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From films that claim the status of harsh realism to others which embody aspects of the tradition of modernism or the poetic, art cinema encompasses a variety of work from across the globe. But how is art cinema positioned in the film marketplace, or by critics and in academic analysis? Exactly what kinds of cultural value are attributed to films of this type and how can this be explained? This book offers a unique analysis of how such processes work, including the broader cultural basis of the appeal of art cinema to particular audiences.
Geoff King argues that there is no single definition of art cinema, but a number of distinct and recurrent tendencies are identified. At one end of the spectrum are films accorded the most 'heavyweight' status, offering the greatest challenges to viewers. Others mix aspects of art cinema with more accessible dimensions such as uses of popular genre frameworks and 'exploitation' elements involving explicit sex and violence. Including case studies of key figures such as Michael Haneke, Pedro Almodóvar and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, this is a crucial contribution to understanding both art cinema itself and the discourses through which its value is established.
List of contents
List of Figures
Introduction: Positioning Art Cinema
1. Situating the Art Cinema Field of Cultural Production and Consumption
2. Art Film and American Indie Cinema: Points of Distinction and Overlap
3. The Hard-Core Art Film and Heavyweight Modality
4. Celebrating 'Slow' Cinema
5. Positioning
The Turin Horse and
Hidden6. Serious Restrained Drama and Realism
7. Art Cinema and Genre: Uses and Departures
8. Art Cinema and Exploitation
Conclusion
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
About the author
Geoff King is Emeritus Professor of Film Studies at Brunel University London, UK, and author of numerous books, including The Cinema of Discomfort: Disquieting, Awkward and Uncomfortable Experiences in Contemporary Art and Indie Film (Bloomsbury, 2021), Positioning Art Cinema: Film and Cultural Value (Bloomsbury, 2019) and Quality Hollywood: Markers of Distinction in Contemporary Studio Film (Bloomsbury, 2015)
Summary
From films that claim the status of harsh realism to others which embody aspects of the tradition of modernism or the poetic, art cinema encompasses a variety of work from across the globe. But how is art cinema positioned in the film marketplace, or by critics and in academic analysis? Exactly what kinds of cultural value are attributed to films of this type and how can this be explained? This book offers a unique analysis of how such processes work, including the broader cultural basis of the appeal of art cinema to particular audiences.
Geoff King argues that there is no single definition of art cinema, but a number of distinct and recurrent tendencies are identified. At one end of the spectrum are films accorded the most ‘heavyweight’ status, offering the greatest challenges to viewers. Others mix aspects of art cinema with more accessible dimensions such as uses of popular genre frameworks and ‘exploitation’ elements involving explicit sex and violence. Including case studies of key figures such as Michael Haneke, Pedro Almodóvar and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, this is a crucial contribution to understanding both art cinema itself and the discourses through which its value is established.
