A Spanish Labyrinth: The Films of Pedro Almodóvar

by Mark Allinson

Overview

AlmodOvar is Spain's most successful and controversial director, representing a unique blend of art-house auteur and popular film-maker. His films, with their mix of Hollywood and European styles and of popular melodrama and comedy, have been attracting growing international audiences since the success of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. A Spanish Labyrinth is a much needed, clear, and comprehensive introduction to the films of AlmodOvar, investigating the cultural and national contexts for his work, issues of gender, sexuality, stars, genre, visual style, music, and much more. It is the ideal companion to AlmodOvar for students of film and Hispanic Studies, as well as those generally interested in film and Spanish culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781860645075
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/18/2001
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.57(d)

About the Author

Mark Allinson lectures in the Department of Hispanic Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Context
• Biographical Details, Persona and Self-Publicity
• Cultural Social Context of Work 1978-1998
• Production Conditions and Values
• Part 2: Content
• Gender
• Sexuality
• Social Structures
• National Identity
• Part 3: Construction
• Actors, Actresses and a "Star System"
• Madrid and Spain as Cinematic and Socio-Cultural Spaces
• Genre
• Visual Style (Kitsch, Design, Realism)
• Performance, Music and Songs
• Parody, Metacinema and the Media

Editorial Reviews

The work as a whole is exceptional, taking novice and scholar alike through the intricacies of man and work...
-British Bulletin of Publications

From the Publisher