FRENCH CINEMA IN THE 1980S by Phil Powrie ( 9780198711193 ) - Books & Audio Books at Pickabook.co.uk

Item Details

Title:

FRENCH CINEMA IN THE 1980S
NOSTALGIA AND THE CRISIS OF MASCULINITY

By:

Phil Powrie

Format:

Paperback

List price:

£36.49

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£31.93

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£4.56

ISBN 10:

0198711190

ISBN 13:

9780198711193

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Publisher:

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pub. date:

30 October, 1997

Pages:

218

Description:

French film in the 1980s might have lacked the invention of the New Wave but gritty police thrillers and nostalgic costume-dramas such as Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources brought French cinema to a wider audience than ever before.This landmark study is not merely a history of French film in the 1980s, but offers a set of critical essays on the crisis of masculinity in contemporary French culture, and its interrelationship with nostalgia. After a brief overview both of the crisis in the French film industry during the 1980s, and of the socio-political crisis of masculinity in the wake of 1970s feminism, the book is divided into three sections: the retro-nostalgic film, the Polar, or police thriller, and thecomic film.The nostalgia section covers Un amour de Swann, Un dimanche a la campagne, Jean de Florette/Manon des Sources, and Coup de foudre. The section on the police thriller begins with Truffaut's last film, Vivement dimanche!, and includes a chapter on three thrillers by a variety of directors (La Balance, Police, Detective). Its main focus, however, is on thrillers by the directors of the cinema du look (Diva, Subway, Mauvais sang). The last sectionon the comic film looks at three films which were successful both in France and abroad: Trois hommes et un couffin (remade in Hollywood as Three Men and a Baby), La Vie est un long fleuve tranquille and, finally, Depardieu's gamble at cross-dressing, Tenue de soiree.

Synopsis:

French Cinema in the 1980s is a set of critical essays on films which help to focus on a particular theme whose roots are in the 1970s, and which extends beyond the 1980s into the 1990s: the crisis of masculinity in contemporary French culture, and its interrelationship with nostalgia. After an introduction which gives a brief overview both of the crisis in the French film industry during the 1980s, and of the socio-political crisis of masculinity in the wake of 1970s feminism, there are three sections: the retro-nostalgic film, which emerged during the 1980s, and two more popular genres, the polar, or police thriller, and the comic film. Each section begins with a brief preface which highlights the major issues for the genre during the 1980s. The films discussed have all been distributed outside France, and are in many cases commercially available. The nostalgia section covers Un amour de Swann, Un dimanche a la campagne, Jean de Florette/Manon des Sources, and Coup de foudre. The section on the police thriller begins with Truffaut's last film, Vivement dimanche!, and includes a chapter on three thrillers by a variety of directors (La Balance, Police, Detective).Its main focus, however, is on thrillers by the directors of the cinema du look (Diva, Subway, Mauvais sang). The last section on the comic film looks at three films which were successful both in France and abroad: Trois hommes et un couffin (remade in Hollywood as Three Men and a Baby), La Vie est un long fleuve tranquille and, finally, Depardieu's gamble at cross-dressing, Tenue de soiree.

Illustrations:

8 pp halftones, tables

Publication:

Imprint:

Clarendon Press

Returns:

Returnable

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BICULTURAL LITERATURE AND FILM IN FRENCH AND ENGLISH