A Life in 16 Films: How Cinema Made a Playwright

Description

With its wry nod to Stanislavski’s My Life in Art, Steve Waters examines how the very idea of film has defined him as a playwright and a person. Through the lens of cinema, it provides a cultural and political snapshot of life in Britain from the second part of the 20th century up to the present day. Through films spanning almost a century, starting with (1929) and moving most recently to (2019), each chapter examines aspects of Waters’s journey from his working-class Midlands upbringing to working in professional theatre to living through the Covid epidemic, through the prism of a particular film. From The Wizard of Oz to Code Unknown, from sci-fi to documentary, from queer cinema to world cinema, this honest, comic book offers a view of film as a way of thinking about how we live. In doing so, it illuminates culture and politics in the UK over half a century and provides an intimate insight into drama and writing. Cover page Halftitle page About the Autor Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Thanks and Acknowledgements Preface: Dark Waters – The Last Movie? Act One Becoming 1 The Wizard of Oz: Primal Screen (LONG LAWFORD) 2 Logan’s Run: Deep England (LONG LAWFORD) 3 Nosferatu the Vampyre: Into the Art House (RUGBY) 4 Solaris: Learning to Dream (DUNCHURCH) 5 Shoah: Living Dangerously (ISRAEL) 6 Vagabond: Male Gazes (OXFORD) Act Two Living 7 Comrades: Working-Class Heroes (BRISTOL) 8 The White Hell of Pitz Palu: Date Movies (OXFORD) 9 Reservoir Dogs: Screen Play (BIRMINGHAM) 10 Winter Light: Marriage Story (CAMBRIDGE) Act Three Writing 11 Code Unknown: Cosmopolis (LONDON) 12 The Wind Will Carry Us: Life during Wartime (CAMBRIDGE, CAIRO, KYIV, GREELEY, SHEFFIELD, LEEDS) 13 An Inconvenient Truth: Green Screens (IMPINGTON) 14 Hell or High Water: Exit Music (BRISTOL, CAMBRIDGE, NORWICH) Epilogue: Bande de Filles – Coming Attractions? Select Filmography and Bibliography