Dead Or Alive British Horror Films 1980-1989 PDF Download
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Author: Darrell Buxton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781644301241
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 286
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Book Description
WE HAVE SUCH SIGHTS TO SHOW YOU! With British cinema at its lowest ebb--audience levels dwindling, attacks from censors and authorities, cuts in funding--could this once-proud area of the entertainment business be saved? "Dead or Alive" is the first book-length study of British Horror Cinema of the 1980s, examining and celebrating the diversity of genre movie production in the U.K. during this period of flux. From Pinhead to the American Werewolf, from naked alien space vampires to Kenny Everett, read how the post-Hammer scene ventured to keep the fright flame burning in Thatcher's Britain. Rumor has it that the 1980s rather dismissed doom and gloom in favor of bright primary colors, sculpted hairstyles, MTV, legwarmers, compact discs, and John Hughes. Bear in mind, however, that British television at the outset of the period in question was awash with supernatural and psychological chills, from Hammer House of Horror to Rentaghost, Sapphire & Steel to Tales of the Unexpected. In the music world, every Duran Duran or Spandau Ballet was countered by acts daring to delve into darker territory --Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1981 album Juju was laced with voodoo, specters, and arcane practices; Iron Maiden frequently used classic horror references and created their own monstrous mascot, skeletal super-fan "Eddie," the "Goth" movement made inroads particularly in the North of England, via The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, The March Violets and Fields of the Nephilim, and even the top-selling, radio-friendly stars of the day took genre-sprinkled items to the top of the charts (the austere, bleak "Ghost Town" by The Specials, Frankie Goes to Hollywood's controversial and aware nuclear warning "Two Tribes," even Adam and the Ants' smash-hit paean to dandyism "Stand and Deliver)." With unemployment and oppression rife among certain areas of the country and within particular communities, the looming presence of something sinister tainted the official picture being presented by the authorities, of opportunity for all, jam tomorrow, loadsamoney. (Although perhaps American filmmaker Oliver Stone fused it better than anyone, bringing an altogether Faustian/Mephistophelean quality to his 1988 study of stock exchange culture, Wall Street, the "greed is good" ethos of which may just have been the most frightening movie mantra of these divisive times.) So, enjoy a trip back to the 1980s quite unlike any other, an alternate vision of the era. With the classic manufacturers of big-screen British chills, Hammer, Amicus, Tigon and others, lying dormant or completely out of action, a new, diverse, unconnected and decidedly different wave rode in to fill the gap. Not always successfully, sure, but (especially in hindsight) with considerable ambition to bring something fresh and unique to the terror table. This book is for those who prefer the challenge of the Lament Configuration to that of Rubik's Cube.
Author: Darrell Buxton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781644301241
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 286
Get Book Here
Book Description
WE HAVE SUCH SIGHTS TO SHOW YOU! With British cinema at its lowest ebb--audience levels dwindling, attacks from censors and authorities, cuts in funding--could this once-proud area of the entertainment business be saved? "Dead or Alive" is the first book-length study of British Horror Cinema of the 1980s, examining and celebrating the diversity of genre movie production in the U.K. during this period of flux. From Pinhead to the American Werewolf, from naked alien space vampires to Kenny Everett, read how the post-Hammer scene ventured to keep the fright flame burning in Thatcher's Britain. Rumor has it that the 1980s rather dismissed doom and gloom in favor of bright primary colors, sculpted hairstyles, MTV, legwarmers, compact discs, and John Hughes. Bear in mind, however, that British television at the outset of the period in question was awash with supernatural and psychological chills, from Hammer House of Horror to Rentaghost, Sapphire & Steel to Tales of the Unexpected. In the music world, every Duran Duran or Spandau Ballet was countered by acts daring to delve into darker territory --Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1981 album Juju was laced with voodoo, specters, and arcane practices; Iron Maiden frequently used classic horror references and created their own monstrous mascot, skeletal super-fan "Eddie," the "Goth" movement made inroads particularly in the North of England, via The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, The March Violets and Fields of the Nephilim, and even the top-selling, radio-friendly stars of the day took genre-sprinkled items to the top of the charts (the austere, bleak "Ghost Town" by The Specials, Frankie Goes to Hollywood's controversial and aware nuclear warning "Two Tribes," even Adam and the Ants' smash-hit paean to dandyism "Stand and Deliver)." With unemployment and oppression rife among certain areas of the country and within particular communities, the looming presence of something sinister tainted the official picture being presented by the authorities, of opportunity for all, jam tomorrow, loadsamoney. (Although perhaps American filmmaker Oliver Stone fused it better than anyone, bringing an altogether Faustian/Mephistophelean quality to his 1988 study of stock exchange culture, Wall Street, the "greed is good" ethos of which may just have been the most frightening movie mantra of these divisive times.) So, enjoy a trip back to the 1980s quite unlike any other, an alternate vision of the era. With the classic manufacturers of big-screen British chills, Hammer, Amicus, Tigon and others, lying dormant or completely out of action, a new, diverse, unconnected and decidedly different wave rode in to fill the gap. Not always successfully, sure, but (especially in hindsight) with considerable ambition to bring something fresh and unique to the terror table. This book is for those who prefer the challenge of the Lament Configuration to that of Rubik's Cube.
Author: Robert Shail
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1838718060
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 210
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Book Description
Seventies British Cinema provides a comprehensive re-evaluation of British film in the 1970s. The decade has long been written off in critical discussions as a 'doldrums' period in British cinema, perhaps because the industry, facing near economic collapse, turned to 'unacceptable' low culture genres such as sexploitation comedies or extreme horror. The contributors to this new collection argue that 1970s cinema is ripe for reappraisal: giving serious critical attention to populist genre films, they also consider the development of a British art cinema in the work of Derek Jarman and Peter Greenaway, and the beginnings of an independent sector fostered by the BFI Production Board and producers like Don Boyd. A host of highly individual directors managed to produce interesting and cinematically innovative work against the odds, from Nicolas Roeg to Ken Russell to Mike Hodges. As well as providing a historical and cinematic context for understanding Seventies cinema, the volume also features chapters addressing Hammer horror, the Carry On films, Bond films of the Roger Moore period, Jubilee and other films that responded to Punk rock; heritage cinema and case studies of key seventies films such as The Wicker Man and Straw Dogs. In all, the book provides the final missing piece in the rediscovery of British cinema's complex and protean history. Contributors: Ruth Barton, James Chapman, Ian Conrich, Wheeler Winston Dixon, Christophe Dupin, Steve Gerrard, Sheldon Hall I. Q. Hunter, James Leggott, Claire Monk, Paul Newland, Dan North, Robert Shail, Justin Smith and Sarah Street.
Author: Peter Hutchings
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 0810870509
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 432
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Book Description
Horror is one of the most enduring and controversial of all cinematic genres. Horror films range from the subtle and the poetic to the graphic and the gory but what links them all is their ability to frighten, disturb, shock, provoke, delight, irritate, amuse, and bemuse audiences. Horror's capacity to serve as an outlet to capture the changing patterns of our fears and anxieties has ensured not only its notoriety but also its long-term survival and its international popularity. Above all, however, it is the audience's continual desire to experience new frights and evermore-horrifying sights that continue to make films like The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, Ringu, and The Shining captivate viewers. The A to Z of Horror Cinema traces the development of horror cinema from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries. Entries cover all the major movie villains, including Frankenstein and his monster, the vampire, the werewolf, the mummy, the zombie, the ghost, and the serial killer; the film directors, producers, writers, actors, cinematographers, make-up artists, special effects technicians, and composers who have helped to shape horror history; significant production companies and the major films that have come to stand as milestones in the development of the horror genre; and the different national traditions in horror cinema as well as horror's most popular themes, formats, conventions, and cycles.
Author: Johnny Walker
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 0748689745
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 186
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Book Description
Combining industrial research and primary interview material with detailed textual analysis, Contemporary British Horror Cinema looks beyond the dominant paradigms which have explained away British horror in the past, and sheds light on one of the most dynamic and distinctive "e; yet scarcely talked about "e; areas of contemporary British film production. Considering high-profile theatrical releases, including The Descent, Shaun of the Dead and The Woman in Black, as well as more obscure films such as The Devil's Chair, Resurrecting the Street Walker and Cherry Tree Lane, Contemporary British Horror Cinema provides a thorough examination of British horror film production in the twenty-first century.
Author: Steve Chibnall
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415230032
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 264
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Book Description
British Horror Cinema investigates a wealth of horror filmmaking in Britain, from early chillers like The Ghoul and Dark Eyes of London to acknowledged classics such as Peeping Tom and The Wicker Man. Contributors explore the contexts in which British horror films have been censored and classified, judged by their critics and consumed by their fans. Uncovering neglected modern classics like Deathline, and addressing issues such as the representation of family and women, they consider the Britishness of British horror and examine sub-genres such as the psycho-thriller and witchcraftmovies, the work of the Amicus studio, and key filmmakers including Peter Walker. Chapters include: the 'Psycho Thriller' the British censors and horror cinema femininity and horror film fandom witchcraft and the occult in British horror Horrific films and 1930s British Cinema Peter Walker and Gothic revisionism. Also featuring a comprehensive filmography and interviews with key directors Clive Barker and Doug Bradley, this is one resource film studies students should not be without.
Author: Annie Choi
Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
ISBN: 1683961862
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 270
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Book Description
A celebration of the most obscure, bizarre, and brain-busting movies ever made, this film guide features 250 in-depth reviews that have escaped the radar of people with taste and the tolerance of critics ― Goregasm! I Was a Teenage Serial Killer! Satan Claus!Die Hard Dracula! Curated by the enthusiastic minds behind BleedingSkull.com, this book gets deep into gutter-level, no-budget horror, from shot-on-VHS revelations (Eyes of the Werewolf) to forgotten outsider art hallucinations (Alien Beasts). Jam-packed with rare photographs, advertisements, and VHS sleeves (most of which have never been seen before), Bleeding Skull is an edifying, laugh-out-loud guide to the dusty inventory of the greatest video store that never existed.
Author: Stephen Prince
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 081354257X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 281
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Book Description
In this volume, Stephen Prince has collected essays reviewing the history of the horror film and the psychological reasons for its persistent appeal, as well as discussions of the developmental responses of young adult viewers and children to the genre. The book focuses on recent postmodern examples such as The Blair Witch Project. In a daring move, the volume also examines Holocaust films in relation to horror. Part One features essays on the silent and classical Hollywood eras. Part Two covers the postWorld War II era and discusses the historical, aesthetic, and psychological characteristics of contemporary horror films. In contrast to horror during the classical Hollywood period, contemporary horror features more graphic and prolonged visualizations of disturbing and horrific imagery, as well as other distinguishing characteristics. Princes introduction provides an overview of the genre, contextualizing the readings that follow. Stephen Prince is professor of communications at Virginia Tech. He has written many film books, including Classical Film Violence: Designing and Regulating Brutality in Hollywood Cinema, 19301968, and has edited Screening Violence, also in the Depth of Field Series.
Author: Roberto Curti
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476619891
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 221
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Book Description
The "Gothic" style was a key trend in Italian cinema of the 1950s and 1960s because of its peculiar, often strikingly original approach to the horror genre. These films portrayed Gothic staples in a stylish and idiosyncratic way, and took a daring approach to the supernatural and to eroticism, with the presence of menacing yet seductive female witches, vampires and ghosts. Thanks to such filmmakers as Mario Bava (Black Sunday), Riccardo Freda (The Horrible Dr. Hichcock), and Antonio Margheriti (Castle of Blood), as well the iconic presence of actress Barbara Steele, Italian Gothic horror went overseas and reached cult status. The book examines the Italian Gothic horror of the period, with an abundance of previously unpublished production information drawn from official papers and original scripts. Entries include a complete cast and crew list, home video releases, plot summary and the author's analysis. Excerpts from interviews with filmmakers, scriptwriters and actors are included. The foreword is by film director and scriptwriter Ernesto Gastaldi.
Author: Peter Hutchings
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538102447
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 447
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Book Description
Horror is one of the most enduring and controversial of all cinematic genres. Horror films range from subtle and poetic to graphic and gory, but what links them together is their ability to frighten, disturb, shock, provoke, delight, irritate, and amuse audiences. Horror’s capacity to take the form of our evolving fears and anxieties has ensured not only its notoriety but also its long-term survival and international popularity. This second edition has been comprehensively updated to capture all that is important and exciting about the horror genre as it exists today. Its new entries feature the creative personalities who have developed innovative forms of horror, and recent major films and cycles of films that ensure horror’s continuing popularity and significance. In addition, many of the other entries have been expanded to include reference to the contemporary scene, giving a clear picture of how horror cinema is constantly renewing and transforming itself. The Historical Dictionary of Horror Cinema traces the development of the genre from its beginnings to the present. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries. The entries cover all major movie villains, including Frankenstein and his monsters, the vampire, the werewolf, the mummy, the zombie, the ghost and the serial killer; film directors, producers, writers, actors, cinematographers, make-up artists, special-effects technicians, and composers who have helped shape horror history; significant production companies; major films that are milestones in the development of the horror genre; and different national traditions in horror cinema – as well as popular themes, formats, conventions, and cycles.
Author: Richard Nowell
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1623569850
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 279
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Book Description
Even though horror has been a key component of media output for almost a century, the genre's industrial character remains under explored and poorly understood. Merchants of Menace: The Business of Horror Cinema responds to a major void in film history by shedding much-needed new light on the economic dimensions of one of the world's most enduring audiovisual forms. Given horror cuts across budgetary categories, industry sectors, national film cultures, and media, Merchants of Menace also promises to expand understandings of the economics of cinema generally. Covering 1930-present, this groundbreaking collection boasts fourteen original chapters from world-leading experts taking as their focus such diverse topics as early zombie pictures, post-WWII chillers, Civil Rights-Era marketing, Hollywood literary adaptations, Australian exploitation, "torture-porn" Auteurs, and twenty-first-century remakes.
