Movie Blockbusters

By Julian Stringer

Book Overview

Big-budget, spectacular films designed to appeal to a mass audience: is this what - or all - blockbusters are? Movie Blockbusters brings together writings from key film scholars, including Douglas Gomery, Peter Kramer, Jon Lewis and Steve Neale, to address the work of notable blockbuster auteurs such as Steven Spielberg and James Cameron, discuss key movies such as Star Wars and Titanic, and consider the context in which blockbusters are produced and consumed, including what the rise of the blockbuster says about the Hollywood film industry, how blockbusters are marketed and exhibited, and who goes to see them. The book also considers the movie scene outside Hollywood, discussing blockbusters made in Bollywood, China, South Korea, New Zealand and Argentina

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415256089
• ISBN13: 9780415256087
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Well-Written Anthology

Julian Stringer put toghether a well-writen, well-rounded anthology of different scholars discussing the varied aspects of the movie industry. I appreciated the section on the "movie event" blockbusters. Other sections or chapters of the book were just as strong. My favourite chapter dealt with the New Zealand blockbuster _Once Were Warriors_. The author did a great job of placing how instrumental the movie was in getting people, especially aboriginal/indigenous/Maori peoples, to discuss the issue of domestic violence. Pop culture truly informed in this case in a positive manner. The audience for this book varies from a lay audience, anyone who reads Entertainment Weekly, Variety, or Premiere (now only online, I believe) would like this book, as would students/instructors in Communications, Sociology, Women's Studies, and Film programs. The book's tone isn't esoteric or jargon filled, but is well-written and well-researched.