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Screen Interiors

From Country Houses to Cosmic Heterotopias

Pat Kirkham editor Sarah A Lichtman editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:6th May '21

Should be back in stock very soon

Screen Interiors cover

This book offers a comprehensive exploration of film design, examining how interiors shape narratives and identities across various cinematic styles. Screen Interiors provides innovative insights.

Exploring the intricate relationship between film design and narrative, Screen Interiors delves into a diverse range of topics, from Hollywood productions to Soviet cinema. This collection of essays examines how interiors and objects in film and television have evolved from the early 1900s to the present day. The authors analyze the ways in which interior design can enhance action sequences, create tension, and serve as a backdrop for character development, ultimately shaping audience perceptions and identities.

The book presents case studies that highlight the contrasts between interior and exterior design, emphasizing the interconnectedness of production design and storytelling. By focusing on themes such as class, sexuality, and identity, Screen Interiors offers a comprehensive view of how designed spaces influence and reflect societal norms. Films like Twilight of a Woman’s Soul (1913), The Servant (1963), Caravaggio (1986), and Passengers (2016) are examined to illustrate these concepts, providing readers with a rich tapestry of visual examples.

Illustrated with film stills throughout, Screen Interiors showcases various methodological approaches to studying film and design history. It brings together cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, making it an essential resource for anyone interested in the intricate dynamics of film interiors and their impact on narrative and character development.

In this stellar collection of essays, both scholarly and entertaining ... [Screen Interiors] offer[s] a variety of methodological approaches to the interpretation of set designs and interior spaces created for film and television productions. The contributions highlight the complex ways in which interiors contribute to meaning in works of cinematic art spanning the period from early twentieth century silent films to the 2010s. * Design and Culture *
This engaging and highly readable collection is the most comprehensive and scholarly exploration of the subject available, but it reads like a lively conversation among friends. From broad cultural themes to minute details, the essays included here answer myriad questions about how interiors, props, and visual cues shape our reactions to on-screen stories and images. An indispensable resource for anyone who has ever wondered how movies and TV shows are made and why they matter so much to us, this book is both a remarkable achievement and a delight to read. -- Alice Friedman, Glace Slack McNeil Professor of American Art, Wellesley College, USA
Innovative and exciting—fascinating topics, new research, wide-ranging approaches, and fresh interpretations, marshalled with sophisticated editorial expertise. Screen Interiors is a much needed cross-disciplinary intervention that stakes out new ground in studies of film, television, and design. -- Catherine Whalen, Associate Professor, American Material Culture Studies, Bard Graduate Center, USA
Screen Interiors is a milestone in the literature on production design for film and television. Exploring how moving-image interiors reveal the inner lives of protagonists, the book offers multiple perspectives on a wide range of genres, countries, and time periods and investigates social themes such as gender, class, and sexuality. The book contributes insightful perspectives on popular films and their makers, while shedding light on productions and people. Equally valuable is the book’s concise history of production design and its historiography. -- Donald Albrecht, Independent Curator, USA

ISBN: 9781350150584

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 730g

368 pages