Michael Sevastakis

Giallo Cinema and Its Folktale Roots

A Critical Study of 10 Films, 1962-1987

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The Italian giallo film genre--the equivalent of the American whodunit but incorporating extreme violence and sex--was based on popular British and American fiction of the 30s and 40s, adapted to the explicitly liberal filmmaking of 1970s and 1980s Europe. Seldom released in American theaters, these films were usually distributed as redacted bootlegs, awaiting digital technology to be restored to their original content and pristine visual form. This book analyzes the censored sex and violence of giallo films, finding in them an inherent beauty and tracing their literary antecedents to the elements of the fairy tale as described by Russian folklorist Vladimir Propp. Each chapter covers a film and its director, from 1962 to 1987. The author argues that despite their formulaic production and designation as "Euro-sleaze," these films are works of individuality and artistic virtue.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: McFarland
• Seitenzahl: 240
• Erscheinungstermin: 27. Juni 2016
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 14mm
• Gewicht: 396g
• ISBN-13: 9780786495016
• ISBN-10: 0786495014
• Artikelnr.: 44217446

Autorenporträt

Michael Sevastakis has served as a full professor in the communication department at the College of Mt. St. Vincent in Riverdale, New York. He lives in Bronx, New York.

Inhaltsangabe

Table of Contents Introduction: A Crime Waiting to Be Committed 1.
In the Beginning Was the Giallo Mario Bava's La ragazza che sapeva troppo (1962) 2.
A Vice in Common Sergio Martino's Lo strano vizio della Signora Wardh (1970) 3.
Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (and Dream Your Troubles Away) Lucio Fulci's Una lucertola con la pelle di donna (1971) 4.
Murder According to the Good Book Umberto Lenzi's Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso (1972) 5.
His Blindness Is His Sight Sergio Pastore's Sette scialli di seta gialla (1972) 6.
No Irises for Miss Landsbury Giuliano Carnimeo's Perche quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer? (1972) 7.
Jealousy as Cruel as the Grave Andrea Bianchi's Nude per l'assassino (1975) 8.
The Shadow of Guilt Antonio Bido's Solamente nero (1978) 9.
A Night at the Opera ... Without the Marx Brothers Dario Argento's Opera (1987) 10.
The Return of the Repressed Lamberto Bava's Le foto di Gioia (1987) Conclusion: A Postscript of Sorts, Not a Requiem for a Genre Chapter Notes Bibliography Index