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The New Neapolitan Cinema

Alex Marlow-Mann author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Edinburgh University Press

Published:1st Feb '11

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The New Neapolitan Cinema cover

Vito and the Others (1991), Death of a Neapolitan Mathematician (1992) and Libera (1993), the debuts of three young Neapolitan filmmakers, stood out dramatically from the landscape of Italian cinema in the early 1990s. On the back of their critical success, over the next decade and a half, Naples became a thriving centre for film production. In this first study in English of one of the most vital and stimulating currents in contemporary European Cinema, Alex Marlow-Mann provides a detailed, multi-faceted and provocative study of this distinct regional tradition. In tracing the movement's relationship with the popular musical melodramas previously produced in Naples, he reveals how contemporary Neapolitan filmmakers have interrogated, subverted and reconfigured cinematic convention as part of a through-going re-examination of Neapolitan identity. Key features include: analyses of over 45 contemporary Italian films, including Paolo Sorrentino's The Consequences of Love, Mario Martone's L'amore molesto, Antonio Capuano's Pianese Nunzio: 14 in May and Vincenzo Marra's Sailing Home; a theoretical discussion of the concept of regional cinema; an examination of the movement in its broader context as both product and critique of Mayor Bassolino's 'Neapolitan Renaissance'; and a study of one European film industry in terms of legislation, production, distribution and exhibition.

This superbly researched volume provides a wealth of information on the recent renaissance of filmmaking in Naples, considered in its broader cultural context. Not only does the author build a persuasive analysis of this body of films, but he also offers crucial insights into the conditions of their production. -- Aine O'Healy, Loyola Marymount University An exemplary piece of scholarship, marshalling a wealth of factual information and an intimate knowledge of a broad range of films, many of which are largely unfamiliar to English language audiences. The book's analysis of cinema's role in the construction of identity is steeped in film history and is a rewarding and original comment on the culture of which the New Neapolitan Cinema forms a highly valuable part. -- Dr Louis Bayman, Kings College London Viewfinder This superbly researched volume provides a wealth of information on the recent renaissance of filmmaking in Naples, considered in its broader cultural context. Not only does the author build a persuasive analysis of this body of films, but he also offers crucial insights into the conditions of their production. An exemplary piece of scholarship, marshalling a wealth of factual information and an intimate knowledge of a broad range of films, many of which are largely unfamiliar to English language audiences. The book's analysis of cinema's role in the construction of identity is steeped in film history and is a rewarding and original comment on the culture of which the New Neapolitan Cinema forms a highly valuable part.

ISBN: 9780748640669

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 539g

256 pages