Vampires in Italian Cinema, 1956-1975 / / Michael Guarneri.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Edinburgh University Press Complete eBook-Package 2020
• VerfasserIn: Guarneri, Michael,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2022]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (232 p.) :; 12 B/W illustrations

Demonstrates how and why the transnational figure of the vampire was appropriated by Italian genre filmmakers between 1956 and 1975Actively engages in the ongoing academic debate about the cultural legitimacy of Italian genre cinemaCovers unpublished film production data (from the Archivio Centrale dello Stato in Rome), original screenplays (from the Biblioteca Luigi Chiarini in Rome), cinematic paratexts and vampire-themed paraliterature (from libraries all over Italy)Outlines the 1945-1985 historical and industrial context of Italian cinemaPositioning itself at the intersection of Italian film history, horror studies and cultural studies, this fascinating book asks why, and how, was the protean, transnational and transmedial figure of the vampire appropriated by Italian cinema practitioners between 1956 and 1975?The book outlines both the 1945–85 industrial context of Italian cinema and the political, economic and sociocultural context of the Italian Republic, from post-war reconstruction to the austerity of the mid-1970s. Using case studies of films by directors such as Mario Bava and Riccardo Freda, it also delves into lesser-known gems of Italian psychotronic cinema from the 1960s and 1970s, like L’amante del vampiro (The Vampire and the Ballerina) and Riti, magie nere e segrete orge nel Trecento . . . (The Reincarnation of Isabel).With original research into hitherto unpublished film production data, censorship data, original screenplays, trade papers, film magazines and vampire-themed paraliterature, the book strongly argues for the cultural legitimacy of Italian film genres like horror, adventure, comedy and erotica, whose study has so far been neglected in favour of the Italian auteur cinema of the 1940s neorealists and their later followers.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- FIGURES AND TABLES -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- INTRODUCTION -- PART I THE INDUSTRIAL CONTEXT -- 1. THE ITALIAN FILM INDUSTRY (1945–1985) -- 2. ITALIAN VAMPIRE CINEMA (1956–1975) -- PART II VAMPIRE SEX AND VAMPIRE GENDER -- 3. FEMALE VAMPIRES -- 4. MALE VAMPIRES -- PART III SANGUINE ECONOMY, BLOODY POLITIC -- 5. VAMPIRES OF THE LATE 1950S AND EARLY 1960S -- 6. POST-1968 VAMPIRES -- APPENDIX A: THREE ITALIAN VAMPIRE FILMS THAT WERE NEVER MADE -- APPENDIX B: FILES FROM THE ITALIAN SHOW BUSINESS BUREAU FONDS AT THE ARCHIVIO CENTRALE DELLO STATO IN ROME -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX