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OverviewThe most comprehensive reference text of theoretical and historical discourse on the biopic film The biopic, often viewed as the most reviled of all film genres, traces its origins to the early silent era over a century ago. Receiving little critical attention, biopics are regularly dismissed as superficial, formulaic, and disrespectful of history. Film critics, literary scholars and historians tend to believe that biopics should be artistic, yet accurate, true-to-life representations of their subjects. Moviegoing audiences, however, do not seem to hold similar views; biopics continue to be popular, commercially viable films. Even the genre’s most ardent detractors will admit that these films are often very watchable, particularly due to the performance of the lead actor. It is increasingly common for stars of biographical films to garner critical praise and awards, driving a growing interest in scholarship in the genre. A Companion to the Biopic is the first global and authoritative reference on the subject. Offering theoretical, historical, thematic, and performance-based approaches, this unique volume brings together the work of top scholars to discuss the coverage of the lives of authors, politicians, royalty, criminals, and pop stars through the biopic film. Chapters explore evolving attitudes and divergent perspectives on the genre with topics such as the connections between biopics and literary melodramas, the influence financial concerns have on aesthetic, social, or moral principles, the merger of historical narratives with Hollywood biographies, stereotypes and criticisms of the biopic genre, and more. This volume: Provides a systematic, in-depth analysis of the biopic and considers how the choice of historical subject reflects contemporary issues Places emphasis on films that portray race and gender issues Explores the uneven boundaries of the genre by addressing what is and is not a biopic as well as the ways in which films simultaneously embrace and defy historical authenticity Examines the distinction between reality and ‘the real’ in biographical films Offers a chronological survey of biopics from the beginning of the 20th century A Companion to the Biopic is a valuable resource for researchers, scholars, and students of history, film studies, and English literature, as well as those in disciplines that examine interpretations of historical figures Full Product DetailsAuthor: Deborah Cartmell (De Montford University, UK) , Ashley D. PolasekPublisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd Imprint: Wiley-Blackwell Dimensions: Width: 17.50cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 24.60cm Weight: 0.953kg ISBN: 9781119554813ISBN 10: 1119554810 Pages: 464 Publication Date: 30 December 2019 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Out of stock  The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available. Table of ContentsList of Contributors ix Acknowledgements xiii List of Figures xv 1 Introduction 1 Deborah Cartmell and Ashley D. Polasek Part I Approaches 11 2 Biopics and the Trembling Ethics of the Real 13 Timothy Corrigan 3 Biopics and the Melodramatic Mode 23 Sonia Amalia Haiduc 4 Television Biopics: Questions of Genre, Nation, and Medium 45 Jonathan Bignell 5 Alexander Mackendrick’s Mary Stuart and Alan Sharp’s Burns: Two Unfilmed Scottish Biopics 61 Brian Hoyle Part II Histories 87 6 The Hollywood Biopic of the Twentieth Century: A History 89 Deborah Cartmell 7 Silent Biopics 103 Gregory Robinson 8 A Match Made in Heaven?: The Biopic in Pre‐Revolution Russian Cinema 125 Henrik Christensen 9 The Golden Age Hollywood Biopic: The Barretts of Wimpole Street 1934–1957 147 Deborah Cartmell 10 Caligula, History, and the Erotic Imagination 159 I.Q. Hunter 11 Representing the Unrepresentable: The Army of Crime and Biopic Generic Conventions of Identity 191 Hila Shachar 12 Nature Versus Nurture/Wilderness Versus Words: Syncretising Binaries and the Getting of Wisdom in Sean Penn’s Into the Wild (2007) 209 Melissa Croteau Part III Sub‐biopic Genres 231 13 Fleming, Adaptation, and the Author Biopic 233 Jeremy Strong 14 Partial Presidential Biography on Stage and Screen: Franklin D. Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello 247 Dean J. Kotlowski 15 Can the Biopic Subjects Speak?: Disembodied Voices in The King’s Speech and The Theory of Everything 269 Alexa Alice Joubin 16 Biographical Fantasia on Screen: Derek Jarman’s Wittgenstein, Karol Radziszewski’s MS 101, and the Strategy of Detournement 283 Robert Kusek 17 The Criminal and the Yarn: Adapting and Performing Notoriety 297 Imelda Whelehan 18 ‘The Man Behind the Myth’: Mr. Holmes and the Fictional Biopic 309 Ashley D. Polasek Part IV Biopic Performances 331 19 ‘She was an actress …’: Performing Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady 333 Christine Geraghty 20 Film (Noir) à Clef: Jailhouse Rock, A Hard Day’s Night, and the ‘Jukebox’ Biopic 353 Robert Miklitsch 21 A Recipe for Life: Constructing the Biopic through New Media 375 Annie Nissen 22 Performance and Prestige in the Biopic, or Stardom and Statuettes 395 Colleen Kennedy‐Karpat 23 The Matter of Black Lives: Representations of Prominent Afro‐Americans in Biopics 415 Lucinda Hobbs Index 435ReviewsAuthor InformationDEBORAH CARTMELL is Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor, Director of the Centre for Adaptations, and Professor of English at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. She is founding editor of two journals, Shakespeare and Adaptation, and founder and first Chair of the Association of Adaptation Studies. She is series editor of the Bloomsbury Adaptation Histories. ASHLEY D. POLASEK is Instructor of English at Tri-County Technical College, Pendleton, South Carolina, USA, and Honorary Research Fellow of the Centre for Adaptations at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. She is a member of the Association of Adaptation Studies, The Literature/Film Association, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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