Film & Media
Stereoscopic Cinema and the Origins of 3-D Film, 1838-1952 Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 232
ISBN: 9780813124612
Pub Date: 07 Dec 2007
Illustrations: 50 photos
Description:
Though it may come as a surprise to both cinema lovers and industry professionals who believe that 3-D film was born in the early 1950s, stereoscopic cinema actually began in 1838, more than 100 years before the 3-D boom in Hollywood was created by the release of Arch Oboler's African adventure film, Bwana Devil, filmed in "Natural Vision" 3-D. Stereoscopic Cinema and the Origins of 3-D Film, 1838--1952, is a comprehensive prehistory of the stereoscopic motion picture. In the late nineteenth century, stereoview cards were popular worldwide, and soon filmmakers wanted to capture these "living pictures" with motion, sound, and color.
Anthony Mann Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9780819568458
Pub Date: 11 Nov 2007
Illustrations: 54 illus.
Description:
Director of such often-revived films as Winchester '73, The Glenn Miller Story, and El Cid, Anthony Mann enjoyed a lasting and important career as one of Hollywood's premier filmmakers. Mann's Westerns, noir pictures, and epics are admired and studied by fans and scholars alike, and he was an expert in the fundamental elements of cinema (movement and placement of the camera, composition in the frame, and careful editing). Jeanine Basinger's Anthony Mann, which places the director's visual style at the center of its analysis, was among the first formal studies of any filmmaker, and it set a standard in the field over twenty-five years ago.
Physical Evidence Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 248
ISBN: 9780819568441
Pub Date: 28 Sep 2007
Description:
An expert writer and thinker on movie history and directorial style, Kent Jones is among the most notable film critics of his generation. His sharp, informed analyses and cogent assessments of cinema and its practitioners have made him a significant voice both in America and internationally. Jones' inaugural collection brings together the best of his reviews (on films including In the Mood for Love, A History of Violence, and The New World), evaluations of specific filmmakers (Wes Anderson, John Cassavetes, and the Coen brothers), polemics (on summer blockbusters, digital cinema, and Hollywood politics), and appreciations of other film critics.
Lum and Abner Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 280
ISBN: 9780813124698
Pub Date: 07 Sep 2007
Series: New Directions in Southern History
Illustrations: 14 photos
Description:
In the 1930s radio stations filled the airwaves with programs about rural Americans struggling through the Great Depression. One of the most popular of these shows was Lum and Abner, the brainchild of two young businessmen from Arkansas. Chester "Chet" Lauck and Norris "Tuffy" Goff based Pine Ridge, the community they created on the air, on the hamlet of Waters, Arkansas.
The Philosophy of Martin Scorsese Cover The Philosophy of Martin Scorsese Cover
Format: 
Pages: 280
ISBN: 9780813124445
Pub Date: 31 May 2007
Series: The Philosophy of Popular Culture
Pages: 280
ISBN: 9780813192185
Pub Date: 17 Jul 2009
Series: The Philosophy of Popular Culture
Description:
In The Philosophy of Martin Scorsese, an impressive cast of contributors explores the complex themes and philosophical underpinnings of Martin Scorsese's films. One of the most significant filmmakers in the history of American cinema, Scorsese is the creative force behind films such as GoodFellas, Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Aviator, and The Age of Innocence. The contributing authors use Scorsese's films as vehicles for exploration of philosophical concepts such as friendship and egoism, vigilantism, libertarianism, Buddhist ethics, desire and self-restraint, madness, the criminal mind, beatitude and unhappiness, and the absurd.
Action Speaks Louder Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400
ISBN: 9780819568014
Pub Date: 27 Apr 2007
Illustrations: 35 illus.
Description:
For more than 30 years, the action movie has been the film genre that most represents Hollywood to the world, as action films find blockbuster success at box offices internationally. Still, the genre seldom receives the critical attention it deserves. Studying its trends, key components, and visual excesses, this new and expanded edition of Action Speaks Louder traces the genre's evolution to reveal how it has come to assume its place of prominence in American culture.
The Philosophy of Neo-Noir Cover The Philosophy of Neo-Noir Cover
Format: 
Pages: 222
ISBN: 9780813124223
Pub Date: 05 Jan 2007
Series: The Philosophy of Popular Culture
Illustrations: photos
Pages: 222
ISBN: 9780813192178
Pub Date: 20 Feb 2009
Series: The Philosophy of Popular Culture
Illustrations: photos
Description:
Film noir--a cycle of American films from the 1940s and '50s--is characterized not only by a constant opposition of light and shadow and a disruptive compositional balance of frames and scenes, but also by dark, foreboding characters and plots and an overriding sense of alienation and moral ambiguity. Noir films reflect the sense of loss, fragmentation, and nihilism at the heart of the human condition in the twentieth century. Although the classic film noir period ended in the late 1950s, its impact on more films has been profound.
Beyond the Epic Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 592
ISBN: 9780813124155
Pub Date: 24 Nov 2006
Illustrations: photos
Description:
Two-time Academy Award winner Sir David Lean (1908-1991) was a prominent director in the world of twentieth-century cinema, responsible for such classics as The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago, and Lawrence of Arabia. British-born Lean asserted himself in Hollywood as a major artistic voice with his epic storytelling and panoramic depictions of history, but he was also a highly skilled film editor in Great Britain before he became a director who brought an art-house sensibility to big market films. Lean's approach to filmmaking was far different from that of his contemporaries.
Drawing the Line Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 440
ISBN: 9780813124070
Pub Date: 06 Oct 2006
Illustrations: photos, illus
Description:
As cartoons and animated features became an increasingly important part of the entertainment business, the production of cartoons industrialized to meet growing demands for the new global media. Artists adopted traditional union models to protect their jobs and working conditions, and a unique set of unions was born. Drawing the Line is the first labor history of an industry whose principle figures--Walt Disney, Chuck Jones, and Max Fleischer--helped define American entertainment.
Dying for a Laugh Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
ISBN: 9780819567925
Pub Date: 25 Jan 2006
Illustrations: 15 illus.
Description:
Dying for a Laugh looks at the evolution of the contemporary disaster film from the 1970s to the present. Ken Feil argues that contemporary camp culture has influenced and reformed the conventions of the 1970s disaster film, in both its production and reception. The book chronicles how the genre rose to prominence, sank into critical and popular disrepute, and became unintentionally campy.
Street Smart Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 360
ISBN: 9780813123578
Pub Date: 16 Sep 2005
Illustrations: photos
Description:
New York has appeared in more movies than Michael Caine, and as a result of overfamiliarity, the City poses a problem for critics and casual moviegoers alike. Audiences mistake the New York image of skyscrapers and glitter for the real thing, but in fact the City is a network of small villages, each with its unique personality. Street Smart offers a novel approach to understanding the cultural influences of New York's neighborhoods on the work of four quintessentially New York filmmakers: Sidney Lumet, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, and Spike Lee.
Watching Daytime Soap Operas Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
ISBN: 9780819567659
Pub Date: 18 Jul 2005
Illustrations: 1 illus.
Description:
Though wildly popular, daytime soaps are arguably the most denigrated and parodied of any contemporary entertainment form. For this reason, even the most devoted soap opera fans are often reticent or even secretive about the shows they love. Watching Daytime Soap Operas is a meditation on the pleasures-and displeasures-of watching and talking about daytime soap operas.
Out of the Inkwell Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 232
ISBN: 9780813123554
Pub Date: 24 Jun 2005
Illustrations: 60 b&w photos
Description:
Max Fleischer (1883--1972) was for years considered Walt Disney's only real rival in the world of cartoon animation. The man behind the creation of such legendary characters as Betty Boop and the animation of Popeye the Sailor and Superman, Fleischer asserted himself as a major player in the development of Hollywood entertainment. Out of the Inkwell: Max Fleischer and the Animation Revolution is a vivid portrait of the life and world of a man who shaped the look of cartoon animation.
Sex and the Slayer Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 254
ISBN: 9780819567581
Pub Date: 15 Apr 2005
Illustrations: 17 illus.
Description:
During its seven-year run, Buffy the Vampire Slayer attracted a wide range of viewers and almost unprecedented academic interest. Sex and the Slayer explores one of the most talked-about topics in relation to this pioneering TV series-gender. As fantasy, Buffy potentially opens up a space for alternative representations of gender.
American Science Fiction TV Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9780819567383
Pub Date: 09 Feb 2005
Illustrations: 10 illus.
Description:
From "The Next Generation" and "The X-Files" to "Farscape" and "Enterprise," science fiction television shows have millions of devoted fans. American Science Fiction TV is the first full-length study of this popular genre. Writing with the clarity of a scholar and the enthusiasm of a fan, Jan Johnson-Smith shows how science fiction television has displaced the Western in the American cultural imagination.
Hollywood's White House Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 464
ISBN: 9780813191263
Pub Date: 01 Feb 2005
Illustrations: photos
Description:
" Winner of the 2003 Ray and Pat Browne Book Award, given by the Popular Culture Association The contributors to Hollywood's White House examine the historical accuracy of these presidential depictions, illuminate their influence, and uncover how they reflect the concerns of their times and the social and political visions of the filmmakers. The volume, which includes a comprehensive filmography and a bibliography, is ideal for historians and film enthusiasts.