Spanish Cinema

Summary

From the surrealist films of Luis Buñuel to the colourful melodramas of Pedro Almodóvar, Spain has produced a wealth of exciting and distinctive film-makers who have consistently provided a condoning or dissenting eye on Spanish history and culture.

For modern cinema-goers, it has often been the sexually-charged and colourful nature of many contemporary Spanish films, which has made them popular world-wide and led directors and stars such as Almodóvar, Banderas and Penélope Cruz to be welcomed by Hollywood.

Using original interview material with Spanish Cinema luminaries such as Carlos Saura, Julio Medem, Imanol Uribe and Elías Querejeta, Rob Stone charts a history of Spanish Cinema throughout the turbulent Francoist years and beyond. The book aims to provide a broad introduction to Spanish Cinema, the nine chapters divided into four types:

• chapters on Spanish Cinema during the Dictatorship and following the transition to democracy survey current debate and opinion while tracing the development of themes and film movements throughout those periods.
• chapters on early Spanish cinema and Basque cinema present vital and fascinating aspects of Spanish cinema that have previously been ignored
• chapters on childhood in Spanish cinema, and sex and the new star system offer new pathways into the study of Spanish cinema
• chapters on Carlos Saura, Elías Querejeta and Julio Medem offer specific case studies of film-makers who are emblematic of different periods in Spanish cinema and, indeed, Spanish history

As with other titles in the Inside Film series, the book is comprehensively illustrated with representative stills and has a thorough bibliography, index and list of resources.

Table of Contents

1. By way of Elias Querejeta: An overview of Spanish cinema  2. Leaving the church: early Spanish cinema  3. Under Franco: Spanish cinema during the dictatorship  4. Another reality: Carlos Saura  5. Spirits and secrets: four films about childhood  6. Over Franco: Spanish cinema in transition  7. An independent style: Basque cinema and Imanol Uribe  8. Projections of desire: Julio Medem  9. Seeing stars: Banderas, Abril, Bardem, Cruz  Further Reading  Bibliography  Index