Contemporary Action Cinema

Author:   Lisa Purse (Associate Professor in Film, University of Reading)
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
ISBN:  

9780748638185


Pages:   232
Publication Date:   25 April 2011
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
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Contemporary Action Cinema


Overview

Action cinema is a popular and familiar form which reflects the cultural, industrial and historical landscape from which it emerges. Lisa Purse analyses the genre's pleasures and complexities in the light of both its cinematic history and the latest critical debates. Focussing on action cinema of the 2000s, this book explores issues of visual style, narrative, representation and the various contexts of production through a diverse series of case studies including Avatar (2009), Casino Royale (2006), The Hurt Locker (2008) and Banlieue 13 (2004).Providing a groundbreaking account of the way that the spectator engages with the action body and the action narrative, and including analyses of areas of representation that have seldom received sustained attention in the past, this comprehensive study is the perfect companion to modern action cinema.Key Features* Provides wide-ranging analyses and interpretation of action cinema* Discusses representations of heroism, gender and ethnicity* Explores the spectator's embodied engagement with the action film* Examines the effect of 9/11 and changes in US foreign policy

Full Product Details

Author:   Lisa Purse (Associate Professor in Film, University of Reading)
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.347kg
ISBN:  

9780748638185


ISBN 10:   0748638180
Pages:   232
Publication Date:   25 April 2011
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction: 'Where are we, and how did we get here?'; 1. Narrative and the action film; 2. The action body; 3. The action sequence; 4. Action women; 5. Action men; 6. Race in the action film; 7. Homosexuality in the action film; 8. Action cinema after 9/11; 9. The 'European connection'; Afterword

Reviews

A valuable contribution to analysis of the action film, offering sustained examination of the formal qualities of action set-pieces and the ideological frameworks in which they are typically embedded. -- Geoff King, Professor of Film & TV Studies, Brunel University An impressive, intelligent book which takes account of the genre's past but focuses attention on its present. Both rigorous and engaging, Purse brings our understanding of action up to date. -- Yvonne Tasker, University of East Anglia A valuable contribution to analysis of the action film, offering sustained examination of the formal qualities of action set-pieces and the ideological frameworks in which they are typically embedded. An impressive, intelligent book which takes account of the genre's past but focuses attention on its present. Both rigorous and engaging, Purse brings our understanding of action up to date.


A valuable contribution to analysis of the action film, offering sustained examination of the formal qualities of action set-pieces and the ideological frameworks in which they are typically embedded. -- Geoff King, Professor of Film & TV Studies, Brunel University An impressive, intelligent book which takes account of the genre's past but focuses attention on its present. Both rigorous and engaging, Purse brings our understanding of action up to date. -- Yvonne Tasker, University of East Anglia A valuable contribution to analysis of the action film, offering sustained examination of the formal qualities of action set-pieces and the ideological frameworks in which they are typically embedded. An impressive, intelligent book which takes account of the genre's past but focuses attention on its present. Both rigorous and engaging, Purse brings our understanding of action up to date.


Author Information

Dr Lisa Purse is Associate Professor in Film in the Department of Film, Theatre & Television at the University of Reading.

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