The Arts

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Richard Lester is of the most significant yet misunderstood directors of the post-war era. Indelibly associated with the Beatles and the 'swinging Sixties' because of his direction of A Hard Day's Night and Help and his joyous sex comedy The Knack, Lester has tended to be categorised as a modish director whose heyday passed when that decade's optimism slid into disillusionment and violence. This book offers a critical appreciation and reappraisal of his work, arguing that it had much greater depth and variety than he has been given credit for. His versatility encompasses the Brechtian anti-heroics of How I Won the War; the surreal nuclear comedy of The Bed-Sitting Room and the swashbuckling adventure of The Musketeers films. He has even, in his instinctively iconoclastic manner, cut Superman down to size. The book should win new admirers for a director with a gift of making movies whose visual wit and imaginative imagery reveal an intelligent and enquiring scepticism about heroes and society. Including comments from Lester himself and illustrations from his own private collection, the book is a must for film scholars and enthusiasts alike. ;

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Author Biography

Neil Sinyard is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Hull; Brian McFarlane is Honorary Associate Professor, School of English, Communication and Performance Studies, Monash University, Melbourne, and Visiting Professor, Film Studies, University of Hull; Neil Sinyard is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Hull

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Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher Manchester University Press
  • Publication Date July 2010
  • Orginal LanguageEnglish
  • ISBN/Identifier 9780719067563
  • Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
  • FormatHardback
  • Primary Price 90 USD
  • Pages256
  • ReadershipGeneral/trade
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Dimensions216 X 138 Millimeters
  • IllustrationIllustrations, black & white
  • SeriesBritish Film-Makers
  • Reference CodeIPR6080

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