Synopses & Reviews
Italian cinemas after the war were filled by audiences who had come to watch domestically produced films of passion and pathos. These highly emotional and consciously theatrical melodramas posed moral questions with stylish flair, redefining popular ways of feeling about romance, family, gender, class, Catholicism, Italy and feeling itself.
The Operatic and the Everyday in Postwar Italian Film Melodrama argues for the centrality of melodrama to Italian culture. It uncovers a wealth of films rarely discussed before, including family melodramas, the crime stories of neorealismo popolare and opera films, and provides interpretive frameworks that position them in wider debates on aesthetics and society. The book also considers the well-established topics of realism and arthouse auteurism, and re-thinks film history by investigating the presence of melodrama in neorealism and post-war modernism. It places film within its broader cultural context to trace the connections of canonical melodramatists like Visconti and Matarazzo to traditions of opera, the musical theatre of the sceneggiata, visual arts and magazines. In so doing, it seeks to capture the artistry and emotional experiences found within a truly popular form.
An engaging and informative read, The Operatic and the Everyday in Postwar Italian Film Melodrama is an essential resource for students and scholars in both Film Studies and Italian Studies.
Review
'Finally, an excellent example of a cultural history of film! Louis Bayman very convincingly connects the tears of cinematographic melodrama and its body and lifeblood to the neorealist corpus. He reveals roots, bonds and kinships that have never before been so well illuminated between the great 19th-century tradition of opera, popular literature and theatre and with the contemporary popular cultural forms of the foto- and cineromanzo.'
- Gian Piero Brunetta, University of Padova
Synopsis
This monograph argues for the centrality of melodrama to Italian culture. It uncovers a wealth of films rarely discussed before including family melodramas, the crime stories of neorealismo popolare and opera films, and provides interpretive frameworks that position them in wider debates on aesthetics and society.
Synopsis
Sandatilde;o Paulo is the largest city in South America and the powerhouse of Brazilandrsquo;s economy. A multi-racial metropolis with a diverse population of Asian, Arabic, and European immigrants as well as migrants from other parts of Brazil, it is a global city with international reach. Films set in Sandatilde;o Paulo often replace the postcard images of beautiful tropical beaches and laidback lifestyles with working environments and the search for better opportunities. Bikinis and flip flops give way to urban subcultures, sport, entertainment, and artistic movements. The ability to transcend national boundaries, and its resistance to stereotypical images of an andldquo;exoticandrdquo; Brazil, make Sandatilde;o Paulo a fascinating location in which to explore Brazilandrsquo;s changing economic and cultural landscapes.and#160;
The first comprehensive guide to filmic representations of Sandatilde;o Paulo, this book serves as an introduction to the city for film enthusiasts, visitors, and tourists while simultaneously opening scholarly debates on global concerns such as marginalization, rapid urbanization, and child poverty.
About the Author
Louis Bayman specialises in film and in Italian studies and has published a range of articles on melodrama, Italian cinema, and popular culture. He co-edited the volume
Popular Italian Cinema, and
World Cinema Directory: Brazil. He is an Early Career Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes University.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Sand#227;o Paulo: City of the Imagination
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Reinaldo Cardenuto
Sand#227;o Paulo on the Big Screen: Cinematic [Post] Modernity
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Alfredo Suppia
Maps of Scenes 1-8: 1929-1981
Paulista Film Industry: An Overview
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Fand#225;bio Uchand#244;a
Map of Scenes 9-15: 1981-2002
Cinema Marginal
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Daniel Serravalle de Sand#225;
Map of Scenes 16-22: 2002-2005
The City of Sand#227;o Paulo as Depicted in Tata Amaraland#8217;s Movies
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Marcia Carvalho
Map of Scenes 23-29: 2006-2007
The Geography of Segregation: Violence and Class Division in Contemporary Sand#227;o Paulo Cinema
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Tiago de Luca
Map of Scenes 30-36: 2007-2008
Transnational Minhocand#227;o: The Emblematic Highway
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Natand#225;lia Pinazza
Map of Scenes 37-43: 2008-2012
Resources
Contributor Bios
Filmography