Dead Ringers: The Remake in Theory and Practice (Suny Series, Cultural Studies in Cinema/Video) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0791451704 ISBN 13: 9780791451700

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 2001

Synopsis

Addresses the important role of remakes in film culture, from early cinema to contemporary Hollywood

While the popular press has criticized movie remakes as signs of Hollywood's collective lack of imagination, the essays in Dead Ringers reveal the centrality and staying power of remakes as a formative genre in filmmaking. The contributors show that the practice of remaking films dates back to the origins of cinema and the evolution of film markets. In fact, remakes were never so prevalent as during the Classic Hollywood period, when filmmaking had achieved its greatest degree of industrialization, and they continue to play a crucial role in the development of film genres generally. Offering a variety of historical, commercial, theoretical, and cultural perspectives on the remake, Dead Ringers is a valuable resource for students of film history and theory, as well as those interested in the cultural politics of the late twentieth century.

“Readers will find meaningful and thoughtful discussions of both historical and aesthetic perspectives.” — CHOICE

"Dead Ringers demonstrates that the remake is not just a lowly Hollywood form geared cynically to a debased market, but rather a formative genre in the development of international film culture. Contributors trace remakes from early cinema to contemporary Hollywood, and illuminate key issues of authorship, national cinematic styles, and historical contexts of production along the way, with particular emphasis on French/American cross-cultural transactions. In its theoretical range and practical research, the book is very useful." -- James Morrison, author of Passport to Hollywood: Hollywood Films, European Directors

Contributors include Norman Corwin, Carolyn Ann Durham, Jennifer Forrest, Laura Grindstaff, Michael Harney, Leonard R. Koos, Thomas Michael Leitch, Marty Roth, Tricia Welsch, and Alan Williams.

About this title

About the Author

Jennifer Forrest is Associate Professor of French at Southwest Texas State University. Leonard R. Koos is Associate Professor of French at Mary Washington College.

Edition details

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0791451704
• ISBN 13: 9780791451700
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 380
• Editor: Forrest Jennifer, Koos Leonard R.