Czech and Slovak Cinema - (Traditions in World Cinema) by Peter Hames (Paperback)

About the Book

Examines the key themes and traditions of Czech and Slovak cinema, linking inter-war and post-war cinemas together with developments in the post-Communist period.

Book Synopsis

This book is the first study in English to examine some of the key themes and traditions of Czech and Slovak cinema, linking inter-war and post-war cinemas together with developments in the post-Communist period. It examines links between theme, genre, and visual style, and looks at the ways in which a range of styles and traditions has extended across different historical periods and political regimes. Czech and Slovak Cinema provides a unique study of areas of Central European film history that have not previously been examined in English. Key Features*An overview of the development of the Czech and Slovak industries in the pre-war and post-war periods and their adaptation to privatisation in the 1990s.*A consideration of some of the key stylistic and thematic tendencies, focussing on comedy and lyricism, which are characteristics of all periods.*An examination of the political role of film, with particular emphasis on the period of the Prague Spring.*The continuing influence of the Surrealist tradition in the feature film and on the living tradition of the animated film, with particular reference to puppetry.*An analysis of representations of the Holocaust in films produced during the Communist period and more recently.*A consideration of the defining characteristics of Slovak cinema.The book will be of value to students within the field of Film and Media Studies as well as the general market, together with specialist chapters of interest to other disciplines.

From the Back Cover

Traditions in World Cinema General Editors: Linda Badley and R. Barton Palmer Founding Editor: Steven Jay Schneider This series introduces diverse and fascinating movements in world cinema. Each volume concentrates on a set of films from a different national, regional or, in some cases, cross-cultural cinema which constitute a particular tradition. Czech and Slovak Cinema: Theme and Tradition Peter Hames This is the first study in English to link Czech and Slovak films of the pre- and post-war periods with developments in contemporary cinema. It examines the political and cultural factors - rule by the Habsburg Empire, independence in 1918, Nazi occupation and Soviet domination, and the eighteen years since the 'Velvet Revolution' - that have shaped typical themes and approaches to film making. The main focus is on the different movements and genres that have extended across all historical periods, including comedy, realism, and lyricism. There is a special chapter on holocaust films as well as extended chapters on the historical and political film. The strong tradition in animated film is reconsidered, alongside the continuing impact of the avant-garde and Surrealism. The book examines the work of a wide range of directors, including: the comedies of Martin Fri? in the 1930s and 1940s, the Czech 'New Wave' directors of the 1960s such as Milos Forman, V?ra Chytilová, and Ji?í Menzel, the animated film from Ji?í Trnka and Karel Zeman to Jan Svankmajer, and award-winning contemporary film makers such as Jan Sv?rák and Petr Zelenka. Peter Hames is Honorary Research Associate in Film and Media Studies at Staffordshire University. His books include The Czechoslovak New Wave (second edition, 2005) and, as editor, The Cinema of Central Europe (2004), The Cinema of Jan Svankmajer: Dark Alchemy (second edition, 2008), and Cinemas in Transition (with Catherine Portuges, forthcoming).

Review Quotes

Czech and Slovak Cinema is an invaluable introduction for the novice as well as an extremely useful reference book for advanced research in the area. Hames offers not only a well-balanced overview of important themes, styles, and personalities in Czech and Slovak fi lm but does so in a spirit of good-humored critique that never mistakes hagiography for history or description for analysis.

--David Sorfa, Liverpool John Moores University "Slavic Review"

A comprehensive and exciting look at Czech and Slovak Cinema. it can be interesting and provocative to veterans of the region's cinemas, but it can also benefit students who are new to this topic.--Lilla Töke, Rochester Institute of Technology "Slavonic and East European Review"

A fascinating history of Czechoslovak cinema reveals Czech and Slovak film themes and a discussion of various traditions but it also offers, surprisingly, history seen through the prism of cinema... Innovative and fresh.--Angela Spindler-Brown "British Czech and Slovak Review"

Czech and Slovak Cinema is an invaluable introduction for the novice as well as an extremely useful reference book for advanced research in the area. Hames offers not only a well-balanced overview of important themes, styles, and personalities in Czech and Slovak fi lm but does so in a spirit of good-humored critique that never mistakes hagiography for history or description for analysis.--David Sorfa, Liverpool john Moores University "Slavic Review"

Draws on almost the entire corpus of Czech and Slovak cinema... Essential but formerly marginalised talents such as Jirí Trnka and Karel Zeman now rightly enjoy pride of place in the chapter on animation alongside the inevitable Jan Svankmajer... An invaluable book.--Michael Brooke "Sight and Sound"

Peter Hames's monograph is an extremely important publication, providingguidance to the interested reader through the rich history of Czech andSlovak cinema. It will stimulate interest in the cinemas of East-Central Europe in the English-speaking world, undoubtedly becoming a catalyst for heated discussion, as this review has attempted to demonstrate.--Jan Culik "Studies in East European Cinema"

About the Author

Peter Hames is Honorary Research Associate in Film and Media Studies at Staffordshire University. His books include The Czechoslovak New Wave (second edition, 2005) and, as editor, The Cinema of Central Europe (2004), The Cinema of Jan Svankmajer: Dark Alchemy (second edition, 2008), and Cinemas in Transition (with Catherine Portuges, forthcoming). He has contributed to a wide range of publications, including Sight and Sound, Index on Censorship, Canadian Slavonic Papers, and KinoKultura.