues, cinema has been arguably the primary source of historical knowledge for many people from its earliest years right up to the present. This volume examines some of the key historical issues raised by popular film, including what film might tell...
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Summary
After covering the genre's early history and theorizing its general characteristics, this volume then focuses on specific instances of sports films, such as the biopic, the sports history film, the documentary, the fan film, the boxing film, and explores issues such as gender, race, spectacle and silent comedy.
