Dimitris Eleftheriotis

This book challenges the established conceptual and historical paradigm in Anglo-American film studies that perceives European cinema as essentially 'high art.' Through a study of the specific contexts in which popular European films are produced, distributed and exhibited, the book proposes new analytical and critical frameworks for their study. Films analyzed in the book include Cinema Paradiso, Mediterraneo, Bhaji on the Beach, Until the End of the World, Underground, and Jam=n Jam=n.

Studies of Texts, Contexts and Frameworks

Popular Cinemas of Europe

Gary Needham

Asian cinema is an area of increasing interest in Anglo-US film studies while Asian films are now widely distributed and popular with western audiences. The fascination with Asian cinema must be examined in the context of a complex and often problematic relationship between western scholars, students, viewers and Asian films. This book, therefore, examines a number of detailed case studies (such as the films of Ozu, Bruce Lee, Hong Kong and Turkish cinema, Hindi melodramas, Godzilla films, Taiwanese directors and Fifth Generation Chinese cinema) and uses them in order to investigate the limitations of Anglo-US theoretical models and critical paradigms. By engaging the readers with familiar areas of critical discourse (such as postcolonial criticism, 'national cinema', 'genre', 'authorship' and 'stardom') the book aims to introduce within such contexts the 'unfamiliar' case studies which will be explored in depth and detail. The advantage of such an approach is that it works with the dynamics of familiarity/unfamiliarity and resists the temptation to construct Asian cinemas as a gallery of exotic objects that might be particularly fascinating but remain deeply distant and foreign. Book jacket.

A Reader and Guide

Asian Cinemas

Asian cinema is an area of increasing interest in Anglo-US film studies while Asian films are now widely distributed and popular with western audiences. The fascination with Asian cinema must be examined in the context of a complex and often problematic relationship between western scholars, students, viewers and Asian films. This book, therefore, examines a number of detailed case studies (such as the films of Ozu, Bruce Lee, Hong Kong and Turkish cinema, Hindi melodramas, Godzilla films, Taiwanese directors and Fifth Generation Chinese cinema) and uses them in order to investigate the limitations of Anglo-US theoretical models and critical paradigms. By engaging the readers with familiar areas of critical discourse (such as postcolonial criticism, 'national cinema', 'genre', 'authorship' and 'stardom') the book aims to introduce within such contexts the 'unfamiliar' case studies which will be explored in depth and detail. The advantage of such an approach is that it works with the dynamics of familiarity/unfamiliarity and resists the temptation to construct Asian cinemas as a gallery of exotic objects that might be particularly fascinating but remain deeply distant and foreign. Features*A comprehensive study of Asian cinemas, including Hong Kong, Japan, China, India, Turkey and Taiwan*An accessible guide for the study and research of Asian cinema which addresses undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers* Each section contains a contextualising introduction* Includes key texts by Ackbar Abbas, Rey Chow, David Desser, Dimitris Eleftheriotis, Nezih Erdo

Dimitris Eleftheriotis

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