Surrealism and Film After 1945 - by Kristoffer Noheden & Abigail Susik (Hardcover)

About the Book

Surrealism and Film after 1945 is the first collection devoted to the vibrant culture of transnational surrealist cinema since the Second World War. Eleven chapters by leading and emerging scholars of surrealism and film studies establish the parameters of this history and situate surrealism as a major force in postwar cinema.

Book Synopsis

This is the first volume to focus on the diverse permutations of international surrealist cinema after the canonical interwar period. The collection features eleven original contributions by prominent scholars such as Tom Gunning, Michael Löwy, Gavin Parkinson and Michael Richardson, alongside other leading and emerging researchers. An introductory chapter offers a historical overview as well as a theoretical framework for specific methodological approaches. The collection demonstrates that renowned figures such as Leonora Carrington, Maya Deren, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Jan Svankmajer took part in shaping a vibrant and distinctive surrealist film culture following the Second World War. Addressing highly influential films and directors related to international surrealism during the second half of the twentieth century, it expands the purview of both surrealism and film studies by situating surrealism as a major force in postwar cinema.

From the Back Cover

'In this major contribution to the burgeoning canon of interdisciplinary critical work in surrealism studies, Noheden and Susik have gathered together exciting new essays by leading scholars in the field, offering analyses of key films and directors which will recalibrate our understanding of post-war developments in surrealism and its cinematic expressions.'
Patricia Allmer, author of Lee Miller: Photography, Surrealism, and Beyond

'Surrealism and film after 1945 makes a compelling case for post-1945 as truly the movement's "age of cinema" and a golden one at that. Sharpening our understanding of surrealist engagements with cinema and cinematic engagements with surrealism, the essays in this collection provide a wondrous set of "enchanted wanderings" through postwar cinema, film culture, and aesthetics.'
James Leo Cahill, author of Zoological Surrealism: The Nonhuman Cinema of Jean Painlevé

Interest in the surrealist movement is stronger than ever, but surrealist film is still little studied compared to art and literature. Looking beyond the canonical period of the 1920s and 1930s, this volume breaks new ground by situating surrealism as a major force in postwar cinema.

The book presents new analyses of renowned figures such as Leonora Carrington, Maya Deren, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Jan Svankmajer, showing how these artists helped to shape a vibrant and distinctive surrealist film culture. In doing so, it expands the scope of both surrealism and film studies, while demonstrating the benefits of an interdisciplinary approach that looks to art, literature, and ideas. Challenging predominant narratives about the attributes of surrealist film, the book will be of interest to students and scholars of art history and film, as well as a broader audience of curators, film programmers, and art aficionados.

Review Quotes

Selected as an August 2022 Choice Top 75 Community College Title

'This collection is a labor of love by a group of scholars. Noheden and Susik chose the essays well: all are informative and well-written... The collection amply proves the thesis - that in the post-1945 period surrealism was alive and kicking and its influence on later filmmakers cannot be doubted.'
W. A. Vincent, Choice Reviews. All rights reserved. Copyright by the American Library Association.

'In this major contribution to the burgeoning canon of interdisciplinary critical work in surrealism studies, Noheden and Susik have gathered together exciting new essays by leading scholars in the field, offering detailed historical and theoretical analyses of key films and directors which will wholly recalibrate our understanding of post-war developments in surrealism and its cinematic expressions.'
Patricia Allmer, author of Lee Miller: Photography, Surrealism, and Beyond

'The marvellous essays in Noheden and Susik's Surrealism and film after 1945 make a compelling case for post-1945 as truly the movement's "age of cinema" and a golden one at that. Sharpening our understanding of surrealist engagements with cinema and cinematic engagements with surrealism while inviting us to go expansively beyond the commonly understood historic and geographic boundaries, the essays in this collection provide a wondrous set of "enchanted wanderings" through postwar cinema, film culture and aesthetics. I am equally excited by what this collection accomplishes - in terms of a richer sense of the place(s) of surrealism in cinema's modern era and its global nature - as I am by the new inquiries and itineraries it will surely inspire.'
James Leo Cahill, author of Zoological Surrealism: The Nonhuman Cinema of Jean Painlevé

About the Author

Kristoffer Noheden is Reader in Cinema Studies at Stockholm University
Abigail Susik is Joint Series Editor of the Bloomsbury Transnational Surrealism Book Series