Overview
The continued interest in the social and cultural life of the former Warsaw pact countries - looking at but also beyond their socialist pasts - encompasses a desire to know more about their national cinemas. Yet, despite the increasing consumption of films from these countries - via DVD, VOD platforms and other alternative channels - there is a lack of comprehensive information on this key aspect of visual culture. This important book rectifies the glaring gap and provides both a history and a contemporary account of East Central European cinema in the pre-WW2, socialist, and post-socialist periods. Demonstrating how at different historical moments popular cinema fulfilled various roles, for example in the capacity of nation-building, and adapted to the changing markets of a morphing political landscape, chapters bring together experts in the field for the definitive analysis of mainstream cinema in the region.Celebrating the unique contribution of films from Hungary, the Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia and Poland, from the award-winning Cosy Dens to cult favourite Lemonade Joe, and from 1960s Polish Westerns to Hollywood-influenced Hungarian movies, the book addresses the major themes of popular cinema. By looking closely at genre, stardom, cinema exhibition, production strategies and the relationship between the popular and the national, it charts the remarkable evolution and transformation of popular cinema over time.
Full Product Details
Author: Dorota Ostrowska (Birkbeck College, University of London, UK) ,
Francesco Pitassio (University of Udine, Italy) ,
Zsuzsanna Varga (University of Glasgow, UK)
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint: I.B. Tauris
Dimensions:
Width: 14.00cm
, Height: 3.40cm
, Length: 22.00cm
Weight: 0.620kg
ISBN: 9781784533977
ISBN 10: 1784533971
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 15 August 2017
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
'Yes, there was popular cinema in the Eastern bloc. Contrary to what some believe: we were not raised on a diet of Soviet war movies. This book tackles the socio-cultural factors that allowed for the continued development of comedies, crime films, sci-fi, rom-coms and other genres across the region, marking 80 years of film history.' - Dina Iordanova, University of St Andrews, `Popular Cinemas in East Central Europe definitively shows that popular cinema did exist before, during and after socialism. This carefully researched volume has taken a major step towards recovering the long-submerged popular register of cinema and demonstrating the popular's potential to challenge entrenched assumptions about (post)socialist cultures.' - Aniko Imre, University of Southern California, `Written by established scholars, as well as rising stars, this volume demonstrates the richness of Eastern European cinema, which traditionally has been reduced to the work of a handful of auteurs. It considers the popular cinema of East-Central Europe from the post-WWI period to contemporary times, tackling it from a range of perspectives, such as production, stars, genres, exhibition and reception.' - Ewa Mazierska, University of Central Lancashire
'Yes, there was popular cinema in the Eastern bloc. Contrary to what some believe: we were not raised on a diet of Soviet war movies. This book tackles the socio-cultural factors that allowed for the continued development of comedies, crime films, sci-fi, rom-coms and other genres across the region, marking 80 years of film history.' - Dina Iordanova, University of St Andrews, `Popular Cinemas in East Central Europe definitively shows that popular cinema did exist before, during and after socialism. This carefully researched volume has taken a major step towards recovering the long-submerged popular register of cinema and demonstrating the popular's potential to challenge entrenched assumptions about (post)socialist cultures.' - Aniko Imre, University of Southern California
Author Information
Zsuzsanna Varga teaches Hungarian studies at the University of Glasgow. Her research interests include comparative literature and film studies. She has written numerous articles and book chapters on Central European TV, and Hungarian, Portuguese, and Scottish literature. Francesco Pitassio is the associate professor of film studies at the University of Udine in Italy. His main research interests are Italian cinema, Czech cinema, film performance and stardom, and film theory. His publications include Il cinema neorealista (with Paolo Noto) (2010) and Attore/Divo (2003). Dorota Ostrowska is a senior lecturer in film and modern media at Birkbeck College, University of London. She publishes in the areas of European film and television studies, film festival studies, and the history of film and media production. Her publications include Reading the French New Wave: Critics, Writers and Art Cinema in France (2008) and European Cinemas in the TV Age (with Graham Roberts) (2007).
