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COSTANZO “A wonderful textbook as well as a scholarly tour-de-force. Costanzo brings new meaning to the concept of global genres and offers up examples that convincingly demonstrate cinematic border crossings and cultural connections amongst far- flung places.” David Desser, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, USA “Costanzo revitalizes both world cinema and genre studies with his stimulating, WORLD insightful cross cultural approach to warrior heroes, wedding films, horror and road WORLD CINEMA movies. It’s a well-written, scholarly work that’s as inventive as it is enjoyable.” Diane Carson, Past President, University Film and Video Association (UFVA) “William Costanzo has cut the clearest path yet through the forest of World CINEMA Cinema. Key genres take us confidently place to place, era to era; while maps, timelines, and surveys of national industries position a rich array of films, many analyzed with real mastery.” Dudley Andrew, Professor of Film and Comparative Literature, Yale University, USA THROUGH World Cinema through Global Genres offers a new response to recent trends in internationalism that shape the increasingly global character of movies. Costanzo is able to render the complex forces of global filmmaking accessible to students; instead of tracing the long histories of cinema country by country, this innovative textbook uses engaging, recent films like Hero (China), Monsoon THROUGH THROUGH G LOBAL Wedding (India), and Central Station (Brazil) as entry points, linking them to comparable American and European films. The book’s cluster-based organization allows students to acquire a progressively sharper understanding of core issues about genre, aesthetics, industry, culture, history, film theory, and representation that apply to all films around the world. Students are empowered to look through the lens of genre for reasons behind the similarities and GENRES differences among movies made at home and abroad. They come to understand how today’s films are part of a dynamic world phenomenon, drawing on local traditions and foreign influences to meet the WILLIAM V. COSTANZO needs and desires of an increasingly multicultural, globally conscious audience. By studying the cultural flows and cross-currents shaping global genres, readers form a deeper appreciation not only of the films and their stories, but also of the people, societies, and beliefs behind these films. G Online resources for instructors, including sample syllabi, lesson plans, student assignments and LOBAL filmographies, can be found at www.wiley.com/go/costanzo. William V. Costanzo is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of English and Film at Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York, where he teaches courses in writing, literature, and film studies. Dr. Costanzo has previously published five books on film, writing, and computers, including G Reading the Movies (1992), Great Films and How to Teach Them (2004), and The Writer’s Eye ENRES (2008). He currently serves on the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Teaching Committee. WORLD CINEMA THROUGH GLOBAL GENRES Additional resources are available at: www.wiley.com/go/costanzo • Sample Syllabi and Weekly Lesson Schedules • Questions for Discussion • Individual Student Projects: Ideas for further exploration and research • Group Activities: Short, collaborative tasks that focus on key aspects of genre, globalism, and film as a business, art, or technology • Filmographies from the text • Teachers’ Manual and other aids WORLD CINEMA THROUGH GLOBAL GENRES WILLIAM V. COSTANZO This edition first published 2014 © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc Registered Office John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK Editorial Offices 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148–5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www. wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. The right of William V. Costanzo to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author(s) have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services and neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Costanzo, William V. World cinema through global genres / William V. Costanzo. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-118-71291-7 (hardback) – ISBN 978-1-118-71292-4 (paper) – ISBN 978-1-118-71304-4 1. Motion pictures–Study and teaching. 2. Film genres. I. Title. PN1993.7.C69 2014 791.43071–dc23 2013030479 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover image: Hero / Ying Xiong. Beijing New Picture / Elite Group / The Kobal Collection. Cover design by Simon Levy Associates Set in 11/13pt Dante by SPi Publishers, Pondicherry, India 1 2014 For Diana, my cherished wife and angelic muse, whose love and support are the foundations of this book and of my life CONTENTS Preface ix Acknowledgments xiii How to Use This Book xv Introduction 1 UNIT I THE WARRIOR HERO 43 Chapter 1: The Warrior Hero 45 Deep Focus on Chinese Cinemas 79 Close-up: The Magnificent Seven 100 Close-up: Seven Samurai 106 Close-up: Sholay 113 Close-up: Way of the Dragon 118 UNIT II THE WEDDING FILM 125 Chapter 2: The Wedding Film 127 Deep Focus on Indian Cinemas 159 Close-up: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 181 Close-up: Monsoon Wedding 187 Close-up: The Wedding Banquet 192 Close-up: Wedding in Galilee 197 viii CONTENTS UNIT III THE HORROR FILM 203 Chapter 3: The Horror Film 205 Deep Focus on Japanese Cinemas 254 Close-up: Halloween 270 Close-up: Suspiria 276 Close-up: The Devil’s Backbone 282 Close-up: Ring 287 UNIT IV THE ROAD MOVIE 293 Chapter 4: The Road Movie 295 Deep Focus on Latin American Cinemas 335 Close-up: Thelma & Louise 368 Close-up: La Strada 374 Close-up: Breathless 379 Close-up: The Motorcycle Diaries 386 Glossary 392 Index 406 PREFACE As the art of cinema advances well into its second century, filmmakers have been cutting across national boundaries toward a new internationalism. Fueled by an increasingly global economy, fostered by changes in world politics, facilitated by modern technologies, and shaped by a heightened cross-cultural awareness, the character of movies has become global as never before. World Cinema through Global Genres addresses an important need by making the complex forces of global filmmaking accessible to students of film. Instead of trac- ing the long histories of cinema country by country or region by region, it uses engaging, recent films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (China), Monsoon Wedding (India), Ring (Japan), and Motorcycle Diaries (Brazil) as entry points, linking them to comparable American and European films. The book is organized around clusters of films connected by genre and theme. A section on “The Warrior Hero” includes kung-fu movies from Hong Kong, wuxia features from Mainland China, samurai films from Japan, and Hollywood Westerns. A section on “The Wedding Film” looks at films like The Wedding Banquet, Monsoon Wedding, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which dramatize conflicts of cross-cultural relationships in the context of ethnic wedding rituals. Two more sections on Horror Films and Road Movies explore what people find horrifying in other parts of the world and why they take to the road. In this way, readers learn to look for reasons behind the similarities and differences among movies. They come to understand how today’s films are part of a dynamic world phenomenon, drawing on local traditions and foreign influences to meet the needs and desires of an increasingly multicultural, globally conscious audience. McLuhan’s vision of the global village has never been more compelling than it is today. The world in which our students are coming of age – and which they are helping to create – calls for greater international understanding and cooperation. These qualities are important factors in the new globalism of cin- ema, and they are strong motivating principles behind this book. By studying the cultural flows and cross-currents shaping our most popular global genres, today’s students can form a deeper appreciation not only of the films and their x PREFACE stories, but also of the people, societies, and beliefs behind these films – people, societies, and beliefs they will be encountering in one form or another through- out their lives. All of these pressure points and movements have contributed to the world’s expanding storehouse of stories and storytelling styles.