Synopses & Reviews
A critical exploration of one of the most exciting, original and influential figures to emerge in contemporary film, Guillermo del Toro: Film as Alchemic Art is a major contribution to the analysis of Guillermo del Toro's cinematic output. It offers an in-depth discussion of del Toro's oeuvre and investigates key ideas, recurrent motifs and subtle links between his movies. The book explores the sources that del Toro draws upon and transforms in the creation of his rich and complex body of work. These include the literary, artistic and cinematic influences on films such as Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone, Cronos and Mimic, and the director's engagement with comic book culture in his two Hellboy films, Blade II and Pacific Rim. As well as offering extensive close textual analysis, the authors also consider del Toro's considerable impact on wider popular culture, including a discussion of his role as producer, ambassador for 'geek' culture and figurehead in new international cinema.
Review
In this study, McDonald and Clark achieve a comprehensive and scholarly examination of the director and his cinema. In a thoroughly researched account of del Toros literary and cinematic influences, his experimentation with genre, the trans-national quality of his work and his self-identification as a fan, the authors build a sharp and fascinating portrait of del Toro. To this they add a series of lucid and critical readings of the directors films that show an admirable command of del Toros multi-generic and multicultural points of reference. Building the study around the apposite metaphor of del Toro as alchemist, McDonald and Clarks study captures the person and the work brilliantly, combining exhaustive research with an evident enthusiasm for the subject matter. The result, as alchemical as del Toros cinema, is an in-depth yet highly approachable book that will appeal to scholars and fans alike. --Sheldon Penn, Lecturer in Latin American Studies, University of Leicester, UK.
Synopsis
A critical study of the work of the Mexican director and producer Guillermo del Toro.
About the Author
Keith McDonald holds a PhD from Birkbeck College, University of London, and is a Senior Lecturer in Literature, Film and Media at York St John University, UK. Keith teaches on the Film and Media Studies undergraduate programmes as well as the Literature degree. He also teaches on the MA in Literature Studies. His research interests include popular culture, cult cinema and new media.
Mr Roger Clark, retired (2010), was Senior Lecturer in Literature Studies at York St John University, UK, where he's currently a Visiting Lecturer.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1Chapter 1. Influences and Intertexts
Chapter 2. Accented Fantasy and the Gothic Perverse
Chapter 3. Fan as Filmmaker
Part 2Chapter 4. Twisted Genres:
Cronos and
Mimic Chapter 5. Trauma - Childhood -History:
The Devil's Backbone and
Pan's Labyrinth Chapter 6. Gothic Superheroes:
Blade II,
Hellboy and
Hellboy II: The Golden Army Chapter 7. From Development Hell to the Pacific Depths:
The Strain and
Pacific Rim Bibliography
Filmography and Comicography
Index