{"product_id":"paul-verhoevens-cinema-of-violence-9781501399084","title":"Paul Verhoeven's Cinema of Violence","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first English-language critical study of the films of Paul Verhoeven, the Dutch director of provocative and vividly imagined films such as \u003ci\u003eTurkish Delight \u003c\/i\u003e(1973), \u003ci\u003eRobocop\u003c\/i\u003e (1987), \u003ci\u003eBasic Instinct\u003c\/i\u003e (1992), \u003ci\u003eShowgirls \u003c\/i\u003e(1995), \u003ci\u003eStarship Troopers\u003c\/i\u003e (1997), \u003ci\u003eBlack Book\u003c\/i\u003e (2006), and \u003ci\u003eElle \u003c\/i\u003e(2016).\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhere some audiences find in Paul Verhoeven little more than empty provocation (or, even worse, immoral scandal), \u003ci\u003ePaul Verhoeven's Cinema of Violence \u003c\/i\u003etakes a more careful and nuanced look at this director's body of work and its penchant for violence of various kinds. Exploring the breadth of this director's career, this book encompasses everything from his early short works as a student filmmaker in the 1960s to the most recently completed \u003ci\u003eBenedetta \u003c\/i\u003e(2021), a French-language film based on Judith C. Brown's 1986 academic volume \u003ci\u003eImmodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis volume studies a wide range of themes and ideas across Verhoeven's work, including his cinematic approach to violence, his adaptation of literature, his work in notable genres such as science fiction and the war film, his work with actors and direction of performances, his provocative treatment and representation of sexuality and gender, as well as his intense and frequently baroque cinematic style. It also traces in his work a career-long interest in religion: although an avowed atheist, Verhoeven has been obsessed with the image of Jesus in nearly all his films, a theme in his cinema that dovetails with his 2011 academic study \u003ci\u003eJesus of Nazareth\u003c\/i\u003e. Through this comprehensive approach, \u003ci\u003ePaul Verhoeven's Cinema of Violence\u003c\/i\u003e offers a passionate, nuanced, and comprehensive critical look at the cinematic output of one of the Netherlands' - and Hollywood's - most vital contemporary filmmakers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSteven Rybin\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Film Studies in the Department of Creative Arts at Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA. He is the author of numerous books, including \u003ci\u003ePlayful Frames: Styles of Widescreen Cinema \u003c\/i\u003e(2023), \u003ci\u003eShots to the Heart: For the Love of Film Performance \u003c\/i\u003e(2022), \u003ci\u003eGeraldine Chaplin: The Gift of Film Performance\u003c\/i\u003e (2020), \u003ci\u003eGestures of Love: Romancing Performance in Classical Hollywood Cinema\u003c\/i\u003e (2017), \u003ci\u003eMichael Mann: Crime Auteur \u003c\/i\u003e(2013), and \u003ci\u003eTerrence Malick and the Thought of Film \u003c\/i\u003e(2012).\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51890634129682,"sku":"9781501399084","price":131.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3851bdc0-2a76-4278-bde7-fab7fc5d7be7.jpg?v=1768312311","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/paul-verhoevens-cinema-of-violence-9781501399084","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}