Media : Film

This wide-ranging book illuminates the importance of the Western in American history. It explores the interconnections between the Western in both literature and film and the United States in the 20th century. Structured chronologically, the book traces the evolution of the Western as a uniquely American form. The author argues that America’s frontier past was quickly transformed into a set of symbols and myths, an American meta-narrative that came to underpin much of the ‘American century’. He details how and why this process occurred, the form and function of Western myths and symbols, the evolution of this mythology, and its subversions and reconstructions throughout 20th-century American history. The book engages with the full range of historical, literary and cinematic perspectives and texts, from the founding Western histories of Theodore Roosevelt and Frederick Jackson Turner to the New Western history of Patricia Nelson Limerick and Richard White. more...

Price: $119.40

Cartoonists and animators have given animals human characteristics for so long that audiences are now accustomed to seeing Bugs Bunny singing opera and Mickey Mouse walking his dog Pluto. The Animated Bestiary critically evaluates the depiction of animals in cartoons and animation more generally. Paul Wells argues that artists use animals to engage with issues that would be more difficult to address directly because of political, religious, or social taboos. Consequently, and principally through anthropomorphism, animation uses animals to play out a performance of gender, sex and sexuality, racial and national traits, and shifting identity, often challenging how we think about ourselves. Wells draws on a wide range of examples, from the original King Kong to Nick Park's Chicken Run to Disney cartoons-such as Tarzan, The Jungle Book, and Brother Bear-to reflect on people by looking at the ways in which they respond to animals in cartoons and films. more...

Price: $20.00

From the world's first feature film in 1906 to the world's first feature documentaries shot between 1895 and 1901, Australia has always done great things in film. Not only did Australia give birth to film but also to some of the biggest stars of the twentieth century. In the 1980s and 1990s we saw the first low budget films that billed; Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Guy Pearce, Cate Blanchett, Hugh Jackman, Eric Bana and Geoffrey Rush. We pushed the barriers of sexuality in film with naked Elle MacPherson in Sirens and Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge. With directors such as Baz Luhrman and actors such as Geoffrey Rush, Australian cinema has become a whole lot more artistic and risqué. Although often undervalued in a multi-billion dollar international film industry, Australia has led the way in artistry, location films, documentaries, nakedness, coarse language, crime, anti-establishment, sexuality and realism. more...

Price: $9.99

A pioneering comparison of the director's theatre and film productions. more...

Price: $15.00

Big Screen Rome is the first systematic survey of the most important and popular films from the past half century that reconstruct the image of Roman antiquity. The book provides in-depth discussions of a broad selection of famous films, including: William Wyler's Ben-Hur, Mervyn LeRoy's Quo Vadis, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, Ridley Scott's Gladiator, Terry Jones's Monty Python's Life of Brian and Richard Lester's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Big Screen Rome makes an important contribution to discussions about the ongoing relevance of the classical world, demonstrating how popular appropriations of classical antiquity on film can enrich our understanding of the classical tradition. It also shows how modern film-makers use recreations of ancient history as commentaries on contemporary society. Written in an energetic and engaging style, the book responds to the exciting renewal of popular and scholarly interest in cinema about the ancient Roman world. more...

Price: $76.95