Gay Directors, Gay Films?: Pedro Almodóvar, Terence Davies, Todd Haynes, Gus Van Sant, John Waters
Columbia University Press (Footprint) $52.95 pb, 392 pp, 9780231152778
Gay Directors, Gay Films?: Pedro Almodóvar, Terence Davies, Todd Haynes, Gus Van Sant, John Waters by Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy has had a prestigious career as a senior critic at Variety, professor of film and sociology, and jury member at fifty-four international film festivals. His exhaustive account of the careers of five gay male auteurs is peppered with quotes from his own interviews with them. This awfully titled book may frustrate some readers, including Levy's peers in screen studies, to whom it will seem slight. Film buffs fond of these directors are probably familiar with much of what's on offer here. For the 'general reader', the book is a breezy introduction to questions of 'gay' cinema; but as an introduction it fails to position these careers in the broader universe of queer representation, and it all but ignores non-white directors and women.
Continue reading for only $2.50 per week. Subscribe and gain full access to Australian Book Review. Already a subscriber? Sign in. If you need assistance, feel free to contact us.
Leave a comment
If you are an ABR subscriber, you will need to sign in to post a comment.
If you have forgotten your sign in details, or if you receive an error message when trying to submit your comment, please email your comment (and the name of the article to which it relates) to ABR Comments. We will review your comment and, subject to approval, we will post it under your name.
Please note that all comments must be approved by ABR and comply with our Terms & Conditions.