The cinematography of Roger Corman : exploitation filmaker or auteur? / Pawel Aleksandrowicz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Aleksandrowicz, Pawel, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nonsense literature, English.

Corman, Roger, 1926-2024--Criticism and interpretation.

Corman, Roger.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (216 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England : Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016.

Summary:

Roger Corman is an ambiguous artistic figure. On the one hand, he is notorious for shooting and producing his films quickly, cheaply and with blatant disregard for safety measures, which, together with his ability to issue a dozen new films every year and his impressive filmography, have earned him the titles of "shlockmeister" and "the King of the B's" among film journalists. On the other hand, he became the youngest American director to be given a film retrospective at the prestigious Cinématèque Française in Paris, one of his directorial efforts - House of Usher - was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded him with an Academy Honorary Award "for his rich engendering of films and filmmakers." This book investigates this duality and explores whether Corman is indeed a shlockmeister or an artist whose works are worthy of the highest cinema awards. The scope of analysis is limited to his directorial efforts "only" - still encompassing 50 features - excluding the 400 films he produced. The methodology adopted here is based on the auteur theory in its structuralist version by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith and Peter Wollen, and focuses on three areas of interest: work ethic - personal elements in the films, personal control over and commitment to the production process outside direction; themes - topics and concerns common for many of the films regardless of the genre; and style - recurring stylistic motifs and elements in the camerawork, editing, and framing.

Contents:

Intro

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter One

1. Introduction

2. The auteur theory

3. Exploitation cinema

4. Exploitation filmmakers as auteurs?

Chapter Two

2. Corman's filmmaking career

3. Corman's production process

3.1. Choosing and financing a film idea

3.2. Scriptwriting

3.3. Casting

3.4. Direction

3.5. Post-production

4. Conclusion

Chapter Three

1. Fads as exploitable topics

1.1. Rock and roll

1.2. Reincarnation

1.3. Royal jelly cosmetics

1.4. Summary

2. Exploitation and genre

2.1. Science-fiction films

2.2. Teen film (juvenile delinquency)

2.3. The gangster film

2.4 Summary

3. "Deep" exploitation

3.1. Racial desegregation

3.2. Counterculture

3.3. Summary

Chapter Four

2. Female empowerment

3. Outsider protagonist

4. Gothic horror

4.1. Poe's motifs

4.2. Freudian motifs

4.3. Corman's motifs

5. Conclusion

Chapter Five

1. Early films, 1955-1958

2. Mature style

2.1. Movement

2.2. Deep shot

2.3. Ambience, symbolism and expressionism

3. Conclusion

Conclusion

Filmography

Bibliography.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed March 20, 2017).

ISBN:

1-4438-4361-X

OCLC:

964357952