Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan... and Beyond – Revised and Expanded Edition of the Classic Text - Hardcover

Wood, Robin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0231129661 ISBN 13: 9780231129664

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2003

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review:

Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan... and Beyond is one of the most impressive demonstrations by a film critic that 'to be political is to avoid the trivial.'... Wood's writing is rich, eloquent, and illuminating. If our culture is indeed facing the possibility of imminent extinction, his is an essential contribution to it.--Film Comment

"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

About the Author:

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0231129661
• ISBN 13: 9780231129664
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 480