Overview

In Dark Laughter, Juan F. Egea provides a remarkable in-depth analysis of the dark comedy film genre in Spain, as well as a provocative critical engagement with the idea of national cinema, the visual dimension of cultural specificity, and the ethics of dark humour. Egea begins his analysis with General Franco's dictatorship in the 1960s—a regime that opened the country to new economic forces while maintaining its repressive nature—exploring key works by Luis García Berlanga, Marco Ferreri, Fernando Fernán-Gómez, and Luis Buñuel. Dark Laughter then moves to the first films of Pedro Almodóvar in the early 1980s during the Spanish political transition to democracy before examining Alex de la Iglesia and the new dark comedies of the 1990s. Analysing this younger generation of filmmakers, Egea traces dark comedy to Spain's displays of ultramodernity such as the Universal Exposition in Seville and the Barcelona Olympic Games. At its core, Dark Laughter is a substantial inquiry into the epistemology of comedy, the intricacies of visual modernity, and the relationship between cinema and a wider framework of representational practices.

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Reviews

Always insightful and often brilliant, <i>Dark Laughter</i> will force scholars to revisit Spanish cinema in the late years of the Franco dictatorship while introducing general audiences to some of the masterpieces of Spanish black comic cinema. Marvin D'Lugo, author of <i>Guide to Cinema in Spain</i>

Always insightful and often brilliant, Dark Laughter will force scholars to revisit Spanish cinema in the late years of the Franco dictatorship while introducing general audiences to some of the masterpieces of Spanish black comic cinema. --Marvin D'Lugo, Dark Laughter represents a boldly original rethinking of key Spanish films of the 1960s and 1990s, the crucial decade preceding the end of the Franco dictatorship and the decade following democratic Spain's transition to democracy. --Marvin D'Lugo, author of Guide to Cinema in Spain Persuasively argued and filled with illuminating insights on the nature of Spanish culture during the final years of the Franco dictatorship and the critical period the 1990s, when Spain appeared to have achieved integration into European culture and a place in world cinema. --Marvin D'Lugo, author of Guide to Cinema in Spain Dark Laughter provides us with a refreshingly new set of frames for viewing Spanish dark comedy. Eva Woods Peiro, Vassar College Always insightful and often brilliant, Dark Laughter will force scholars to revisit Spanish cinema in the late years of the Franco dictatorship while introducing general audiences to some of the masterpieces of Spanish black comic cinema. Marvin D'Lugo, author of Guide to Cinema in Spain Always insightful and often brilliant, Dark Laughter will force scholars to revisit Spanish cinema in the late years of the Franco dictatorship while introducing general audiences to some of the masterpieces of Spanish black comic cinema. Marvin D'Lugo, author of Guide to Cinema in Spain Dark Laughter provides us with a refreshingly new set of frames for viewing Spanish dark comedy. Eva Woods Peiro, Vassar College

Always insightful and often brilliant, Dark Laughter will force scholars to revisit Spanish cinema in the late years of the Franco dictatorship while introducing general audiences to some of the masterpieces of Spanish black comic cinema. Marvin D'Lugo, author of Guide to Cinema in Spain

"""Always insightful and often brilliant, Dark Laughter will force scholars to revisit Spanish cinema in the late years of the Franco dictatorship while introducing general audiences to some of the masterpieces of Spanish black comic cinema.""--Marvin D'Lugo, ""Dark Laughter represents a boldly original rethinking of key Spanish films of the 1960s and 1990s, the crucial decade preceding the end of the Franco dictatorship and the decade following democratic Spain's transition to democracy.""--Marvin D'Lugo, author of Guide to Cinema in Spain ""Persuasively argued and filled with illuminating insights on the nature of Spanish culture during the final years of the Franco dictatorship and the critical period the 1990s, when Spain appeared to have achieved integration into European culture and a place in world cinema.""--Marvin D'Lugo, author of Guide to Cinema in Spain """"Dark Laughter"" provides us with a refreshingly new set of frames for viewing Spanish dark comedy."" Eva Woods Peiro, Vassar College"" ""Always insightful and often brilliant, ""Dark Laughter"" will force scholars to revisit Spanish cinema in the late years of the Franco dictatorship while introducing general audiences to some of the masterpieces of Spanish black comic cinema."" Marvin D'Lugo, author of ""Guide to Cinema in Spain"""" ""Dark Laughter provides us with a refreshingly new set of frames for viewing Spanish dark comedy."" Eva Woods Peiro, Vassar College"" ""Always insightful and often brilliant, Dark Laughter will force scholars to revisit Spanish cinema in the late years of the Franco dictatorship while introducing general audiences to some of the masterpieces of Spanish black comic cinema."" Marvin D'Lugo, author of Guide to Cinema in Spain"""

Always insightful and often brilliant, Dark Laughter will force scholars to revisit Spanish cinema in the late years of the Franco dictatorship while introducing general audiences to some of the masterpieces of Spanish black comic cinema. --Marvin D'Lugo, author of Guide to Cinema in Spain

Author Information

Juan F. Egea is a professor in the department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA. He is the author of La poesía del nosotros: Jaime Gil de Biedma y la secuencia lírica moderna. He has also published extensively on Spanish film, poetry, and culture.

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