Great Spanish Films Since 1950 Ronald Schwartz 9780810854055

When it began, modern Spanish cinema was under strict censorship, forced to conform to the ideological demands of the Nationalist regime. In 1950, the New Spanish Cinema was born as a protest over General Francisco Franco's policies: a new series of directors and films began to move away from the conformist line to offer a bold brand of Spanish realism. In the 1950s and early 1960s, filmmakers such as Juan Antonio Bardem, Luis Garcia Berlanga, and Luis Bunuel expressed a liberal image of Spain to the world in such films as Muerte de un ciclista (Death of a Cyclist), Bienvenido Senor Marshall (Welcome Mr. Marshall), and Viridiana. The emergence of new directors continued into the sixties and seventies with Carlos Saura, Jose Luis Borau, Victor Erice, and others. After Franco's death in 1975, censorship was abolished and films openly explored such formerly taboo subjects as sexuality, drugs, the church, the army, and the Civil War. The Spanish cinema was no longer escapist and entertaining but, at long last, mirrored the society it depicted. While established directors like Saura, Bardem, and Berlanga continued to produce distinguished work, the "new wave" of Spanish cinema included brilliant films by the likes of Montxo Armendariz (Tasio), Fernando Trueba (First Work), Imanol Uribe (The Death of Mikel), and Pedro Almodovar (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown). In the last couple of decades, exciting works by established filmmakers and newcomers alike continue to be produced, including Alejandro Amenabar's Thesis, Jose Luis Garci's The Grandfather, and Almodovar's Talk to Her and Volver. In Great Spanish Films Since 1950, Ronald Schwartz presents a compendium of outstanding Spanish films from the pre-Francoist era through the Spanish New Wave of the 80's and 90's and into the present day. Schwartz provides background, plot, and commentaries of key films from six decades of Spanish cinema. In addition to identifying

About the Author
Ronald Schwartz is a retired professor of Romance languages (City University of New York). He is the author of several books, including Nomads, Exiles, & Emigres (1980), Spanish Film Directors (1986), Latin American Films, 1932-1994 (2005) and Neo-Noir (2005).

Reviews
A useful addition for the film enthusiast. The author has succeeded in selecting the best of post-war Spanish cinema and offering a highly useful vade mecum for the cinema enthusiast. This volume will surely remain a 'must have' for the fans of European cinema as well as the aficionados of Spanish cinema for the foreseeable future. -- Peter Wellburn * s *
The author has shown good judgment in choosing films and, in the text, he has supplied a wealth of fascinating, readable material on the subject. * American Reference Books Annual, August 2008 *


Awards
Winner of Library Journal Best Reference 2008.



Book Information
ISBN 9780810854055
Author Ronald Schwartz
Format Hardback
Page Count 464
Imprint Scarecrow Press
Publisher Scarecrow Press
Weight(grams) 857g
Dimensions(mm) 242mm * 161mm * 32mm