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Wildflower
by Drew Barrymore'We all have stories to tell. These are mine.' Drew BarrymoreBorn into Hollywood royalty, Drew Barrymore is one of the biggest stars of her generation. Despite an unconventional childhood, she has built a life and career of her own that millions of fans admire.Wildflower is a portrait of Drew’s life in stories as she looks back on the adventures, challenges and incredible experiences she’s had. It will inspire, delight and show the true meaning of family, happiness and love.
Why Not Me?
by Mindy KalingMindy Kaling has found herself at a turning point. So in Why Not Me?, she shares her ongoing journey to find fulfilment and adventure in her adult life, be it falling in love at work, seeking new friendships in unlikely places, or attempting to be the first person in history to lose weight without any behaviour modification whatsoever.In “How to Look Spectacular”, she reveals her tongue-in-cheek solutions for guaranteed on-camera beauty. “Player” tells the story of Mindy being seduced, then dumped, by a female friend in LA. And in “Soup Snakes,” she spills some secrets on her relationship with ex-boyfriend and close friend B. J. Novak.Mindy has put the anxieties, the glamour and the celebrations of her second coming-of-age into this book, to which anyone can relate. (And, if they can’t, they can skip to the parts where she talks about meeting Bradley Cooper.)
Finding My Own Rhythm: My Story
by Motsi Mabuse'Ever since I was a child I loved to dance. I had it in me - and when you dance the whole day and you've got music, it doesn't feel like work. It's freedom. It's love. It's therapy.'Before taking Strictly Come Dancing by storm, Motsi Mabuse worked her way up to becoming one of the top professional dancers worldwide and was crowned the Latin dance champion. From the moment she fell in love with the glitterball world as a young child watching a dance tournament, she knew that dancing was her destiny. However, it wasn't always an easy path. Motsi takes us back to her youth growing up in apartheid-era South Africa, where she experienced exclusion and discrimination. She raised the money herself to compete in international competitions, eventually uprooting her life to be with her dance partner in Germany. Through it all, Motsi never let anything hold her back from fulfilling her dreams, showing the determination, hard work and resilience it took to get to where she is today. In Finding My Own Rhythm, Motsi leads us in to the rhinestone-studded world of dance, through the ups and downs, romances and heartbreaks, the obstacles and adversity, and the long hours and triumphs that made it all worth it, all while staying true to herself and moving to the beat of her own rhythm.
Becoming Molly-Mae
by Molly-Mae HagueThe real Molly-Mae, in her own wordsMolly-Mae Hague is no stranger to the limelight, having found fame on TV and online. But behind the polished exterior there is a young girl with a unique story. It's the Molly not everyone gets to see.In Becoming Molly-Mae she unravels herself completely for the first time to open up about how she nurtured her creativity from a young age, took ownership of her body image, battle self-doubt and built a happy life. Along the way she shares the moments, relationships and life lessons that have made her who she is. From the energetic child who loved Irish dancing and pageants, to the teenager holding down a job at Boots whilst building her dreams at fashion school, her journey to Love Island and how she copes with fame today.By sharing these parts of herself, Molly-Mae gives a fresh take on finding beauty and balance in a busy world.
I & I: Marley, Tosh and Wailer
by Colin GrantDiscover the untold history of reggae legends of Bob Marley and the original Wailers.The perfect must-read if you loved the film One Love.Over one dramatic decade, a trio of Trench Town R&B crooners, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley, swapped their 1960s Brylcreem hairdos and two-tone suits for 1970s battle fatigues and dreadlocks to become the Wailers - one of the most influential groups in popular music. Now one of our best and brightest non-fiction writers examines the story of the influential reggae band.Charting their complex relationship, their fluctuating fortunes, musical peak, and the politics and ideologies that provoked their split, Colin Grant shows us why they were not just extraordinary musicians, but also natural mystics. And, following a trail from Jamaica through Europe, America, Africa and back to the vibrant and volatile world of Trench Town, he travels in search of the last surviving Wailer.'In Grant's hands life in Trench Town in the 1960's is energetic and theatrical, rich in comedy and tragic irony...This brilliant book is not just about Jamaica, but about ourselves' Guardian
Riding the Waves: My Story
by Jane McDonaldTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Everything is much easier in life when difficult situations are faced with humour and a smile. But, don't get me wrong, that took years to realise. What a journey...'Whether performing in an arena, presenting a number one TV show or recording a top-ten album, Jane McDonald will never forget her Northern roots. Her down-to-earth Yorkshire charm is as much a part of her as her talent for singing, and here she is telling her remarkable story with characteristic wit and warmth, in her own words. A miner's daughter from Wakefield, Jane was a shy child who struggled with anxiety, but she found the courage to overcome her fears and follow her passion for performing. Jane famously hit the big time overnight on TV show The Cruise twenty years ago, but here she talks for the first time about how she survived the dark legacy of that early success, and climbed right back up for a second bite of the cherry. It hasn't all been plain sailing, but in Jane's world tough times make the good times better, and her spirit, heart and humour sparkle from every page.
The Hungover Games: The gloriously funny Sunday Times bestselling memoir of motherhood
by Sophie Heawood'Deftly explores expectations of modern womanhood . . . Full of adventure and awe' Dolly AldertonPeople always said I'd find love where I least expected it. I always said they were idiots.I had no idea how to commit to another human being.I could barely commit to reading a magazine, and I wrote for magazines for a living. My specialist subject was celebrities, and my own relationships made their marriages look eternal.I'd never paid a household bill that didn't mention bailiffs, and my idea of exercise was to go and stand outside a famous person's house and stare until I'd convinced myself that I lived in it.But my life in LA was happy; free of care and consequence. That was, until I came down to earth - with a bump.So this is the story of how I staggered from partying in Hollywood to bringing up a baby in Piss Alley, Dalston; how I never did find a copy of What To Expect When You Weren't Even Fucking Expecting To Be Expecting, and why paternity testing is not a good topic for a first-date conversation.A deeply profound, laugh out loud Mother's Day gift for all parents, from shocked novices to experienced pros. ___________________Praise for THE HUNGOVER GAMES:'Funny, dark and true' Caitlin Moran'A deeper, funnier, realer, more poignant Bridget Jones' Philippa Perry'Sharply observed and funny' Guardian'Frank and fearless' Red'Outrageously entertaining' David Nicholls'This is the first time I've read anything about motherhood that didn't bore me' Sara Pascoe
Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall (Spike Milligan War Memoirs #1)
by Spike MilliganVolume one of Spike Milligan's legendary memoirs is a hilarious, subversive first-hand account of WW2'The most irreverent, hilarious book about the war that I have ever read' Sunday Express'Close in stature to Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear in his command of the profound art of nonsense' Guardian______________'At Victoria station the R.T.O. gave me a travel warrant, a white feather and a picture of Hitler marked "This is your enemy". I searched every compartment, but he wasn't on the train . . .' In this, the first of Spike Milligan's uproarious recollections of life in the army, our hero takes us from the outbreak of war in 1939 ('it must have been something we said'), through his attempts to avoid enlistment ('time for my appendicitis, I thought') and his gunner training in Bexhill ('There was one drawback. No ammunition') to the landing at Algiers in 1943 ('I closed my eyes and faced the sun. I fell down a hatchway'). Filled with bathos, pathos and gales of ribald laughter, this is a barely sane helping of military goonery and superlative Milliganese.______________ 'That absolutely glorious way of looking at things differently. A great man' Stephen Fry'Milligan is the Great God to all of us' John Cleese 'The Godfather of Alternative Comedy' Eddie Izzard 'Manifestly a genius, a comic surrealist genius and had no equal' Terry Wogan 'A totally original comedy writer' Michael Palin
A Bit of Me: From Basildon to Broadway, and back
by Denise Van OutenDenise Van Outen, original 90s 'ladette', West End star and primetime TV favourite, reveals for the first time the true story of grit and graft beneath the famous Essex sparkle.In this refreshingly candid memoir, Denise speaks openly and sensitively about her rollercoaster career, her struggles in a past high-profile relationship and the betrayal she suffered at the hands of those once closest to her, with the hope that in doing so, she can help empower others to avoid and overcome any similar difficulties they may face.Denise shot to fame on The Big Breakfast in her early twenties. After a decade grafting through theatre jobs and children's TV shows, she was finally living the dream. However her life soon turned into a nightmare off-screen and behind the headlines as her heart was broken in a very public relationship, whilst her every move was printed in the tabloids thanks to her phone being tapped. After receiving a panning by the critics for her late night TV show aimed at the post-pub crowd, she then auditioned for and accepted an offer to play Roxie Hart in Chicago, which turned out to be a life-changing experience. The role took her to Broadway, where she caught the eye of one Andrew Lloyd Webber, eventually landing a judging role on Any Dream Will Do, which saw her rise back to primetime and the career that she loves, where she has stayed and flourished. Now, in her first memoir, Denise tells her story with disarming candour, unafraid to reveal vulnerabilities beneath the cheerful exterior. Tackling difficult subjects of corrosive self-doubt, betrayal, invasions of privacy and professional struggles, interjected with the familiar humour that we all know and love, A Bit of Me is personal, at times raw, often mischievous and always compelling. Denise has lived the life, learned the lessons, and Basildon to Broadway and back is a hell of a journey.
You Are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
by Samantha Renke'A powerful book on how to live boldly and love your fabulous self' Fearne CottonWe are made to think that what makes us human - our flaws, failures, and heartaches - are things to keep hush-hush. Being unapologetically imperfect is seen as something we should be embarrassed by. But what I've learned is that we all experience the same insecurities. We just aren't talking about it. Well, I'm here to break the silence.For starters, I have way too many nipple hairs. I prefer the company of my pets to other people. And repeatedly I question Am I normal? I was born with brittle bone condition and so far, I've broken my bones 200 times. But most of the hurdles I face don't come from my disability, they come from things we all experience.In this book, I will share the lessons I have learned and why you should embrace your uniqueness as what makes you fabulous. We spend a lot of time living by others' expectations and it's only when you stop, that you start saying yes to life. Irrespective of who you are and the obstacles you might face, you can do whatever you want. Be free and unapologetically you.
The Twat Files: A hilarious sort-of memoir of mistakes, mishaps and mess-ups
by Dawn FrenchRead The Twat Files and be one of the first to discover the truth behind the many, many times Dawn French has been a complete twat over the last sixty years.‘Charming and funny. A good reminder that nobody's perfect – and why would you want to be anyway?’ Independent ‘Great fun and highly-entertaining’ The Times----When I was younger I wanted to be an interesting, sophisticated, semi-heroic, multi-layered person. But being an actual twat is much more the real me. In The Twat Files I will tell you about all the times I've been a total and utter twat. The moments where I've misunderstood stuff and messed up. In my life these have been key because mistakes tell us about ourselves and others. They are hilarious and expose our flaws. They are gloriously human. My hope is that these stories remind you of just what a massive twat you also are . . . ---'Dawn French is a wonderful writer' Daily Mail‘Entertaining, endearing, tantalising. Fans of the national treasure will devour them’ Daily Mirror‘Hilarious and highly relatable. The perfect gift for anyone who loves a good laugh’ Woman's Own'This woman is a national treasure' Mail on Sunday‘Hilarious. The laughs and life lessons are ten-a-penny’ Stylish
Glutton: The Multi-Course Life of a Very Greedy Boy
by Ed Gamble‘This book made me laugh and then order an unholy amount of takeaway.’ GREG DAVIES‘One of my favourite comics has now written an annoyingly great book.’ ROMESH RANGANATHAN‘Full of belly laughs and full bellies, this book is warm, honest and wonderfully entertaining.’ TOM KERRIDGE'One of the funniest comedians in the world, Ed is only serious about one thing - dinners.'NISH KUMAR---The hilarious memoir from comedian, Off Menu host and Great British Menu judge, Ed Gamble.From a young age, Ed Gamble's immaculate bibs and extremely dirty nappies hinted at his capacious appetite. Before he could walk, Ed already knew that he preferred poached salmon to puree, that celery was a calorie-sapping waste of time, and that mashed potatoes should be made with lashings of butter.Whilst he might ordinarily have been upset by the calls of 'precocious little sh*t' coming from his family, he was too busy stuffing his gob and staging rebellions against the patronising list of misery that is a children's menu.In Glutton, Ed shares a relatable buffet of experiences and stories from a life lived through food. From the trials of being a diabetic with a sweet tooth to his teenage battles with obesity, to the joy of cooking and the power of food to bring us together, this is a wonderful, hilarious and heart-warming memoir of a delightful obsession.
Sport in audiovisuellen Medien: Entwicklungen, Strategien, Inszenierungsformen
by Simon RehbachDer Sammelband befasst sich mit der gegenwärtigen Darstellung von Sport in audiovisuellen Medien und erörtert verschiedene Bedingungen und Verfahren in Bezug auf sportliche Wettkämpfe wie auch Akteur_innen in Fernsehen und Internet. Die Beiträge widmen sich aus mehreren medien- und kommunikationswissenschaftlichen Perspektiven unter anderem Live-Übertragungen von Sport, 360-Grad-Videos, dem eSport, der Tätigkeit von TV-Expert_innen, der Darstellung von Fußballtrainer_innen, Instagram-Videos und dem Personal Branding von Sportler_innen.
Animate(d) Architecture: A Spatial Investigation of the Moving Image
At their peak, architectural marvels such as the Sagrada Família, the Tower of London, the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, and the Eiffel tower, had a combined annual visit of almost 16.4 million people. The animated icebound castle in Disney’s (2019) Frozen had 116.4 million views, from one single YouTube trailer, in less than 24 hours. The spaces of such massively consumed animation have for generations informed the architectural imagination of people across the globe and from very early in their lives. Yet, not only have the architectural disciplines remained rather absent in the design of these massively consumed spaces, architectural theory has likewise failed to articulate a framework to approach the architecture of animation. To address this void, this book offers an interdisciplinary approach to survey the role of space in animation, including in creating humorous moments in early cartoon shorts, generating action and suspense in Japanese anime, and even stimulating erotic pleasure in pornographic Hentai. Exploring the imagined architecture of animation, from early motion picture to digital animation and from computer graphics to game engines, offers an analytical frame to reconceptualize space.
The Music Management Bible: (pdf)
by Music Manager'S Forum(Music Sales America). Detailed guide for today's modern industry professional. Everything you need to know to survive as an artist or manager, featuring fully up-to-date directory of MMF members worldwide. Today, the music business is bigger and more complicated than it's ever been. Wave after wave of Next Big Things are breaking on the ears of the fickle public, and with them is rising a whole breed of industry professionals implementing new systems to manage their stars. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and only the most business-savvy will survive. Thankfully, help is at hand in the form of The Music Management Bible . Written by seasoned experts in the business and produced in association with the Music Managers' Forum, here at last is a guide that will steer both artist and manager through the turbulent seas of music management, lifting the veil on such matters as publishing and recording contracts, merchandising, mediation and PR. With a complete list of affiliated managers and their acts, The Music Management Bible is an indispensable handbook for any aspirant to business.
Time Come: Selected Prose
by Linton Kwesi Johnson‘Key to understanding Black British history’ – The Sunday Times‘Sharp and still relevant’ – Zadie SmithOne of the great poets of modern times, and a deeply respected political and cultural activist and social critic, Linton Kwesi Johnson is also a prolific writer of non-fiction. In Time Come, he selects some of his most powerful prose – book and music reviews published in newspapers and magazines, lectures, obituaries and speeches – for the first time. Written over many decades, these works draw on Johnson’s own Jamaican roots and on Caribbean history to explore the politics of race that continue to inform the Black British experience.Ranging from reflections on the place of music in Caribbean and Black British culture as a creative, defiant response to oppression, to penetrating appraisals of novels, films, poems and plays, and including warm tributes paid to the activists and artists who inspired him to contribute to the struggle for racial equality and social justice, Time Come is a panorama of an exceptional life. Venturing into memoir, it underscores Johnson’s enduring importance in Britain’s cultural history and reminds us of his brilliant, unparalleled legacy.With an introduction by Paul Gilroy, author of There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack.‘A mosaic of wise, urgent and moving pieces’ – Kit de Waal‘As necessary as ever’ – The Observer‘A book to be savoured and re-read’ – Derek Owusu‘An outstanding collection’ – Caryl Phillips‘A necessary book from a writer who continues to inspire’ – Yomi Sode‘Incisive, engaging, fearless’ – Gary Younge
The Improv Dictionary: An A to Z of Improvisational Terms, Techniques, and Tools
by David CharlesThe Improv Dictionary: An A to Z of Improvisational Terms, Techniques, and Tools explores improvisational approaches and concepts drawn from a multitude of movements and schools of thought to enhance spontaneous and collaborative creativity.This accessible resource reveals and interrogates the inherited wisdoms contained in the very words we use to describe modern improv. Each detailed definition goes beyond the obvious clichés and seeks a nuanced and inclusive understanding of how art of the moment can be much more than easy laughs and cheap gags (even when it is being delightfully irreverent and wildly funny). This encyclopedic work pulls from a wide array of practitioners and practices, finding tensions and commonalities from styles as diverse as Theatresports, Comedysportz, the Harold, narrative long-form, Playback Theatre, and Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Entries include nuanced definitions, helpful examples, detailed explorations of the concepts in practice, and framing quotes from a leading practitioner or inspirational artistic voice.The Improv Dictionary offers valuable insights to novice improvisers taking their first steps in the craft, seasoned performers seeking to unlock the next level of abandon, instructors craving a new comprehensive resource, and scholars working in one of the numerous allied fields that find enrichment through collaborative and guided play.Each significant entry in the book is also keyed to an accompanying improv game or exercise housed at www.improvdr.com, enabling readers to dig deeper into their process.
The Improv Dictionary: An A to Z of Improvisational Terms, Techniques, and Tools
by David CharlesThe Improv Dictionary: An A to Z of Improvisational Terms, Techniques, and Tools explores improvisational approaches and concepts drawn from a multitude of movements and schools of thought to enhance spontaneous and collaborative creativity.This accessible resource reveals and interrogates the inherited wisdoms contained in the very words we use to describe modern improv. Each detailed definition goes beyond the obvious clichés and seeks a nuanced and inclusive understanding of how art of the moment can be much more than easy laughs and cheap gags (even when it is being delightfully irreverent and wildly funny). This encyclopedic work pulls from a wide array of practitioners and practices, finding tensions and commonalities from styles as diverse as Theatresports, Comedysportz, the Harold, narrative long-form, Playback Theatre, and Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Entries include nuanced definitions, helpful examples, detailed explorations of the concepts in practice, and framing quotes from a leading practitioner or inspirational artistic voice.The Improv Dictionary offers valuable insights to novice improvisers taking their first steps in the craft, seasoned performers seeking to unlock the next level of abandon, instructors craving a new comprehensive resource, and scholars working in one of the numerous allied fields that find enrichment through collaborative and guided play.Each significant entry in the book is also keyed to an accompanying improv game or exercise housed at www.improvdr.com, enabling readers to dig deeper into their process.
Transmodern Cinema and Decolonial Film Theory: A Study of Youssef Chahine's al-Masir
by Assistant Profes Robert K. BesharaIn this book, Robert K. Beshara applies decolonial film theory to an analysis of Youssef Chahine's (1997) Al-Masir (Destiny).Transmodern Cinema and Decolonial Film Theory is the first book on decolonial film theory, which unpacks key concepts in decoloniality and decolonial aesthetics. Decolonial film theory is then applied to Youssef Chahine's (1997) historical drama al-Ma?ir in an effort to juxtapose the Egyptian filmmaker (Chahine) and his decolonial cinema to the Andalusian polymath (Ibn Rushd) and his Islamic philosophy.
Antony and Cleopatra: Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition (Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition)
by Joseph Candido Professor Brian VickersThis new volume in the Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition series increases our knowledge of how Antony and Cleopatra has been received and understood by critics, editors and general readers. The volume provides, in separate sections, both critical opinions about the play across the centuries and an evaluation of their positions within and their impact on the reception of the play. The chronological arrangement of the text-excerpts engages the readers in a direct and unbiased dialogue, and the introduction offers a critical evaluation from a current stance, including modern theories and methods. This volume makes a major contribution to our understanding of the play and of the traditions of Shakespearean criticism surrounding it as they have developed from century to century.
Antony and Cleopatra: Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition (Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition)
by Joseph Candido Professor Brian VickersThis new volume in the Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition series increases our knowledge of how Antony and Cleopatra has been received and understood by critics, editors and general readers. The volume provides, in separate sections, both critical opinions about the play across the centuries and an evaluation of their positions within and their impact on the reception of the play. The chronological arrangement of the text-excerpts engages the readers in a direct and unbiased dialogue, and the introduction offers a critical evaluation from a current stance, including modern theories and methods. This volume makes a major contribution to our understanding of the play and of the traditions of Shakespearean criticism surrounding it as they have developed from century to century.
The Leopard (BFI Film Classics)
by David WeirLuchino Visconti's The Leopard (Il Gattopardo, 1963) tells the story of an aristocratic Sicilian family adjusting to the realities of political and commercial modernity after the unification Italy during the Risorgimento.The film, starring Claudia Cardinale, Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon, met with success upon its initial release, winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes and having a successful theatrical run in Europe. Despite this, however, it did not do well with English-speaking audiences, and eventually even fell out of favour with Italian audiences, who took issue with the way Risorgimento history was represented. David Weir's study of the film seeks to understand the film's paradoxical place in Italian film history. He argues that Visconti's use of artifice, narrative and history, all aspects that came to be criticised, were in fact, essential to his cinematic art, and can all be understood as strengths of the film. Providing a scene-by-scene analysis of the film, as well as illuminating its relationship to the Lampedusa novel from which it was adapted, Weir suggests that Visconti's film goes beyond mere adaptation, using the form of the novel for cinematic purposes and making The Leopard a cinematic novel in its own right. He goes on to situate the film within Visconti's career, questioning whether the uneven reception of the film reflects the paradox of Visconti's social status as a Marxist aristocrat and his position as an auteur director whose films borrowed heavily from the decadent tradition, while at the same time professing allegiance to the Italian Communist Party.
The Art of Broadsword Fighting for Stage and Screen: An Actor’s and Director’s Guide to Staged Violence
by Erick Vaughn WolfeThe Art of Broadsword Fighting for Stage and Screen provides historical and contemporary techniques and styles for the safe training and use of the European broadsword in a theatrical setting.This book starts with a brief breakdown of the history of broadswords, the time periods associated with their use, and the influences of historical masters and their manuscripts. After the brief history section, this book presents the basic techniques of broadsword fighting, starting with grip and body postures. Readers will then move fluidly into the basic actions of cuts, parries, blocks, and disarms. During this process, actors explore the connection between body and weapon and start learning the elements of storytelling through choreography. Special attention is given throughout the text on techniques which need to be approached in a physically and/or mentally safe way by directors, choreographers, performers, teachers, and students. The final chapter focuses on choreographing a fight and utilizing all the material previously covered in this book, with special notes for actors, directors, and teachers about what makes a good fight, how to keep it safe, and how to create the "wow factor" in choreography.The Art of Broadsword Fighting for Stage and Screen is intended for directors, choreographers, actors, students of acting, martial artists, and enthusiasts of stage combat and historical martial arts.
The Art of Broadsword Fighting for Stage and Screen: An Actor’s and Director’s Guide to Staged Violence
by Erick Vaughn WolfeThe Art of Broadsword Fighting for Stage and Screen provides historical and contemporary techniques and styles for the safe training and use of the European broadsword in a theatrical setting.This book starts with a brief breakdown of the history of broadswords, the time periods associated with their use, and the influences of historical masters and their manuscripts. After the brief history section, this book presents the basic techniques of broadsword fighting, starting with grip and body postures. Readers will then move fluidly into the basic actions of cuts, parries, blocks, and disarms. During this process, actors explore the connection between body and weapon and start learning the elements of storytelling through choreography. Special attention is given throughout the text on techniques which need to be approached in a physically and/or mentally safe way by directors, choreographers, performers, teachers, and students. The final chapter focuses on choreographing a fight and utilizing all the material previously covered in this book, with special notes for actors, directors, and teachers about what makes a good fight, how to keep it safe, and how to create the "wow factor" in choreography.The Art of Broadsword Fighting for Stage and Screen is intended for directors, choreographers, actors, students of acting, martial artists, and enthusiasts of stage combat and historical martial arts.
The Leopard (BFI Film Classics)
by David WeirLuchino Visconti's The Leopard (Il Gattopardo, 1963) tells the story of an aristocratic Sicilian family adjusting to the realities of political and commercial modernity after the unification Italy during the Risorgimento.The film, starring Claudia Cardinale, Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon, met with success upon its initial release, winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes and having a successful theatrical run in Europe. Despite this, however, it did not do well with English-speaking audiences, and eventually even fell out of favour with Italian audiences, who took issue with the way Risorgimento history was represented. David Weir's study of the film seeks to understand the film's paradoxical place in Italian film history. He argues that Visconti's use of artifice, narrative and history, all aspects that came to be criticised, were in fact, essential to his cinematic art, and can all be understood as strengths of the film. Providing a scene-by-scene analysis of the film, as well as illuminating its relationship to the Lampedusa novel from which it was adapted, Weir suggests that Visconti's film goes beyond mere adaptation, using the form of the novel for cinematic purposes and making The Leopard a cinematic novel in its own right. He goes on to situate the film within Visconti's career, questioning whether the uneven reception of the film reflects the paradox of Visconti's social status as a Marxist aristocrat and his position as an auteur director whose films borrowed heavily from the decadent tradition, while at the same time professing allegiance to the Italian Communist Party.