Lonely Places, Dangerous Ground
Nicholas Ray in American Cinema
- 314 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Lonely Places, Dangerous Ground
Nicholas Ray in American Cinema
About this book
The director of such classic Hollywood films as In a Lonely Place, Johnny Guitar, and Rebel Without a Cause, Nicholas Ray nevertheless remained on the margins of the American studio system throughout his career, and despite his cult status among auteurist critics and cinephiles, he has also remained at the margins of film scholarship. Lonely Places, Dangerous Ground offers twenty new essays by international film historians and critics that explore the director's place in the history of the Hollywood industry and in the larger institution of cinema, as well as a 1977 interview with Ray that has never before been published in its entirety in English. In addition to readings of Ray's most celebrated films, the book provides a range of approaches to his life and work, engaging new questions of his cinematic authorship with areas that include history and culture, politics and society, gender and sexuality, style and genre, performance, technology, and popular music. The collection also looks at Ray's lesser-known and underappreciated films, and devotes attention to the highly experimental We Can't Go Home Again, his recently restored final film made in the 1970s with his students at Binghamton University, State University of New York. Rediscovering what Ray means to contemporary film studies, the essays show how his films continue to possess a vital power for film history and criticism, and for film culture.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Nicholas Ray and the Potential of Cinema Culture
- 1. Looking for Nicholas Ray
- 2. Nicholas Ray: The Breadth of Modern Gesture
- 3. Economies of Desire: Reimagining Noir in They Live by Night
- 4. Knock on Any Door: Realist Form and Popularized Social Science
- 5. “I’ve Got the Queerest Feeling” about A Woman’s Secret and Born to Be Bad
- 6. Something More than Noir
- 7. On Dangerous Ground: Of Outsiders
- 8. Flying Leathernecks: Color and Characterization
- 9. The Lusty Men and the Post-Western
- 10. Citizen Nick: Civic Engagement and Folk Culture in the Life and Work of Nicholas Ray
- 11. A Teacup and a Kiss: Staging Action in Johnny Guitar
- 12. “You Can’t Be a Rebel If You Grin”: Masculinity, Performance, and Anxiety in 1950s Rock-and-Roll and the Films of Nicholas Ray
- 13. Places and Spaces in Rebel Without a Cause
- 14. Nicholas Ray’s Wilderness Films: Word, Law, and Landscape
- 15. Bigger Than Life: Melodrama, Masculinity, and the American Dream
- 16. Ray, Widescreen, and Genre: The True Story of Jesse James
- 17. Disequilibrium, or: Love Interest (On Party Girl)
- 18. King of Kings and the Politics of Masculinity in the Cold War Biblical Epic
- 19. “As Surely as a Criminal Would Die”: Nicholas Ray’s The Doctor and the Devils
- 20. The Pedagogical Aesthetics of We Can’t Go Home Again
- Postscript: The Class: Interview with Nicholas Ray
- Nicholas Ray: Chronological Filmography
- Works Cited
- Contributors
- Index
- Back Cover