Dark Humor In Films Of The 1960s

Focusing on "dark" or black comedy films in the US and the UK, Wheeler Winston Dixon provides a comprehensive overview of a variety of films and filmmakers (Vanishing Point, Marcel Hanoun), whose work has largely been ignored, but whose influence and importance is clearly present.

Focusing on "dark" or black comedy films in the US and the UK, Wheeler Winston Dixon provides a comprehensive overview of a variety of films and filmmakers (Vanishing Point, Marcel Hanoun), whose work has largely been ignored, but whose influence and importance is clearly present.

This volume examines how different generations of women work within the genericity of audio-visual storytelling not necessarily to ‘undo’ or ‘subvert’ popular formats, but also to draw on their generative force. Recent examples of filmmakers and creative practitioners within and outside Hollywood as well as women working in non-directing authorial roles remind us that women are in various ways authoring commercially and culturally impactful texts across a range of genres. Put simply, this volume asks: what do women who are creatively engaged with audio-visual industries do with genre and what does genre do with them? The contributors to the collection respond to this question from diverse perspectives and with different answers, spanning issues of direction, screenwriting, performance and audience address/reception.

A film archetype as old as film itself, the man-child has been an enduring comedy subject. Classics as diverse as Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) and The Apartment (1960) have used the immature male to drive plots and press the importance of growing up. But he was not born fully formed—it took the shifting social norms of decades to mold the atrocious behavior of the puerile buffoon we know today. The man-child has come under scrutiny in recent years. Prominent writers, including David Denby and A.O. Scott, have criticized the modern comedian behaving in shamelessly childish ways. This book provides a comprehensive examination of the character of the man-child, from André Deed, who debuted on screen in 1901, to Seth Rogen. The author discusses changing cultural attitudes about maturity, what it means to be an adult, what it means to be a child and how those things are becoming increasingly confused.

One of the most powerful forces in world culture, American cinema has a long and complex history that stretches through more than a century. This history not only includes a legacy of hundreds of important films but also the evolution of the film industry itself, which is in many ways a microcosm of the history of American society. Historical Dictionary of American Cinema, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 600 cross-referenced entries covering people, films, companies, techniques, themes, and subgenres that have made American cinema such a vital part of world culture.

Parody is the least appreciated of all film comedy genres and receives little serious attention, even among film fans. This study elevates parody to mainstream significance. A historical overview places the genre in context, and a number of basic parody components, which better define the genre and celebrate its value, are examined. Parody is differentiated from satire, and the two parody types, traditional and reaffirmation, are explained. Chapters study the most spoofed genre in American parody history, the Western; pantheon members of American Film Comedy such as The Marx Brothers, W. C. Fields, Mae West, and Laurel and Hardy; pivotal parody artists, Bob Hope and Woody Allen; Mel Brooks, whose name is often synonymous with parody; and finally, parody in the 1990s. Films discussed include Destry Rides Again (1939), The Road to Utopia (1945), My Favorite Brunette (1947), The Paleface (1948), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Blazing Saddles (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974), Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993) and Scream (1996). This examination of parody will appeal to scholars and students of American film and film comedy, as well as those interested in the specific comedians discussed and the Western genre. Gehring's work will also find a place in American pop culture studies and sociological studies of the period from the 1920s to the 1990s. The book is carefully documented and includes a selected bibliography and filmography.

This work offers insights into how specific films influenced the Americanization of the Holocaust and how the medium per se helped seed that event into the public consciousness. In addition to an in-depth study on films produced for both theatrical release and TV since 1937 - including The Great Dictator, Cabaret, Julia, and the mini-series Holocaust - this work provides an analysis of Schindler's List and the debate over the merit of Spielberg's vision of the Holocaust. It also examines more thoroughly made-for-television movies, such as Escape From Sobibor, Playing For Time, and War and Remembrance. A special chapter on The Diary of Anne Frank discusses the evolution of that singularly European work into a universal symbol. Paying special attention to the tumultuous 1960s in America, it assesses the effect of the era on Holocaust films made during that time. It also discusses how these films helped integrate the Holocaust into the fabric of American society, transforming it into a metaphor for modern suffering. Finally, the work explores cinema in relation to the Americanization of the Jewish image.

A wide-ranging survey of the subject that celebrates the variety and complexity of film comedy from the ‘silent’ days to the present, this authoritative guide offers an international perspective on the popular genre that explores all facets of its formative social, cultural and political context A wide-ranging collection of 24 essays exploring film comedy from the silent era to the present International in scope, the collection embraces not just American cinema, including Native American and African American, but also comic films from Europe, the Middle East, and Korea Essays explore sub-genres, performers, and cultural perspectives such as gender, politics, and history in addition to individual works Engages with different strands of comedy including slapstick, romantic, satirical and ironic Features original entries from a diverse group of multidisciplinary international contributors