The Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema covers the history of the Nordic countries through a chronology, introductory essays on each country, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 400 cross-referenced entries on major persons and films, pan-Sc...

Despite surrealism's celebration of the subconscious and eschewal of reason, the movement was nevertheless concerned with definitions. Andre Breton included a dictionary-style entry for surrealisme in his 1924 Manifeste du surrealisme and later explored juxtapositions of the absurd and the mundane in the 1938 Dictionnaire abrege du surrealisme. To the mountain of literature that seeks to organize the far-reaching intellectual movement, Aspley (honorary fellow, Univ. of Edinburgh) adds this handy volume that organizes the breadth of surrealism into concise entries on artists, writers, artworks, and themes. A chronology highlights events that sparked the surrealist imagination, activities of formal surrealist groups, and exhibitions. An introductory essay and extensive bibliography are included. One of the few English-language reference sources about surrealism published in the last decade, Aspley's dictionary is useful for quick access to key terms and biographies. For a book devoted to a movement characterized by arresting visual imagery, the lack of illustrations is annoying. Even Rene Passeron's 1978 Phaidon Encyclopedia of Surrealism (CH, May'79) reprints artworks in color. For a richly illustrated and comprehensive history, see Gerard Durozi's History of the Surrealist Movement (CH, Nov'02, 40-1316). Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through graduate students. Lower-division Undergraduates; Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students. Reviewed by A. H. Simmons.

Horror is one of the most enduring and controversial of all cinematic genres. Horror films range from subtle and poetic to graphic and gory, but what links them together is their ability to frighten, disturb, shock, provoke, delight, irritate, and amuse audiences. Horror’s capacity to take the form of our evolving fears and anxieties has ensured not only its notoriety but also its long-term survival and international popularity. This second edition has been comprehensively updated to capture all that is important and exciting about the horror genre as it exists today. Its new entries feature the creative personalities who have developed innovative forms of horror, and recent major films and cycles of films that ensure horror’s continuing popularity and significance. In addition, many of the other entries have been expanded to include reference to the contemporary scene, giving a clear picture of how horror cinema is constantly renewing and transforming itself. The Historical Dictionary of Horror Cinema traces the development of the genre from its beginnings to the present. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries. The entries cover all major movie villains, including Frankenstein and his monsters, the vampire, the werewolf, the mummy, the zombie, the ghost and the serial killer; film directors, producers, writers, actors, cinematographers, make-up artists, special-effects technicians, and composers who have helped shape horror history; significant production companies; major films that are milestones in the development of the horror genre; and different national traditions in horror cinema – as well as popular themes, formats, conventions, and cycles.

From capsule descriptions/assessments of individual feature films to extended essays on areas such as Irish animation, short film, experimental film and documentary production along with discussion of a wide range of key creative and administrative personnel, the Dictionary combines a breath of existing scholarship with extensive new information and research carried out especially for this volume. It is the definitive guide to Irish cinema in the 21st century. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Irish Cinema contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on key Irish actors, directors, producers and other personnel from over a century of Irish film history. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Irish Cinema.

Historical Dictionary of Spanish Cinema covers Spanish cinema, its treasures its constant attempts to break through internationally, reaching out towards universal themes and conventions, and the specific obstacles and opportunities that have shaped the careers of filmmakers and stars. This book contains a chronology, an introduction, an appendix and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 200 cross-referenced entries on titles, movements, filmmakers and performers, and genres (such as homosexuality, nuevo cine español or horror). This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Spanish cinema.

One of the most powerful forces in world culture, American cinema has a long and complex history that stretches through more than a century. This history not only includes a legacy of hundreds of important films but also the evolution of the film industry itself, which is in many ways a microcosm of the history of American society. Historical Dictionary of American Cinema, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 600 cross-referenced entries covering people, films, companies, techniques, themes, and subgenres that have made American cinema such a vital part of world culture.

Italian cinema is now regarded as one of the great cinemas of the world. Historically, however, its fortunes have varied. Following a brief moment of glory in the early silent era, Italian cinema appeared to descend almost into irrelevance in the early1920s. A strong revival of the industry which gathered pace during the 1930s was abruptly truncated by the advent of World War II. The end of the war, however, initiated a renewal as films such as Roma città aperta (Rome Open City), Sciuscià (Shoeshine, 1946), and Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves, 1948), flagbearers of what soon came to be known as Neorealism, attracted unprecedented international acclaim and a reputation that only continued to grow in the following years as Italian films were feted worldwide. Ironically, they were celebrated nowhere more than in the United States, where Italian films consistently garnered the lion's share of the Oscars, with Lina Wertmüller becoming the first woman to ever be nominated for the Best Director award. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 400 cross-referenced entries on major movements, directors, actors, actresses, film genres, producers, industry organizations and key films. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Italian Cinema.

Hong Kong cinema began attracting international attention in the 1980s. By the early 1990s, Hong Kong had become "Hollywood East" as its film industry rose to first in the world in per capita production, was ranked second to the United States in the number of films it exported, and stood third in the world in the number of films produced per year behind the United States and India. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Hong Kong Cinema contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on directors, producers, writers, actors, films, film companies, genres, and terminology. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Hong Kong cinema.

In the years since Georges Méliès’s Le voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon) was released in 1902, more than 1000 science fiction films have been made by filmmakers around the world. The versatility of science fiction cinema has allowed it to expand into a variety of different markets, appealing to age groups from small children to adults. The technical advances in filmmaking technology have enabled a new sophistication in visual effects. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Cinema contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 400 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, films, companies, techniques, themes, and subgenres. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about science fiction cinema.

To a substantial degree cinema has served to define the perceived character of the peoples and nations of the Middle East. This book covers the production and exhibition of the cinema of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabi, Yemen, Kuwait, and Bahrain, as well as the non-Arab states of Turkey and Iran, and the Jewish state of Israel. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on individual films, filmmakers, actors, significant historical figures, events, and concepts, and the countries themselves. It also covers the range of cinematic modes from documentary to fiction, representational to animation, generic to experimental, mainstream to avant-garde, and entertainment to propaganda. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Middle Eastern cinema.