Jacques Tourneur: The Cinema of Nightfall

At least three of director Jacques Tourneur's films--Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie and The Leopard Man--are recognized as horror classics. Yet his contributions to these films are often minimized by scholars, with most of the credit going to the films' producer, Val Lewton. A detailed examination of the director's full body of work reveals that those elements most evident in the Tourneur-Lewton collaborations--the lack of monsters and the stylized use of suggested violence--are equally apparent in Tourneur's films before and after his work with Lewton. Mystery and sensuality were hallmarks of his style, and he possessed a highly artistic visual and aural style. This insightful critical study examines each of Tourneur's films, as well as his extensive work on MGM shorts (1936-1942) and in television. What emerges is evidence of a highly coherent directorial style that runs throughout Tourneur's works.

Author: Chris Fujiwara
Publisher: McFarland & Company
Published: 05/03/2011
Pages: 340
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.31lbs
Size: 9.96h x 7.51w x 0.83d
ISBN13: 9780786466115
ISBN10: 0786466111
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Entertainment & Performing Arts

About the Author
Chris Fujiwara is a freelance writer. He lives in Tokyo, Japan.