Masters & Masterpieces of Iranian Cinema (Hardcover)

~ Hamid Dabashi (Author) "SHAHLA LAHIJI WAS HERE IN NEW YORK FOR A FEW DAYS..." (more)
Key Phrases: crimson gold, parabolic realism, psychedelic realism, Masterpieces of Iranian Cinema, The House Is Black, Islamic Republic (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Iran's cinematic evolution, before and after the revolution of 1979, is as rich as any country's; however, despite boasting numerous film awards and international critical acclaim, the country's output remains relatively unknown even to cineastes. "What is Iranian cinema?" is as logical a question as "Why is it underexposed?" This book by Dabashi (Iranian studies & comparative literature, Columbia Univ.) takes the form of a letter to a young filmmaker but eschews the colloquial for a scholarly approach. He chronologically highlights directors, discussing a key work in each person's oeuvre and its place in Iranian and world cinema. Dabashi also explores the development of Iranian cinema objectively and subjectively via the people who created it, without the need for restrictive answers. He considers Iranian cinema representative of a living world cinema and will let "the bored historians of the future worry about its dead certainties." Given its academic approach, Dabashi's book is highly recommended for universities, large public libraries, and those with extensive focuses in film or cultural history." Benjamin D. Malczewski, Ypsilanti Dist. Lib., MI --Library Journal, 1 April 2007

A highly readable narrative ... Dabashi s analysis...make for a complex and witty account. Masters & Masterpieces; should make us review our assumptions next time we view an Iranian film and whet our curiosity as to how contemporary film-makers might take this visual heritage forward. --Sight & Sound Magazine

Product Description

The rise of Iranian cinema to world prominence over the last few decades is one of the most fascinating cultural stories of our time. There is scarcely an international film festival anywhere that does not honor the aesthetic and political explorations of Iranian artists. Masters & Masterpieces of Iranian Cinema celebrates this remarkable emergence. It focuses on twelve of the most important Iranian filmmakers of the past half-century--among them, such pioneers as Forugh Farrokhzad, Dariush Mehrjui, Abbas Kiarostami, and Jafar Panahi. In his examination of their lives and their greatest works, Hamid Dabashi explains how, despite the censorship of both the Pahlavi monarchy and the Islamic Republic, the creativity of these filmmakers has transcended national and cultural borders. His account traces the ascendancy of Iranian cinema in modern Iranian intellectual history and also probes its links to Persian poetry, fiction, art, and philosophy.

In Europe and in North America, in Asia and in Latin America, in Australia and Africa, the thematic and narrative richness of Iranian cinema has met with tremendous acclaim. Indeed, its particular modes of realism--building on such cinematic antecedents as Italian, French and German neorealism--have become truly transnational, contributing a new visual vocabulary to filmmaking everywhere. Masters & Masterpieces of Iranian Cinema studies the role that prominent film festivals have played in fostering the global success of Iranian cinema, and investigates the reception of these films within Iran, an intriguing story in its own right. This is a book that will reward not only the scholar and the film aficionado but also anyone interested in the cultural history of modern Iran.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 456 pages
• Publisher: Mage Publishers (May 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 093421185X
• ISBN-13: 978-0934211857
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,122,101 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)