{"product_id":"pleading-the-blood-bill-gunns-ganja-hess-9780253059208","title":"Pleading the Blood: Bill Gunn's Ganja \u0026 Hess","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe definitive look at one of the most important Black art films and original filmmakers of the 1970s.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eBill Gunn's \u003ci\u003eGanja \u0026amp; Hess\u003c\/i\u003e (1973) has across the decades attained a sizable cult following among African American cinema devotees, art house aficionados, and horror fans, thanks to its formal complexity and rich allegory. \u003ci\u003ePleading the Blood\u003c\/i\u003e is the first full-length study of this cult classic. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eGanja \u0026amp; Hess\u003c\/i\u003e was withdrawn almost immediately after its New York premiere by its distributor because Gunn's poetic re-fashioning of the vampire genre allegedly failed to satisfy the firm's desire for a by-the-numbers \"blaxploitation\" horror flick for quick sell-off in the urban market. Its current status as one of the classic works of African American cinema has recently been confirmed by the Blu-ray release of its restored version, by its continued success in screenings at repertory houses, museums, and universities, and by an official remake, \u003ci\u003eDa Sweet Blood of Jesus\u003c\/i\u003e (2014), directed by Spike Lee, one of the original picture's longtime champions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePleading the Blood\u003c\/i\u003e draws on Gunn's archived papers, screenplay drafts, and storyboards, as well as interviews with the living major creative participants to offer a comprehensive, absorbing account of the influential movie and its highly original filmmaker.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eChristopher Sieving is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre and Film Studies at the University of Georgia. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eSoul Searching: Black-Themed Cinema from the March on Washington to the Rise of Blaxploitation \u003c\/i\u003e(2011).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Indiana University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50495302140178,"sku":"9780253059208","price":38.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_05504c7b-0dd7-4900-933a-bd4ecd216522.jpg?v=1730679709","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/pleading-the-blood-bill-gunns-ganja-hess-9780253059208","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}