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The most comprehensive reference text of theoretical and historical discourse on the biopic film
The biopic, often viewed as the most reviled of all film genres, traces its origins to the early silent era over a century ago. Receiving little critical attention, biopics are regularly dismissed as superficial, formulaic, and disrespectful of history. Film critics, literary scholars and historians tend to believe that biopics should be artistic, yet accurate, true-to-life representations of their subjects. Moviegoing audiences, however, do not seem to hold similar views; biopics continue to be popular, commercially viable films. Even the genre’s most ardent detractors will admit that these films are often very watchable, particularly due to the performance of the lead actor. It is increasingly common for stars of biographical films to garner critical praise and awards, driving a growing interest in scholarship in the genre.
A Companion to the Biopic is the first global and authoritative reference on the subject. Offering theoretical, historical, thematic, and performance-based approaches, this unique volume brings together the work of top scholars to discuss the coverage of the lives of authors, politicians, royalty, criminals, and pop stars through the biopic film. Chapters explore evolving attitudes and divergent perspectives on the genre with topics such as the connections between biopics and literary melodramas, the influence financial concerns have on aesthetic, social, or moral principles, the merger of historical narratives with Hollywood biographies, stereotypes and criticisms of the biopic genre, and more. This volume:
A Companion to the Biopic is a valuable resource for researchers, scholars, and students of history, film studies, and English literature, as well as those in disciplines that examine interpretations of historical figures
DEBORAH CARTMELL is Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor, Director of the Centre for Adaptations, and Professor of English at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. She is founding editor of two journals, Shakespeare and Adaptation, and founder and first Chair of the Association of Adaptation Studies. She is series editor of the Bloomsbury Adaptation Histories.
ASHLEY D. POLASEK is Instructor of English at Tri-County Technical College, Pendleton, South Carolina, USA, and Honorary Research Fellow of the Centre for Adaptations at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. She is a member of the Association of Adaptation Studies, The Literature/Film Association, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
List of Contributors ix
Acknowledgements xiii
List of Figures xv
1 Introduction 1Deborah Cartmell and Ashley D. Polasek
Part I Approaches 11
2 Biopics and the Trembling Ethics of the Real 13Timothy Corrigan
3 Biopics and the Melodramatic Mode 23Sonia Amalia Haiduc
4 Television Biopics: Questions of Genre, Nation, and Medium 45Jonathan Bignell
5 Alexander Mackendrick’s Mary Stuart and Alan Sharp’s Burns: Two Unfilmed Scottish Biopics 61Brian Hoyle
Part II Histories 87
6 The Hollywood Biopic of the Twentieth Century: A History 89Deborah Cartmell
7 Silent Biopics 103Gregory Robinson
8 A Match Made in Heaven?: The Biopic in Pre‐Revolution Russian Cinema 125Henrik Christensen
9 The Golden Age Hollywood Biopic: The Barretts of Wimpole Street 1934–1957 147Deborah Cartmell
10 Caligula, History, and the Erotic Imagination 159I.Q. Hunter
11 Representing the Unrepresentable: The Army of Crime and Biopic Generic Conventions of Identity 191Hila Shachar
12 Nature Versus Nurture/Wilderness Versus Words: Syncretising Binaries and the Getting of Wisdom in Sean Penn’s Into the Wild (2007) 209Melissa Croteau
Part III Sub‐biopic Genres 231
13 Fleming, Adaptation, and the Author Biopic 233Jeremy Strong
14 Partial Presidential Biography on Stage and Screen: Franklin D. Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello 247Dean J. Kotlowski
15 Can the Biopic Subjects Speak?: Disembodied Voices in The King’s Speech and The Theory of Everything 269Alexa Alice Joubin
16 Biographical Fantasia on Screen: Derek Jarman’s Wittgenstein, Karol Radziszewski’s MS 101, and the Strategy of Detournement 283Robert Kusek
17 The Criminal and the Yarn: Adapting and Performing Notoriety 297Imelda Whelehan
18 ‘The Man Behind the Myth’: Mr. Holmes and the Fictional Biopic 309Ashley D. Polasek
Part IV Biopic Performances 331
19 ‘She was an actress …’: Performing Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady 333Christine Geraghty
20 Film (Noir) à Clef: Jailhouse Rock, A Hard Day’s Night, and the ‘Jukebox’ Biopic 353Robert Miklitsch
21 A Recipe for Life: Constructing the Biopic through New Media 375Annie Nissen
22 Performance and Prestige in the Biopic, or Stardom and Statuettes 395Colleen Kennedy‐Karpat
23 The Matter of Black Lives: Representations of Prominent Afro‐Americans in Biopics 415Lucinda Hobbs
Index 435
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The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.