Synopses & Reviews
This book represents a new way of thinking about Australian cinema by asking where the origins of the new film lie. It begins by tracing the indebtedness of Australian cinema to the classical narrative style of Hollywood filmmaking, with its firm grasp of melodrama. Several films are studied in detail within this framework, including Picnic at Hanging Rock, Blood Oath, The Empty Beach, and Shame. The book continues by comparing the problems faced by "high" British cinema of the 1940s and 1950s with those faced by Australian cinema of the 1970s and the 1980s in the attempts by both countries to establish national film industries. Many parallels are drawn between the responses of British and Australian cinema to the overall dominance of Hollywood, despite the thirty-year gap between these two periods of filmmaking.
Synopsis
The institutions and products of the Australian film industry have been extensively surveyed, yet few analyses consider the sources of the film revival that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. This book represents a new way of thinking about Australian cinema as it asks where the origins of the new films lie. The book begins by tracing the indebtedness of Australian cinema to the classical narrative style of Hollywood film-making, with its firm grasp of melodrama. It continues by comparing the problems faced by 'high' British cinema of the 1940s and 1950s with those faced by Australia in the 1970s and 1980s in the attempts by both countries to establish national film industries. New Australian Cinema will increase the scope of the discussion about the revival of Australian cinema and help us to make cultural sense of the films themselves.
Synopsis
This book traces the development of Australian cinema through the influence of Hollywood and of British films of the forties and fifties.
Synopsis
The Australian film industry has been extensively surveyed, yet few analyses consider the sources of the film revival that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. This book represents a new way of thinking about Australian cinema as it asks where the origins of the new films lie. Beginning with a discussion of the indebtedness of Australian cinema to the classical narrative style of Hollywood film-making, the study compares the problems faced by British cinema of the 1940s and 1950s with those faced by Australia in the 1970s and 1980s in the attempts by both countries to establish national film industries.
Synopsis
This book traces the indebtedness of Australian cinema to the classical narrative style of Hollywood film-making, comparing the problems faced by the Australian cinema of the seventies and eighties with those encountered by British filmmakers of the forties and fifties.
Synopsis
This book presents a new way of looking at Australian cinema by inquiring into the origins of the filmmaking revival of the 1970s and 1980s and acknowledging the influences of previous periods of British Cinema and Hollywood upon it.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [244]-246) and index.
Table of Contents
Preface; Part I: 1. Introduction; Part II: 2. American Classical Cinema and the melodramatic tradition; 3. The melodrama of isolation and defeat: Australian cinema since Picnic at Hanging Rock; Part III: 4. Two booms: 'High' British cinema and new Australian cinema; 5. The films: Britain (1940-1960) and Australia (1970-1990); Part IV: 6. Observations and conclusions; Selected bibliography on Australian cinema; Index.