Roberto Curti
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781911325932
- eISBN:
- 9781800342538
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781911325932.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace (1964) is a legendary title, and is commonly considered as the archetypal giallo. A murder mystery about a faceless and menacing killer stalking the premises of a ...
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Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace (1964) is a legendary title, and is commonly considered as the archetypal giallo. A murder mystery about a faceless and menacing killer stalking the premises of a luxurious fashion house in Rome, Blood and Black Lace set the rules for the genre: a masked, black-gloved killer, an emphasis on graphic violence, elaborate and suspenseful murder sequences. But Blood and Black Lace is first and foremost an exquisitely stylish film, full of gorgeous color schemes, elegant camerawork, and surrealistic imagery, testimony of Bava's mastery and his status as an innovator within popular cinema. This book recollects Blood and Black Lace's production history, putting it within the context of the Italian film industry of the period and includes plenty of previously unheard-of data. It analyzes the film's main narrative and stylistic aspects, including the groundbreaking prominence of violence and sadism and its use of color and lighting, as well as Bava's irreverent approach to genre filmmaking and clever handling of the audience's expectations by way of irony and pitch-black humor. The book also analyzes Blood and Black Lace's place within Bava's oeuvre, its historical impact on the giallo genre, and its influential status on future filmmakers.Less
Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace (1964) is a legendary title, and is commonly considered as the archetypal giallo. A murder mystery about a faceless and menacing killer stalking the premises of a luxurious fashion house in Rome, Blood and Black Lace set the rules for the genre: a masked, black-gloved killer, an emphasis on graphic violence, elaborate and suspenseful murder sequences. But Blood and Black Lace is first and foremost an exquisitely stylish film, full of gorgeous color schemes, elegant camerawork, and surrealistic imagery, testimony of Bava's mastery and his status as an innovator within popular cinema. This book recollects Blood and Black Lace's production history, putting it within the context of the Italian film industry of the period and includes plenty of previously unheard-of data. It analyzes the film's main narrative and stylistic aspects, including the groundbreaking prominence of violence and sadism and its use of color and lighting, as well as Bava's irreverent approach to genre filmmaking and clever handling of the audience's expectations by way of irony and pitch-black humor. The book also analyzes Blood and Black Lace's place within Bava's oeuvre, its historical impact on the giallo genre, and its influential status on future filmmakers.
Jonathan Rayner
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231167291
- eISBN:
- 9780231850490
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231167291.003.0005
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter examines Michael Mann's genre of filmmaking and the “armature of genre”, and studies three of his films, namely, The Keep (1983), Ali (2001), and Public Enemies (2009). Genre frameworks ...
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This chapter examines Michael Mann's genre of filmmaking and the “armature of genre”, and studies three of his films, namely, The Keep (1983), Ali (2001), and Public Enemies (2009). Genre frameworks are vital to Mann's filmic expression and critical reading of his work, as the articulation of his concerns depends upon movement from and through convention. The “armature of genre” provides the pivot point between fixed points of filmmaker and film history, and between directorial style and audience expectation, which facilitates the expansion of a generic canon and the enhancement of the filmmaker's expression. The Keep, which combines war and horror, not only unites atypical genre sources, but also merges Mann's contemporary visual style with the art direction, thematic concerns, and film historical readings of a national cinematic precedent. In the cases of both Ali and Public Enemies, their origins in muscular popular genres and the historical context of the biopic produce substantial variations.Less
This chapter examines Michael Mann's genre of filmmaking and the “armature of genre”, and studies three of his films, namely, The Keep (1983), Ali (2001), and Public Enemies (2009). Genre frameworks are vital to Mann's filmic expression and critical reading of his work, as the articulation of his concerns depends upon movement from and through convention. The “armature of genre” provides the pivot point between fixed points of filmmaker and film history, and between directorial style and audience expectation, which facilitates the expansion of a generic canon and the enhancement of the filmmaker's expression. The Keep, which combines war and horror, not only unites atypical genre sources, but also merges Mann's contemporary visual style with the art direction, thematic concerns, and film historical readings of a national cinematic precedent. In the cases of both Ali and Public Enemies, their origins in muscular popular genres and the historical context of the biopic produce substantial variations.
Daniel Kremer
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813165967
- eISBN:
- 9780813166742
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813165967.003.0013
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Furie helms one last major studio production, the Rodney Dangerfield vehicle Ladybugs (1992) before deciding to spend the rest of his career making direct-to-video action pictures in Canada, as a ...
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Furie helms one last major studio production, the Rodney Dangerfield vehicle Ladybugs (1992) before deciding to spend the rest of his career making direct-to-video action pictures in Canada, as a sort of retirement gesture. Though signs of his earlier mastery emerge in Hollow Point (1996) and In Her Defense (1999), he returns to form with two films in the early 2000s: the post–Vietnam War drama Going Back (2001), which wraps up the Vietnam trilogy he started with The Boys in Company C and Purple Hearts, and Global Heresy (2002), a deceivingly light comedy starring Peter O’Toole, Joan Plowright, and Alicia Silverstone. Furie’s third-born son Jonathan commits suicide in July 2009, and in the midst of mourning his loss, he receives word that the Director’s Guild of Canada is honoring him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. There, he gives a heartwarming, free-form speech that encapsulates a lengthy and mostly happy career.Less
Furie helms one last major studio production, the Rodney Dangerfield vehicle Ladybugs (1992) before deciding to spend the rest of his career making direct-to-video action pictures in Canada, as a sort of retirement gesture. Though signs of his earlier mastery emerge in Hollow Point (1996) and In Her Defense (1999), he returns to form with two films in the early 2000s: the post–Vietnam War drama Going Back (2001), which wraps up the Vietnam trilogy he started with The Boys in Company C and Purple Hearts, and Global Heresy (2002), a deceivingly light comedy starring Peter O’Toole, Joan Plowright, and Alicia Silverstone. Furie’s third-born son Jonathan commits suicide in July 2009, and in the midst of mourning his loss, he receives word that the Director’s Guild of Canada is honoring him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. There, he gives a heartwarming, free-form speech that encapsulates a lengthy and mostly happy career.
