Wagner and Cinema [Paperback]

Sander L. Gilman (Editor), Jeongwon Joe (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 26, 2010

The work of Richard Wagner is a continuing source of artistic inspiration and ideological controversy in literature, philosophy, and music, as well as cinema. In Wagner and Cinema, a diverse group of established and emerging scholars examines Wagner's influence on cinema from the silent era to the present. The essays in this collection engage in a critical dialogue with existing studies—extending and renovating current theories related to the topic—and propose unexplored topics and new methodological perspectives. The contributors discuss films ranging from the 1913 biopic of Wagner to Ridley Scott's Gladiator, with essays on silent cinema, film scoring, Wagner in Hollywood, German cinema, and Wagner beyond the soundtrack.

(2010)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Timely, relevant, and absolutely central to what is going on in so many fields. The editors have done a terrific job in bringing together not only the most appropriate but also the most stimulating and exciting of contributors." —Linda Hutcheon, author of A Theory of Adaptation

(Linda Hutcheon, author of A Theory of Adaptation 2010)

"The essays in this collection engage in a critical dialogue with existing studies—extending and renovating current theories related to the topic—and propose unexplored topics and new methodological perspectives." —Camero-Stylo, March 01, 2010

(Camero-Stylo )

Each contributor to this collection brings a unique perspective on Wagner's influences on cinema. Some of the essays suggest that given his vision of Gesamtkunstwerk (synthesis of the arts), the maestro would have been more comfortable in the modern age as a movie producer/director than as a composer/director of opera. Maybe or maybe not, but Wagner's influence on cinema was certainly profound; his work inspired filmmakers and score composers from cinema's earliest years and continues to inspire today. Joe (musicology, Univ. of Cincinnati) and Gilman (liberal arts and sciences, Emory Univ.) divide the essays into five thematic parts: 'Wagner and the Silent Fil'"; 'Wagnerian Resonance in Film Scoring,' which examines specific composers, e.g., Max Steiner and Franz Waxman; 'Wagner in Hollywood,' which considers implicit/explicit use of Wagner's music in Hollywood productions; 'Wagner in German Cinema,' which treats the composer's ideological presence in new German cinema of such directors as Werner Herzog and Alexander Kluge; and 'Wagner beyond the Sound Track,' which looks at Wagner's impact on the aesthetics of cinema, film noir in particular. A useful resource for serious students of film, theater, and/or music, the book includes numerous photos, and helpful music notation enhances the text. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. --Choice A. C. Shahriari, Kent State University, December 2010

(A. C. Shahriari, Kent State University )

"A useful resource for serious students of film, theater, and/or music, the book includes numerous photos, and helpful music notation enhances the text.... Recommended." —Choice

(Choice )

"[T]he book... present[s] the reader with a strong and very varied attempt to discuss the relation between Wagner, opera and cinema and includes a vast array of densely detailed information covering large historical periods in many of its well-written essays." —Screening the Past, Issue 29

(Screening the Past )

"Wagner & Cinema provides a comprehensive discussion of its subject... [I]t offers an excellent introduction for scholars interested in Wagner's influence on film and offers a starting point for future studies." —German Studies Review, 34/2 (2011)

(German Studies Review )

About the Author

Jeongwon Joe is Associate Professor of Musicology at the University of Cincinnati. She is editor of Between Opera and Cinema (with Rose Theresa) and has published articles on Milos Forman's Amadeus, Philip Glass's La Belle et la Bête, David Lynch's Blue Velvet, Gérard Corbiau's Farinelli, and other works related to opera and film music.

Sander L. Gilman is Distinguished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sciences at Emory University. He is author of Fat: A Cultural History of Obesity; Multiculturalism and the Jews; Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic Surgery; Freud, Race, and Gender; and Jewish Self-Hatred: Anti-Semitism and the Hidden Language of the Jews.

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (February 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253221633
• ISBN-13: 978-0253221636
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,130,970 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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