An authoritative guide to the action-packed film genre
With 24 incisive, cutting-edge contributions from esteemed scholars and critics,
A Companion to the Action Film
provides an authoritative and in-depth guide to this internationally popular and wide-ranging genre. As the first major anthology on the action film in more than a decade, the volume offers insights into the genre’s historical development, explores its production techniques and visual poetics, and provides reflections on the numerous social, cultural, and political issues it has and continues to embody.
offers original research and critical analysis that examines the iconic characteristics of the genre, its visual aesthetics, and its narrative traits; considers the impact of major directors and stars on the genre’s evolution; puts the action film in dialogue with various technologies and other forms of media such as graphic novels and television; and maps out new avenues of critical study for the future. This important resource:
Offers a definitive guide to the action film
Contains insightful contributions from a wide range of international film experts and scholars
Reviews the evolution of the genre from the silent era to today’s age of digital blockbusters
Offers nuanced commentary and analysis of socio-cultural issues such as race, nationality, and gender in action films
Written for scholars, teachers and students in film studies, film theory, film history, genre studies, and popular culture,
is an essential guide to one of international cinema’s most important, popular, and influential genres.