The possibility of life after death is a significant theme in cinema, in which ghosts return to the world of the living to wrap up unfinished business, console their survivors, visit lovers, and just enjoy a well-wreaked scaring. This work focuses on film depictions of survival after death, from meetings with the ghost of Elvis to AIDS-related ghosts: apparitions, hauntings, mediumship, representations of heaven, angels, near-death experiences, possession, poltergeists, and all the other ways in which the living interact with the dead on screen. The work opens with a historical perspective, which outlines the development of pre-cinematic technology for projecting phantoms, and discusses the use of these skills in early ghost cinema. English-language sound films are then examined thematically with topics ranging from the expiation of sins to hungry ghosts. Six of the most significant films, Dead of Night, A Matter of Life and Death, The Innocents, The Haunting, The Shining, and Jacob's Ladder, are given a detailed analysis. A conclusion, filmography, and bibliography follow.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Mcfarland & Co Inc
ISBN-13
9780786420056
eBay Product ID (ePID)
94411431
Product Key Features
Book Title
Ghost Images: Cinema of the Afterlife
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Publication Year
2004
Author
Tom Ruffles
Number of Pages
279 Pages
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Tom Ruffles
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
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