Cinema of Obsession - Erotic Fixation And Love Gone Wrong In The Movies

Noted film scribes Dominique Mainon and James Ursini tackle stories of love and its many dark permutations--the males domination of Phantom Of The Opera and The Collector, the star-crossed love stories of Romeo And Juliet and Bonnie And Clyde, the violent female obsession of Mulholland Drive and Fatal Attraction--all of these and dozens more are discussed in depth, analyzed and dissected. In addition to plot description, character analysis and commentary, Mainon and Ursini offer psychological profiles of cinema's most infamous and tortured characters. No stone is left unturned in this, the first-ever comprehensive guide to the twisted side of romantic cinema.

Cinema of Obsession traces the history of obsessive love and erotic fixation. Seminal works of obsession, The Blue Angel, Peter Ibbetson, and Phantom of the Opera are seen as setting the groundwork for films that follow. The book defines and surveys examples of the explosive nature of amour fou, issues of male control (no matter how tenuous), and the fugitive couple - love on the run - in such films as Romeo and Juliet, Last Tango in Paris, Vertigo, Basic Instinct, and Wild at Heart. Male masochism is explored through film noirs, including Criss Cross, The Killers, Gilda, and The Postman Always Rings Twice. The book shifts gears in its finale and concentrates on the female gaze, films of female obsession: Jane Eyre, The Piano, The Lover, Fatal Attraction, and Vanilla Sky.

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• Movies & TV Books