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A Companion to Eastern European Cinemas showcases twenty-five essays written by established and emerging film scholars that trace the history of Eastern European cinemas and offer an up-to-date assessment of post-socialist film cultures. Showcases critical historical work and up-to-date assessments of post-socialist film cultures Features consideration of lesser known areas of study, such as Albanian and Baltic cinemas, popular genre films, cross-national distribution and aesthetics, animation and documentary Places the cinemas of the region in a European and global context Resists the Cold War classification of Eastern European cinemas as “other” art cinemas by reconnecting them with the main circulation of film studies Includes discussion of such films as Taxidermia, El Perro Negro, 12:08 East of Bucharest Big Tõll, and Breakfast on the Grass and explores the work of directors including Tamás Almási, Walerian Borowczyk, Roman Polanski, Jerzy Skolimowski, Andrzej ¯u³awski, and Karel Vachek amongst many others

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Steven Spielberg is known as the most powerful man in New Hollywood and a pioneer of the contemporary blockbuster, America’s most successful export. His career began a new chapter in mass culture. At the same time, American post war liberalism was breaking down. This fascinating new book explains the complex relationship between film and politics through the prism of an iconic filmmaker. Spielberg’s early films were a triumphant emergence of the Sunbelt aesthetic that valued visceral kicks and basic emotions over the ambiguities of history. Such blockbusters have inspired much debate about their negative effect on politics and have been charged as being an expression of the corporatization of life. Here Frederick Wasser argues that the older Spielberg has not fully gone this way, suggesting that the filmmaker recycles the populist vision of older Hollywood because he sincerely believes in both big time moviemaking and liberal democracy. Nonetheless, his stories are burdened by his generation’s hostility to public life, and the book shows how he uses filmmaking tricks to keep his audience with him and to smooth over the ideological contradictions. His audiences have become more global, as his films engage history. This fresh and provocative take on Spielberg in the context of globalization, rampant market capitalism and the hardening socio-political landscape of the United States will be fascinating reading for students of film and for anyone interested in contemporary America and its culture.

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Hollywood 1963-1976 chronicles the upheaval and innovation that took place in the American film industry during an era of pervasive cultural tumult. Exploring the many ideologies embraced by an increasingly diverse Hollywood, Casper offers a comprehensive canon, covering the period's classics as well as its brilliant but overlooked masterpieces. A broad overview and analysis of one of American film's most important and innovative periods Offers a new, more expansive take on the accepted canon of the era Includes films expressing ideologies contrary to the misremembered leftist slant Explores and fully contextualizes the dominant genres of the 60s and 70s

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Cinema Wars explores the intersection of film, politics, and US culture and society through a bold critical analysis of the films, TV shows, and documentaries produced in the early 2000s Offers a thought-provoking depiction of Hollywood film as a contested terrain between conservative and liberal forces Films and documentaries discussed include: Black Hawk Down, The Dark Knight, Star Wars, Syriana, WALL-E, Fahrenheit 9/11 and other Michael Moore documentaries, amongst others Explores how some films in this era supported the Bush-Cheney regime, while others criticized the administration, openly or otherwise Investigates Hollywood’s treatment of a range of hot topics, from terrorism and environmental crisis to the Iraq war and the culture wars of the 2000s Shows how Hollywood film in the 2000s brought to life a vibrant array of social protest and helped create cultural conditions to elect Barack Obama

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A History of the American Musical narrates the evolution of the film musical genre, discussing its influences and how it has come to be defined; the first text on this subject for over two decades, it employs the very latest concepts and research. The most up-to-date text on the subject, with uniquely comprehensive coverage and employing the very latest concepts and research Surveys centuries of music history from the music and dance of Native Americans to contemporary music performance in streaming media Examines the different ways the film musical genre has been defined, what gets counted as a musical, why, and who gets to make that decision The text is written in an accessible manner for general cinema and musical theatre buffs, whilst retaining theoretical rigour in research Describes the contributions made to the genre by marginalized or subordinated identity groups who have helped invent and shape the musical

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Chromatic Cinema provides the first wide-ranging historical overview of screen color, exploring the changing uses and meanings of color in moving images, from hand painting in early skirt dance films to current trends in digital color manipulation. Offers both a history and a theory of screen color in the first full-length study ever published Provides an in-depth yet accessible account of color's spread through and ultimate effacement of black-and-white cinema, exploring the technological, cultural, economic, and artistic factors that have defined this evolving symbiosis Engages with film studies, art history, visual culture and technology studies in a truly interdisciplinary manner Includes 65 full-color illustrations of films ranging from Expressionist animation to Hollywood and Bollywood musicals, from the US ’indie' boom to1980s neo-noir, Hong Kong cinema, and recent comic-book films

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Unraveling French Cinema provides a much needed introduction to the complexities of French film for students, cineastes, and the movie-loving public. Looks at the differences between French and American national cinema Explores how French directors shape their films around two potentially divergent goals: the narration of a story and an elaboration of some theory about film itself. Demystifies the «difficulty» of French cinema, allowing the American movie-goer to enjoy films that are too often perplexing at a first viewing. Offers extended analyses of classic, New Wave, and contemporary French films—including L'Atalante, Adele H., The Rules of the Game, and Cache.

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The most up-to-date study of the Hollywood romantic comedy film, from the development of sound to the twenty-first century, this book examines the history and conventions of the genre and surveys the controversies arising from the critical responses to these films. Provides a detailed interpretation of important romantic comedy films from as early as 1932 to movies made in the twenty-first century Presents a full analysis of the range of romantic comedy conventions, including dramatic conflicts, characters, plots, settings, and the function of humor Develops a survey of romantic comedy movies and builds a canon of key films from Hollywood's classical era right up to the present day Chapters work as discrete studies as well as within the larger context of the book

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«Сквозное действие любви» – избранные главы и отрывки из воспоминаний известного актера, режиссера, писателя Сергея Глебовича Десницкого. Ведущее свое начало от раннего детства автора, повествование погружает нас то в мир военной и послевоенной Москвы, то в будни военного городка в Житомире, в который был определен на службу полковник-отец, то в шумную, бурлящую Москву 50-х и 60-х годов… Рижское взморье, Урал, Киев, Берлин, Ленинград – это далеко не вся география событий книги, живо описанных остроумным и внимательным наблюдателем «жизни и нравов».

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Жизнь в театре и театр в жизни и в политике, отношение государства к искусству, миф и мифология в культуре и повседневности, противостояние архаичного прошлого и современности – вот главные темы, которые затрагивает в своей книге режиссер театра и кино Владимир Мирзоев. Написанная в формате дневника, она представляет размышления автора о том, что волнует и его самого, и всех тех, кого он называет «русскими европейцами». Читать книгу можно с любого места и в любом направлении, от начала к концу или наоборот. Как отмечает сам Владимир Мирзоев, в каком-то смысле ее композиция зависит от вас, от того способа знакомства с ней, который вы выберете. В приложении мастер дает профессиональные советы актерам. Таким образом, для широкой аудитории эта книга станет вдохновляющим чтением и поводом для раздумий, а для тех, чья жизнь связана с театром и кино, – еще и полезным практическим руководством.

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