The Hollywood Action and Adventure Film presents a
comprehensive overview and analysis of the history, myriad themes,
and critical approaches to the action and adventure genre in
American cinema.
* Draws on a wide range of examples, spanning the silent
spectacles of early cinema to the iconic superheroes of
21st-century action films
* Features case studies revealing the genre’s diverse roots
— from westerns and war films, to crime and espionage
movies
* Explores a rich variety of aesthetic and thematic concerns that
have come to define the genre, touching on themes such as the
outsider hero, violence and redemption, and adventure as escape
from the mundane
* Integrates discussion of gender, race, ethnicity, and
nationality alongside genre history
* Provides a timely and richly revealing portrait of a powerful
cinematic genre that has increasingly come to dominate the American
cinematic landscape
Содержание
Contents
List of Plates vii
Acknowledgements xiii
1 Action and Adventure as Genre 1
2 Action and Adventure:Historical and Cultural Overview 23
3 Critical Perspectives on Action and Adventure 45
4 Silent Spectacle and Classical Adventure: The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) 71
5 War, Violence and the American Action Hero:
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) and Hell is for Heroes (1962) 89
6 Violence and Urban Action: Dirty Harry (1971) 107
7 Nostalgic Adventure and Recycled Culture: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) 121
8 Action Blockbusters in the 1980s: Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Die Hard (1988) 137
9 Global and Postmodern Action: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Kill Bill (2003) 151
10 Espionage Action: The Bourne Identity (2002) and Salt (2010) 165
11 Superhero Action Cinema 179
Bibilography 193
Index 000
Об авторе
Yvonne Tasker is Professor of Film and Media at the University of East Anglia. She is the author of Spectacular Bodies: Gender, Genre and the Action Cinema (1993) and Soldiers’ Stories: Military Women in Cinema and Television Since WWII (2011), and editor of Action and Adventure Cinema (2004).