It is the spring of 1943. American and British bombers pound Germany around the clock, disrupting her industry, smashing her transportation network, and driving her urban population underground. The Third Reich rightly interprets the aerial campaign as a prelude to the long-anticipated invasion of France.That May an Organization Todt construction unit wheels into the cobblestone square of the ancient French village of Petite Vigne. Its laborers are to build a flak battery that will...

This collection maps the origins of the Netflix series Sex Education in relation to the genre of teenage high school dramas and comedies, exploring the four-season narrative arc and analysing the principal themes and characters.The Netflix series Sex Education has been a standout critical and popular success and has featured among Netflix's most watched content in 190 countries throughout its 4 seasons. Its fresh and exciting portrayals of teenage...

Examining the ideas, philosophies and strategies that inform and enable a young woman’s self-determination for a new century, this is a detailed, insightful study of Greta Gerwig’s much-loved, influential and critically acclaimed film.Drawing on Transcendentalism, French feminist thought, Californian art and the work of iconic American essayist Joan Didion, Rob Stone approaches Lady Bird as a film about young women’s self-determination in relation to other women and waves ...

This collection explores the many ways in which the Netflix series Sense8 transcends television. As its characters transcend physical and psychological borders of gender and geography, so the series itself transcends those between television, new media platforms and new screen technologies, while dissolving those between its producers, stars, audiences and fans. Sense8 united, inspired and energized a global community of fans that realized its own power by means of online...

Cinema has always been a vital medium for articulating the Basque region's unique identity and politics. The first definitive study of Basque cinema, this book provides a systematic analysis of the key Basque films, directors and cinematic institutions. Its narrative moves from the romanticised Basque Country travelogues of Pathe to the coded oppositional aesthetics of Franco-era films; from the post-Franco 'new wave' supported by regional government funding to the boom in auteurist cinema...

From Slacker (1991), a foundational work of independent American cinema, to the Before trilogy, Richard Linklater’s critically acclaimed films and aesthetic ambition have earned him a place as one of the most important contemporary directors. In this second edition of The Cinema of Richard Linklater, Rob Stone shows how Linklater’s latest films have redefined our understanding of his work. He offers critical discussions and analysis of all of Linklater’s films, i...

From Slacker (1991), a foundational work of independent American cinema, to the Before trilogy, Richard Linklater’s critically acclaimed films and aesthetic ambition have earned him a place as one of the most important contemporary directors. In this second edition of The Cinema of Richard Linklater, Rob Stone shows how Linklater’s latest films have redefined our understanding of his work. He offers critical discussions and analysis of all of Linklater’s films, i...

From Slacker (1991) to The School of Rock (2003), from Before Sunrise (1995) to Before Sunset (2004), from the walking and talking of his no/low-budget American independent films to conversing with the philosophical traditions of the European art house, Richard Linklater's films are some of the most critical, political, and spiritual achievements of contemporary world cinema. Examinations of Linklater's collaborative working practices and deployment of r...

From the surrealist films of Luis Buñuel to the colourful melodramas of Pedro Almodóvar, Spain has produced a wealth of exciting and distinctive film-makers who have consistently provided a condoning or dissenting eye on Spanish history and culture.For modern cinema-goers, it has often been the sexually-charged and colourful nature of many contemporary Spanish films, which has made them popular world-wide and led directors and stars such as Almodóvar, Banderas and Penélope Cruz to ...

This book provides a unique examination of the way Europe’s past is represented on contemporary screens and what this says about contemporary cultural attitudes to history. How do historical dramas come to TV and cinema screens across Europe? How is this shaped by the policies and practices of cultural institutions, from media funding boards to tourist agencies and heritage sites? Who watches these productions and how are they consumed in cinemas, on TV and online?, are just some of the qu...

The Routledge Companion to World Cinema explores and examines a global range of films and filmmakers, their movements and audiences, comparing their cultural, technological and political dynamics, identifying the impulses that constantly reshape the form and function of the cinemas of the world. Each of the forty chapters provides a survey of a topic, explaining why the issue or area is important, and critically discussing the leading views in the area. Designed as a dynamic forum...

A Companion to Luis Buñuel presents a collection of critical readings by many of the foremost film scholars that examines and reassesses myriad facets of world-renowned filmmaker Luis Buñuel’s life, works, and cinematic themes.A collection of critical readings that examine and reassess the controversial filmmaker’s life, works, and cinematic themesFeatures readings from several of the most highly-regarded experts on the cinema of BuñuelIncludes a ...