Italian Cinema and Modern European Literatures: 1945-2000 / Edition 1

by Carlo Testa

Overview

The history of cinema, and notably that of post-war Italian cinema, can only be understood adequately in the context of other contiguous cultural disciplines. World literature, including that of France, Germany, and Russia, played a key role in the development of post-war Italian film and the cinematic technique it has come to embody. Moving away from the usual modes of defining this period—a trajectory that begins with neorealism and ends with Bertolucci—author Carlo Testa offers proof that coming to terms with literary texts is an essential step toward understanding the motion pictures they influenced.

The means of recreating literature for the screen has changed drastically over the last half-century, as has the impact of different national traditions on Italian cinema. Testa's work is the first to explicitly and deliberately link postwar Italian cinema to general intellectual concerns such as the relationship between literary authors and cinematic auteurs. Moreover, his analysis of the impact of French, German, and Russian cultures on Italy brings forth a new reading of Italian cinema, a new paradigm for exploring complex issues of authorship, culture, and art.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275975227
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/30/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)
Lexile:	1370L (what's this?)

About the Author

CARLO TESTA is an Associate Professor of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies at the University of British Columbia, where he also teaches comparative literature. He is the author of Desire and the Devil.

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Cold War (1945-1956)
The Economic Miracle (1956-1963)
Democratization and Conflict (1963-1973)
Global Trends, Local Crises (1973-1982)
Socialism Privatized: Just Fill Up the Cart (1982-1989)
Italy in Europe: Opportunities Found and Lost (1989-2001)
Conclusion
Filmography
Works Cited
Index

Editorial Reviews

Saving discussions on parallels between specific films and works of literature for his forthcoming , Testa (French, Hispanic, and Italian studies, U. of British Columbia) here contemplates diagonal contexts, in which ideas are transmitted not in a straight line from one work or genre to another, but at an angle of some sort. He points out that cinema has no direct ancestors. Other angles he identifies are between Italian film and European literature, the relationship of cinema to other historical series, and the specific individual and external conditions that inform the reformation of one particular work to another. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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