Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan... and Beyond

Annotation

This classic of film criticism, long considered invaluable for its eloquent study of a problematic period in film history, is now substantially updated and revised by the author to include chapters beyond the Reagan era and into the twenty-first century. For the new edition, Robin Wood has written a substantial new preface that explores the interesting double context within which the book can be read-that in which it was written and that in which we find ourselves today. Among the other additions to this new edition are a celebration of modern "screwball" comedies like "My Best Friend's Wedding," and an analysis of '90s American and Canadian teen movies in the vein of "American Pie," "Can't Hardly Wait," and "Rollercoaster," Also included are a chapter on Hollywood today that looks at David Fincher and Jim Jarmusch (among others) and an illuminating essay on "Day of the Dead,"

Author Biography

Robin Wood is a founding editor of CineAction and author of Hitchcock's Films Revisited (Revised Edition, Columbia, 2002) and Sexual Politics and Narrative Film (Columbia, 1998). He is professor emeritus at York University and the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Cinema Studies.

Table of Contents

Prologue 2003 1. Cards on the Table 2. The Chase: Flashback, 1965 3. Smart-Ass and Cutie-Pie: Notes Toward the Evaluation of Altman (1975) 4. The Incoherent Text: Narrative in the 70s 5. The American Nightmare: Horror in the 70s 6. Normality and Monsters: The Films of Larry Cohen and George Romero 7. Brian De Palma: The Politics of Castration 8. Papering the Cracks: Fantasy and Ideology in the Reagan Era 9. Horror in the 80s 10. Images and Women 11. From Buddies to Lovers 12. Two Films by Martin Scorsese 13. Two Films by Michael Cimino 14. Day of the Dead: The Woman's Nightmare 15. On and Around My Best Friend's Wedding 16. Teens, Parties, and Rollercoasters: A Genre of the 90s 17. Hollywood Today: Is an Oppositional Cinema Possible? Bibliography Index

Review

"Extremely valuable... Offers the first large-scale interpretation of a period of Hollywood (and independent) filmmaking that presents the serious moral, psychological, and historical issues at stake." -- American Film "New to this edition are Wood's gutsy defenses of My Best Friend's Wedding and Heaven's Gate, discussions of Hollywood today and teen party pictures like American Pie, and an essay on Day of the Dead... recommended." -- Library Journal "Wood's commentary -- blending scholarly insight with a personal tone, knowledgeable about theory but not obscure, always interested in gender and sexuality but not overwhelmed by that interest -- will engage students at all levels of preparation in film studies." -- Choice "Robin Wood is a serious and important writer, and this is a serious and important book... [A] wonderful collection of essays." -- Film International

Promotional

"All chapters from the original 1986 edition remain intact and include critical analyses of the films of Martin Scorsese and Michael Cimino, a political assault on the films of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, and an in-depth meditation on Brian De Palma."It is difficult to imagine the field of film studies without Robin Wood's contribution. One could argue that it is a field he helped to create. Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan stands as one of the three or four most important pieces of film scholarship of the past thirty years." -- Christopher Sharrett, Seton Hall University

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