Includes bibliographical references (pages [291]-320) and index. Includes filmography (page [321]-322)
Contents:
Introduction: Celluloid Buddies or Baddies? -- Buddies: The Sunny Phase of Russo-American Relations (1990-1992): Taxi-Blues, American Spy, Diuba-Diuba, American Boy/Combat, Hunt for Red October, The Russia House, Company Business -- Brother from Another Planet: Cloudy Skies (1993-1996): You Are My One and Only, Everything Will Be Fine, Wild Love, American Daughter, Crimson Tide -- The Big Chill: Stormy Weather (1997-1999): Air Force One, The Peacemaker, The Jackal, The Saint, Deep Impact, Armageddon, Virus, The Barber of Siberia -- The Long Goodbye: Winter of Shared Discontent: (2000-2005): Brother-2, Tycoon, Cast Away, Space Cowboys, 15 Minutes, The Sum of All Fears, K-19: The Widowmaker, Spinning Boris, The Bourne Supremacy -- Afterword: From Romance to Rejection.
Summary:
This study investigates the close correlation between politics and mainstream cinema vividly evidenced in Russian and American screen images of the former Cold War enemy from 1990 to 2005. Whereas glasnost and the demise of the Soviet Union ushered in a period of official cooperation that soon inflated into rhetorical declarations of partnership, the fifteen years under examination saw the gradual deterioration of relations after the initial euphoria, culminating in a partial resumption of mutual Cold War recriminations. The American blockbusters under analysis outnumber the major Russian selections because of the notorious discrepancy in production volume between Hollywood and Russian studios (especially during the 1990s) -- an incommensurability bemoaned by representatives of the Russian film industry. Moreover, while we recognize that widely advertised money-making blockbusters may provide a more reliable index of both official priorities and vox populi, we have included a number of smaller-scale or financially less successful films that encapsulate the political agenda of a given period. Considerations of length influenced our process of selection, which favored eloquent illustration over automatic exhaustiveness. -- publisher's page
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.