Caligari's Children: The Film As Tale Of Terror"The terror film, with puzzling, disturbing, multivalent images, often leads us into regions that are strange, disorienting, yet somehow familiar; and for all the crude and melodramatic and morally questionable forms in which we so often encounter it, it does speak of something true and important, and offers us encounters with hidden aspects of ourselves and our world." So writes S. S. Prawer in his concise and penetrating study of the horror film--from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Frankenstein, to Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Omen. After a brief history of the horror genre in film, Prawer offers detailed analyses of specific sequences from various films, such as Murnau's Nosferatu. He discusses continuities between literary and cinematic tales, and shows what happens when one is transformed into the other. Unpatronizing and scholarly, Prawer draws on a wide range of sources in order to better situate a genre that is both enormously popular with contemporary audiences and of increasing critical importance. |
Contents
Contents | 2 |
The Fascination of Fear | 48 |
Mamoulians Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | 85 |
Copyright | |
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actors American appears audience become beginning blood body Cabinet of Dr Caligari called camera central characters cinema colour comes course Darkness David Dead death demonic described directed director Dracula dream Dreyer early effects evil experience eyes face fact fantasy fear feeling figure film film-makers followed force Frankenstein genre German give given Hammer Hammer Films hand hero horror human Hyde images imagination important Jekyll kind later less light literature living look means mind monster motif move murder nature never Night once opening performance personality played possible present relation remains Robert scene screen seems seen sense sequence sexual shadow shot shown social society sound story suggested symbolic tale terror terror-film theme things turn uncanny vampire visual walking whole woman