Description: "This book examines a range of work that mixes two dimensions often situated at opposite ends of the cultural spectrum: contemporary arthouse cinema and the crime genre. While the 'art' of arthouse cinema implies qualities like originality, seriousness and significance, genre is often taken to suggest something more formulaic, repeated - and of lower cultural standing. The films examined straddle such dichotomies to embrace a spectrum ranging from oblique or social-realist films that touch on issues of crime to others that work firmly within crime-generic parameters while remaining distinctly different from mainstream-commercial material"--
Brief description: Geoff King is Emeritus Professor of Film Studies at Brunel University London, UK, and author of numerous books, including Arthouse Crime Scenes: Art Film, Genre and Crime in Contemporary World Cinema (Bloomsbury, 2024), The Cinema of Discomfort: Disquieting, Awkward and Uncomfortable Experiences in Contemporary Art and Indie Film (Bloomsbury, 2021), Positioning Art Cinema: Film and Cultural Value (Bloomsbury, 2019) and Quality Hollywood: Markers of Distinction in Contemporary Studio Film (Bloomsbury, 2015).
Review Quotes:
"Arthouse Crime Scenes is an intelligently crafted exploration of the terrain that unfolds when films variously categorized as 'arthouse' collide (or not) with the generic conventions of crime, and how that landscape is both illuminated and weathered by the forces of late capitalism." --Richard Langley, Associate Professor in Film, Birmingham University, UK
"An ambitiously diverse survey, roaming the globe to turn a critical spotlight on international crime cinema, the darkest and most fascinating corners of world filmmaking. Essential reading for those interested in genre, art cinema's cross-overs with popular culture, and how film noir's legacy shapes some of our leading auteurs today." --Tim Palmer, Professor of Film Studies, University of North Carolina Wilmington, USA