“This is an impressively informative treatment of five prominent gay directors who represent a wide range of differences within the gay spectrum. Levy’s background in gay cinema, independent cinema, and traditional Hollywood cinema make him the ideal author for this significant and original study.”
—Molly Haskell, film critic and author of “Frankly, My Dear: Gone with the Wind Revisited”
“In a nuanced examination of five pioneering gay directors, Emanuel Levy moves with fluid grace and astonishing erudition through a broad range of national traditions and personal styles, nailing what is peculiar and intriguing about each auteur. His study will enchant anyone interested in the twists and turns of gender, sex, and cinema over the last 50 years.”
—Thomas Doherty, author of “Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939”
About the Book:
For most of the twentieth century, gay characters and gay themes were both underrepresented and misrepresented in mainstream
cinema. Since the 1970s, however, a new generation of openly gay directors has turned the closet inside out, bringing a new and poignant immediacy to modern cinema and popular culture.
Combining his experienced critique with in-depth interviews conducted with each director, Emanuel Levy draws a clear timeline
of gay filmmaking over the past four decades and its particular influences and innovations. While recognizing the “queering” of
American culture that resulted from these films, Levy also takes stock of the ensuing conservative backlash and its impact on
cinematic art, a trend that continues alongside the growing acceptance of homosexuality.
He compares the similarities and differences between the “North American” attitudes of Todd Haynes, Gus Van Sant, and John Waters and the “European” perspectives of Pedro Almodóvar and Terence Davies, developing a truly comprehensive, up-to-date approach to gay filmmaking in particular and auteur cinema in general.
COLUMBIA
August 2015 392 pages · 33 b&w photographs
$25.00/£17.50 paper · 978-0-231-15277-8
$35.00/£24.00 cloth · 978-0-231-15276-1
Emanuel Levy is a professor of film and sociology, who has taught at Columbia University, Wellesley College, ASU, UCLA, and
New York University. He is the author of nine books, including Vincente Minnelli: Hollywood’s Dark Dreamer; All About Oscar: The
History and Politics of the Academy Awards; Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film; George Cukor: Master
of Elegance; John Wayne: Prophet of the American Way of Life; and Citizen Sarris: American Film Critic.
A two-time president of the L.A. Film Critics Association, Levy is the only critic in the U.S. who votes for seven groups, ranging from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to the National Society of Film Critics. He had served as senior critic for Variety and chief film critic for Screen International before founding in 2003 the acclaimed website: www.emanuellevy.com: Cinema 24/7. He has served on the grand juries of fifty-four international film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Montreal, Locarno, Taormina, San Francisco, Hawaii and Sundance.
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