Crowds, power, and transformation in cinema / Lesley Brill.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brill, Lesley, 1943-

Series:

Contemporary Approaches to Film and Media Series

Contemporary approaches to film and television series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Crowds in motion pictures.

Power (Social sciences).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (293 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Detroit : Wayne State University Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A noted critic brings crowd theory to Film Studies, offering a bold new analysis of the pervasive cinematic themes of transformation and power. From Intolerance to The Silence of the Lambs, motion pictures show crowds and power in complex, usually antagonistic, relationships. Key to understanding this opposition is an intrinsic capability of the cinema: transformation. Making unprecedented use of Elias Canetti's Crowds and Power, Lesley Brill explores crowds, power, and transformation throughout film history. The formation of crowds together with crowd symbols and representations of power create complex, unifying structures in two early masterpieces, The Battleship Potemkin and Intolerance. In Throne of Blood, power-seekers become increasingly isolated, while the crowd of the dead seduces and overwhelms the living. The conflict between crowds and power in Citizen Kane takes place both within the protagonist and between him and the people he tries to master. North by Northwest, Killer of Sheep, and The Silence of the Lambs are rich in hunting and predation and show the crowd as a pack; transformation-true, false, and failed-is the key to both attack and escape. Brill's study provides original insights into canonical movies and shows anew the central importance of transformation in film. Film theorists, critics, and historians will value this fresh and intriguing approach to film classics, which also has much to say about cinema itself and its unique relationship to mass audiences.

Contents:

""Cover""; ""Contents""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Preface""; ""Introduction""; ""Part I. Power versus Crowds""; ""1. Crowds and Power in Two Silent Films: Eisenstein�s: The Battleship Potemkin and Griffith�s Intolerance""; ""2. The Comedic Crowds of Preston Sturges""; ""3. The Deceitful Dead and the Triumph of Nothing: Kurosawa�s: Throne of Blood""; ""4. Crowds, Isolation, and Transformation in Welles�s: Citizen Kane""; ""Part II. Predation versus Transformation""; ""5. Packs, Predators, and Love in Hitchcock�s: North by Northwest""

""6. “Boundaries, Burdens, and Stings�: Living as Prey in Burnett�s: Killer of Sheep""""7. Changing Places: Predation, Transformation, and Identity in Demme�s: The Silence of the Lambs""; ""Concluding Thoughts""; ""Afterword: On Crowds and Power""; ""Appendix: Summary of Crowds and Power""; ""Notes""; ""Index""; ""A""; ""B""; ""C""; ""D""; ""E""; ""F""; ""G""; ""H""; ""I""; ""J""; ""K""; ""L""; ""M""; ""N""; ""O""; ""P""; ""R""; ""S""; ""T""; ""U""; ""V""; ""W""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 259-271) and index.

ISBN:

9780814337363

0814337368

OCLC:

607614952