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Bio-pics: A Life in Pictures offers a series of case studies which throw light on this most unique of genres. Is the bio-pic a genre in its own right? Or are such films merely footnotes in other more traditional genres such as the western or costume drama, depending on the historical figure under scrutiny. Unlike other genre forms bio-pics seemingly share no familiar iconography, codes or conventions. They can be set anywhere and at any time. What links them is quite simply that the films depict the life of an important person. Through a carefully selected range of thematically linked (English-language) bio-pics released since 1990 this book explores key issues surrounding their resurgence, narrative structure, production, subject representation or misrepresentation, and critical response.
List of contents
AcknowledgementsIntroduction: A Life in Pictures1. The Sound of Music: Singers and Musicians Take Centre Stage2. Hollywoodland: Actors and Directors as Portrayed by Actors and Directors3. Prick Up Your Ears: Now a Word on Writers4. Through the Eyes of a Painter: The Art of the On-screen Artist5. A Winner Never Quits: The Powerful Force of Sporting Biographies6. Awakenings: Voices from the Ivory Towers of Academia7. Into the Storm: The Politics of Political Bio-pics8. A Royal Affair: The Majesty of Royal RepresentationsEpilogueBibliographyIndex
About the author
Ellen Cheshire is an independent scholar. She has written books on the Coen Brothers (as co-author), Ang Lee, Jane Campion and Audrey Hepburn, as well as numerous articles on subjets as wide-ranging as war movies, James Bond, and Charlie Chaplin.
Summary
Through a carefully selected range of thematically linked bio-pics, explores key issues surrounding their resurgence, structure, production, subject representation or misrepresentation, and critical response
