Edinburgh University Press

Brokeback Mountain

Gary Needham

März 2010 · 160 S. · Geb. · 9780748633821 · GBP £ 60,00

Pb · 9780748633838 · GBP £ 14,99

Upon its release in 2005, Brokeback Mountain became a major cultural event and a milestone in independent American filmmaking. Based on the short story by Annie Proulx and directed by Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain situated a love story between two closeted cowboys at the heart of American mythology, film spectatorship and genre. Brokeback Mountain offered an independent and queer revision of the conventions and clichés of the western and the melodrama through a studied exploration of homophobia and the closet. This book examines Brokeback Mountain in relation to indie cinema, genre, spectatorship, editing, and homosexuality. In doing so it brings film studies and queer theory into dialogue with one another and explains the importance of Brokeback Mountain as both a contemporary independent and queer film.

• Offers an overview of Focus Features as a hybrid company that operates across the mainstream and independent cinema sectors
• Examines Brokeback Mountain in relationship to the genres of the western and melodrama
• Positions Brokeback Mountain within the context of gay film spectatorship and queer cinema
• Examines the reception of Brokeback Mountain

Lost in Translation

Geoff King

März 2010 · 160 S. · Geb. · 9780748637454 · GBP £ 60,00

Pb · 9780748637461 · GBP £ 14,99

Elusive, subtle and atmospheric, Lost in Translation was one of the indie hits of 2004, earning widespread critical praise, awards and success at the box office. But what was the basis of its appeal and how exactly is the film marked as a distinctly independent work? From consideration of industrial factors such as funding and release strategy to the role of star performance and formal qualities including its low key narrative structure and impressionistic use of visual imagery and sound, this book – written by a leading authority on American indie film – provides an in-depth analysis of the balance of more and less mainstream qualities offered by the film, from one of the leading authorities on recent and contemporary American independent cinema.

• Includes discussions of star performance and formal aspects of the film
• Considers the effect os industrial factors such as funding and release strategy