The Frankenstein Archive

The Frankenstein Archive PDF

Author: Donald F. Glut

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-09-11

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 0786480696

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Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, first published in 1818, started a phenomeon that has survived the years and permeated many aspects of popular culture. It has spawned numerous films, television programs, books, comics, stage presentations, and the like, and continues to do so today. Like the Frankenstein Monster, this work is made up of many individual parts, some of which are quite different in their specific themes, but all of which relate to Frankenstein in some way. They consider the untold true story of Frankenstein, Glenn Strange's portrayals of the Monster, the portrayals of lesser-known actors who played the character, Peter Cushing and his role as Baron (and Dr.) Frankenstein, the classic film Young Frankenstein co-written by Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder (who also starred in it), the battles between do-gooders and the Monster and other horror figures, Frankenstein in cartoons--and much more. Each of the 15 essays, all written by the author, is prefaced with explanatory notes that place the essay in its historical perspective, comment on its origin and content, and where appropriate, supplement the text with new, additional, or otherwise relevant information. Richly illustrated.

The Frankenstein Film Sourcebook

The Frankenstein Film Sourcebook PDF

Author: Caroline Picart

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2001-06-30

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 0313016720

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The endurance of the Frankenstein narrative as a modern cinematic myth is undeniable. Its flexibility has produced classic and contemporary horror film-most notably the Universal films of the thirties-but it has also resulted in unusual hybrids, such as musical horror-comedy (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), hyperbolic parody (Flesh for Frankenstein), and science fiction (the Alien and Terminator series). This sourcebook provides a complete guide to all of the story's filmic incarnations-including essential information such as cast, creative personnel, and plot summaries-and also guides the reader to relevant primary texts such as scripts, posters, production histories, and newspaper clippings. Utilizing an approach that is both popular and scholarly, and including spotlight essays that deal with contemporary academic approaches to the subject, The Frankenstein Film Sourcebook reveals the depth of the cinematic range of interpretations of a classic modern myth. Comprehensive in its scope, The Frankenstein Film Sourcebook provides an alphabetical guide to two hundred films that incorporate the Frankenstein narrative. It also delves into both primary and secondary perspectives and includes discussions of aspects of the films, such as their depiction of women, which is relevant to current scholarly critiques.

Changing Tunes: The Use of Pre-existing Music in Film

Changing Tunes: The Use of Pre-existing Music in Film PDF

Author: Robynn Stilwell

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-08

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1351572431

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The study of pre-existing film music is now a well-established part of Film Studies, covering 'classical' music and popular music. Generally, these broad musical types are studied in isolation. This anthology brings them together in twelve focused case studies by a range of scholars, including Claudia Gorbman, Jeongwon Joe, Raymond Knapp, and Timothy Warner. The first section explores art music, both instrumental and operatic; it revolves around the debate on the relation between the aural and visual tracks, and whether pre-existing music has an integrative function or not. The second section is devoted to popular music in film, and shows how very similar the functions of popular music in film are to the supposedly more 'elite' classical music and opera. Case studies in part 1: Eyes Wide Shut, Raging Bull, Brief Encounter, Detective, The Godfather Part III, three versions of the Carmen story (DeMille's, Preminger's and Rosi's), Amadeus, The Birth of a Nation, M: Eine Stadt sucht einen MA rder, Needful Things, Rat Race. Case studies in part 2: various films by AlmodA^3var, Young Frankenstein, Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting, Amelie, High Fidelity, Ghost World, Heavenly Creatures, The Virgin Suicides, and the video Timber by Coldcut.

The Horror Spoofs of Abbott and Costello

The Horror Spoofs of Abbott and Costello PDF

Author: Jeffrey S. Miller

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2004-03-22

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9780786419227

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While Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are more famously known for their straight comedy routines, they did make a number of films in which horror played a crucial role. The first part of this critical reference examines the Abbott and Costello "Meet the Monsters" spoof films (Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Mummy). The second sections deals with Abbott and Costello's films with horror elements that do not follow this formula: Hold That Ghost, The Time of Their Lives and Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff. The plot of each film is examined in detail with special attention paid to the comedians' styles of comedy, the effect of the horror scenes, and the place of the film in the Abbott and Costello canon. The reactions of critics (then and now) and the influences the films have had on the horror and comedy genres and on pop culture are also discussed. A lengthy introduction provides background on the lives of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello and the development of Universal Studios as the premier horror factory.

Parody as Film Genre

Parody as Film Genre PDF

Author: Wes D. Gehring

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 1999-09-30

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 031300353X

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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.

Hideous Progeny

Hideous Progeny PDF

Author: Angela Smith

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2012-01-24

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 0231527853

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Twisted bodies, deformed faces, aberrant behavior, and abnormal desires characterized the hideous creatures of classic Hollywood horror, which thrilled audiences with their sheer grotesqueness. Most critics have interpreted these traits as symptoms of sexual repression or as metaphors for other kinds of marginalized identities, yet Angela M. Smith conducts a richer investigation into the period's social and cultural preoccupations. She finds instead a fascination with eugenics and physical and cognitive debility in the narrative and spectacle of classic 1930s horror, heightened by the viewer's desire for visions of vulnerability and transformation. Reading such films as Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), Freaks (1932), and Mad Love (1935) against early-twentieth-century disability discourse and propaganda on racial and biological purity, Smith showcases classic horror's dependence on the narratives of eugenics and physiognomics. She also notes the genre's conflicted and often contradictory visualizations. Smith ultimately locates an indictment of biological determinism in filmmakers' visceral treatments, which take the impossibility of racial improvement and bodily perfection to sensationalistic heights. Playing up the artifice and conventions of disabled monsters, filmmakers exploited the fears and yearnings of their audience, accentuating both the perversity of the medical and scientific gaze and the debilitating experience of watching horror. Classic horror films therefore encourage empathy with the disabled monster, offering captive viewers an unsettling encounter with their own impairment. Smith's work profoundly advances cinema and disability studies, in addition to general histories concerning the construction of social and political attitudes toward the Other.

Italian Horror Cinema

Italian Horror Cinema PDF

Author: Baschiera Stefano Baschiera

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Published: 2016-06-14

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 1474405819

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In its heyday from the late 1950s until the early 1980s Italian horror cinema was characterised by an excess of gore, violence and often incoherent plot-lines. Films about zombies, cannibals and psychopathic killers ensured there was no shortage of controversy, and the genre presents a seemingly unpromising nexus of films for sustained critical analysis. But Italian horror cinema with all its variations, subgenres and filoni remains one of the most recognisable and iconic genre productions in Europe, achieving cult status worldwide. One of the manifestations of a rich production landscape in Italian popular cinema after the Second World War, Italian horror was also characterised by its imitation of foreign models and the transnational dimension of its production agreements, as well as by its international locations and stars.This collection brings together for the first time a range of contributions aimed at a new understanding of the genre, investigating the different phases in its history, the peculiarities of the production system, the work of its most representative directors (Mario Bava and Dario Argento) and the wider role it has played within popular culture.