Overview

This introduction to American Independent Cinema offers both a comprehensive industrial and economic history of the sector from the early twentieth century to the present and a study of key individual films, filmmakers and film companies. Ordered chronologically, beginning with independent filmmaking in the studio era (examining both top-rank and low-end independent film production), moving to the 1950s and 1960s (discussing both the adoption of independent filmmaking as the main method of production as well as exploitation filmmaking) and finishing with contemporary American independent cinema (exploring areas such as the New Hollywood, the rise of mini-major and major independent companies and the institutionalisation of independent cinema in the 1990s), readers will develop an understanding of the complex dynamic relations between independent and mainstream American cinema. Thoroughly updated to include developments from the mid-2000s onwards, this second edition includes new case studies, a new chapter on American Independent Cinema in the Age of Media Convergence, a new prologue and an enhanced epilogue and bibliography. Each chapter includes case studies focusing on specific films or filmmakers, and independent production and distribution companies are discussed throughout the text.

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9781474416825

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Reviews

"This new edition of Yannis Tzioumakis's invaluable introduction to American independent film charts its trajectory into the New Millennium and the realm of Indiewood, specialty films, and digital cinema. There is simply nothing like this book in terms of its scope, its depth, and its nuanced history of independent filmmaking.--Thomas G. Schatz, University of Austin The second edition of American Independent Cinema rocks! Covering influential films, surveying cultural shifts, and charting industrial changes from the mid-1920s and the studio era to today's digital age of media convergence, AIC is an authoritative, readable, and eminently teachable study of what is now a vast and complicated field.--Chris Holmlund, University of Tennessee-Knoxville The very first sentence of this extremely useful volume admits that American independent cinema is ""a notoriously difficult concept to define."" Fortunately, Tzioumakis (film and media industries, Univ. of Liverpool, UK) devotes the next 300 pages to doing just that--defining, charting, and assessing the history of independent films, filmmakers, and production companies in the US. The book's nine chapters proceed chronologically from the studio era (1920s-40s), when eight dominant companies produced three-fourths of all US feature films, to the 2010s, when new digital filmmaking technologies, the pervasiveness of social media, and new forms of media delivery combined to significantly reinvigorate the scene for independent filmmakers and their audiences. This second edition improves on the first (published 2006) by analyzing these latest developments and by adding three new case studies--bringing the total to 15--from Stagecoach (1939) to Tangerine (2015). Throughout, Tzioumakis writes clearly and concisely, with citations to diverse scholarship, news reports, and trade journals. Perfect for those studying the US film industry, this volume should appeal to those interested in film, media studies, and popular culture.'--J. I. Deutsch, George Washington University ""CHOICE"""

Throughout, Tzioumakis writes clearly and concisely, with citations to diverse scholarship, news reports, and trade journals. Perfect for those studying the US film industry, this volume should appeal to those interested in film, media studies, and popular culture.- -J. I. Deutsch, CHOICE

Author Information

Yannis Tzioumakis is Lecturer in Media and Communication Studies at the University of Liverpool. His research specialises in American independent cinema and the business of media entertainment.

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