This is the first major book-length study of the work of Australian film-maker Baz Luhrmann, one of the most exciting and controversial personalities working in World Cinema today. Luhrmann's reputation as an innovator rests on the evidence of the three films known as the Red Curtain Trilogy: Strictly Ballroom (1992), William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge! (2001), which together demonstrate the development of a highly distinctive style and brand.

Pam Cook, who was given unprecedented access to the Luhrmann private archives, explores the genesis of the Red Curtain aesthetic, from Luhrmann's early experience in theatre and opera to his collaborative working methods and unique production set-up. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Luhrmann and his chief collaborator, designer Catherine Martin, she traces the roots of their work in an increasingly globalised Australian film culture, investigating the relationship of their company Bazmark to the Hollywood studio Twentieth Century-Fox, and the influences on their style and production methods. At the book's heart are substantial analyses of the spectacular Red Curtain films and the historical epic Australia (2008). This lively and original study of one of contemporary cinema's most fascinating figures will appeal to film scholars, cultural historians and Luhrmann enthusiasts alike.




"Cook reveals Luhrmann as salutary model for a nationalist independent's survival in the global art/industry of movies... Recommended." - CHOICE

About the Author
PAM COOK is Professor Emerita in Film at the University of Southampton. She is the editor of The Cinema Book Third Edition (2007) and Gainsborough Pictures (1997), and the author of Fashioning the Nation: Costume and Identity in British Cinema (1996), I Know Where I'm Going! (2002) and Screening the Past: Memory and Nostalgia in Cinema (2005).


Reviews
"Cook reveals Luhrmann as salutary model for a nationalist independent's survival in the global art/industry of movies... Recommended." - CHOICE



Book Information
ISBN 9781844571574
Author Pam Cook
Format Hardback
Page Count 208
Imprint BFI Publishing
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC