Fantasy Film proposes an innovative approach to the study of this most popular cinematic genre. Engaging with the diversity of tones; forms and styles that fantasy can take in the cinema; the book examines the value and significance of fantasy across a wide range of key films. This volume extends critical understanding beyond the often narrowly defined boundaries of what is seen as "fantasy".Fantasy Film uses key concepts in film studies - such as authorship; representation; history;genre; coherence and point of view - to interrogate the fantasy genre and establish its parameters. A wide range of films are held up to close scrutiny to illustrate the discussion. Moving from Alfred Hitchcocks dark thrillers to Vincente Minnellis vibrant musicals; from George Meacute;liegrave;s 1904 Voyage agrave; travers limpossible to the X-Men series; the creative dexterity and excitement of film fantasy is evoked and explored. The book will be invaluable to students and fans of the fantasy genre.
#1412065 in eBooks 2011-10-03 2011-10-03File Name: B005DI9RBC
Review
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Otto MineraSome book!5 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Shakespeares Comedies and Cultural AnthropologyBy DharmaThe author sets out to establish a connection between the early festive comedies of Shakespeare. and the long-standing traditional celebrations in rural England during holiday periods such as Christmas. Shrove Tuesday. MidSummers Eve. and May Day. Using 16th Century sources. he establishes a connection between these informal celebrations. plays. and progresses. and some of the characters. situations. and structure of the Comedies "Loves Labor Lost" a "Midsummer Nights Dream" and "Twelfth Night." He teases out of these sources the structure of humor. irony. and contradiction which enabled the rural people to poke fun at their lords. the landowners. and the church. He calls these festivities "Saturnalia" although they are more likely connected to early English or Germanic forms. Undoubtedly. this approach is useful in uncovering the meaning of topical references. common titles of playacting or Misrule. and establishing the audiences expectations at the time of their original performance.Unfortunately. the authors exposition is unnecessarily obtuse. His arguments are wandering. and his sentences are garbled. The frequent quotations from the plays are a welcome break from the turgid and at times completely meaningless explanatory paragraphs. This density is increased by the long chapter on "The Merchant of Venice" which seems to me almost completely mistaken. There are almost none of the elements which Barber has been clarifying in the earlier comedies in TMOV. He tries to extend his argument to include forms of humor. but this fails to clarify his intent. He tries to extend his cultural argument to show how Shakespeare enlarged the role of humor in drama. but fails to show how the earlier comedies relate to this achievement. It is a weak crutch to hold up an interpretation of one of Shakepeares most popular plays.From an historical point of view (published in 1959). this book holds an essential place in the recent trend of Shakespearian scholarship towards locating and referencing the plays in the time and culture in which they were written.
