A Companion to Spanish Cinema

650 Pages·2012·6.27 MB·English

A Companion to Spanish Cinema
Wiley-Blackwell Companions to National Cinemas
The Wiley-Blackwell Companions to National Cinemas showcase the rich film herit-
ages of various countries across the globe. Each volume sets the agenda for what
is now known as world cinema whilst challenging Hollywood’s lock on the popu-
lar and scholarly imagination. Whether exploring Spanish, German or Chinese
film, or the broader traditions of Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, and Latin
America the 20–25 newly commissioned essays comprising each volume include
coverage of the dominant themes of canonical, controversial, and contemporary
films; stars, directors, and writers; key influences; reception; and historiography
and scholarship. Written in a sophisticated and authoritative style by leading
experts they will appeal to an international audience of scholars, students, and
general readers.
Published:
A Companion to German Cinema, edited by Terri Ginsberg & Andrea Mensch
A Companion to Chinese Cinema, edited by Yingjin Zhang
A Companion to East European Cinemas, edited by Anikó Imre
A Companion to Spanish Cinema, edited by Jo Labanyi & Tatjana Pavlović
A Companion to
Spanish Cinema
Edited by
ć
Jo Labanyi and Tatjana Pavlovi
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
This edition first published 2013
© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A companion to Spanish cinema / edited by Jo Labanyi and Tatjana Pavlović. – 1
p. cm. – (Wiley-Blackwell companions to national cinemas)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4051-9438-9 (hardback)
1. Motion pictures–Spain. I. Labanyi, Jo. II. Pavlović, Tatjana.
PN1993.5.S7C6595 2012
791.430946–dc23
2012023050
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover design by Nicki Averill.
Cover image from El Sur (Víctor Eríce, 1983; prod. Elías Querejeta PC). Courtesy of Video Mercury
and Filmoteca Española.
Set in 11/13pt Dante by SPi Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India
1 2013
Contents
Acknowledgments viii
List of Figures ix
List of Contributors xviii
1 Introduction 1
Jo Labanyi and Tatjana Pavlović
Part I Reframing the National 13
2 Transnational Frameworks 15
Gerard Dapena, Marvin D’Lugo, and Alberto Elena
3 Echoes and Traces: Catalan Cinema, or Cinema in Catalonia 50
Brad Epps
4 Negotiating the Local and the Global: Andalusia,
the Basque Country, and Galicia 81
José Colmeiro and Joseba Gabilondo
Part II The Construction of the Auteur 111
5 Auteurism and the Construction of the Canon 113
Marvin D’Lugo and Paul Julian Smith
6 Strategic Auteurism 152
Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, Steven Marsh, Susan Martin-Márquez,
and Santos Zunzunegui
vi Contents
Part III Genre 191
7 Comedy and Musicals 193
Steven Marsh, Chris Perriam, Eva Woods Peiró,
and Santos Zunzunegui
8 Melodrama and Historical Film 224
Jo Labanyi, Annabel Martín, and Vicente Rodríguez Ortega
9 Film Noir, the Thriller, and Horror 259
Jo Labanyi, Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, and Vicente Rodríguez Ortega
Part IV Stars as Cultural Icons 291
10 The Construction of the Star System 293
Kathleen M. Vernon and Eva Woods Peiró
11 Stars, Modernity, and Celebrity Culture 319
Tatjana Pavlović, Chris Perriam, and Nuria Triana Toribio
Part V Image and Sound 343
12 Photography, Production Design, and Editing 345
Vicente Sánchez-Biosca
13 Soundtrack 370
Román Gubern and Kathleen M. Vernon
Part VI T he Film Apparatus: Production, Infrastructure,
and Audiences 389
14 Censorship, Film Studios, and Production Companies 391
Josetxo Cerdán, Román Gubern, Jo Labanyi, Steven Marsh,
Tatjana Pavlović, and Nuria Triana Toribio
15 Film Clubs, Festivals, Archives, and Magazines 434
Ferran Alberich, Román Gubern, and Vicente Sánchez-Biosca
16 Audiences 464
Manuel Palacio and Kathleen M. Vernon
Part VII Relations with Other Media 487
17 Cinema, Popular Entertainment, Literature, and Television 489
Sally Faulkner, Vicente Sánchez-Biosca, and Paul Julian Smith
Contents vii
Part VIII Beyond the Fiction Film 519
18 Newsreels, Documentary, Experimental Film, Shorts,
and Animation 521
Josetxo Cerdán and Vicente Sánchez-Biosca
Part IX Reading Films through Theory 543
19 Isabel Coixet’s Engagement with Feminist Film Theory:
From G (the Gaze) to H (the Haptic) 545
Susan Martin-Márquez
20 Becoming a Queer (M)Other in/and/through Film:
Transsexuality, Trans-subjectivity, and Maternal
Relationality in Almodóvar’s Todo sobre mi madre 563
Julián Daniel Gutiérrez-Albilla
21 The Space of the Vampire: Materiality and Disappearance
in the Films of Iván Zulueta 581
Brad Epps
Index 597
Acknowledgments
Our special thanks to Margarita Lobo, Alicia Potes, and Miguel Soria at Filmoteca
Española in Madrid for their help with locating and providing graphic material,
and with identifying copyright holders. We also thank Elena Baranda of Video
Mercury for granting permission to reproduce a significant number of images,
including the still from Víctor Erice’s El sur used on the cover. We are also hugely
grateful to Curry O’Day, tech support specialist at Tulane University, for his invalu-
able technical help with the illustrations. We owe a particular debt to Jayne Fargnoli
of Wiley-Blackwell for her faith in our ability to produce an innovative volume,
and to Galen Young and Allison Kostka for their efficiency throughout the produc-
tion process.
List of Figures
2.1 Alberto Closas and Lucía Bosé in Muerte de un ciclista
(Juan Antonio Bardem, 1955; prod. Suevia Films). Courtesy
of Criterion Collection. 24
2.2 Handbill publicizing María Félix and Rossano Brazzi in
La corona negra (Luis Saslavsky, 1950; prod. Suevia Films).
Private collection. 25
2.3 Silvia Pinal in the title role of Luis Buñuel’s scandalous transnational
hit Viridiana (1961; prod. UNINCI / Alatriste). 29
2.4 Stéphane Audran in José Luis Borau’s Hay que matar a B (1973; prod.
El Imán): a cross between one of Hitchcock’s icy blondes and a Latin
version of Rita Hayworth in Welles’ The Lady from Shanghai (1947). 34
2.5 Mexican heart throb Jorge Negrete surveys Seville, represented
by the iconic image of the Giralda, in the first Spanish–Latin
American coproduction, Jalisco canta en Sevilla (Fernando de
Fuentes, 1948; prod. Chamartín). 42
2.6 A first attempt to depict a broad canvas of immigration in Spain
by the Egyptian-born Basel Ramsis: El otro lado: Un acercamiento
a Lavapiés (2003; prod. Dayra Arts S.L. / Basel Ramsis). Courtesy
of Basel Ramsis. 46
3.1 The invisible echo (El tambor del Bruch, Ignacio F. Iquino, 1948;
prod. Emisora Films). 51
3.2 The visible trace in El Judas (Ignacio F. Iquino, 1952; prod. IFI). 52
3.3 Barcelona-cum-New York in Bilbao (Bigas Luna, 1978; prod.
Figaro-Ona Films). 56
3.4 Spain is different – but Catalonia is the same: Los Tarantos
(Francisco Rovira Beleta, 1963; prod. Tecisa / Films Rovira Beleta). 65
3.5 Immigrant laborers and foreign tourists in La piel quemada
(Josep Maria Forn, 1967; prod. Teide PC). 65
x List of Figures
3.6 The new dawn of political consciousness: Aurora de esperanza
(Antonio Sau Olite, 1937; prod. SIE). 67
3.7 The dark face of Francoism: Vampir-Cuadecuc (Pere Portabella, 1970;
prod. Films 59). 72
4.1 Pantalla Propia: O Cine das Nacións (A Screen of One’s Own: The Cinema
of Nations). Special issue of the cultural magazine Cadernos da Nosa
Terra de Pensamento e Cultura on the cinema of Spain’s autonomous
communities (November 1990). Courtesy of Cadernos da Nosa Terra. 84
4.2 Habana Blues trio (Habana Blues, Benito Zambrano, 2005; prod.
Maestranza Films). Courtesy of Maestranza Films. 91
4.3 Poster for Kutsidazu bidea, Ixabel (Fernando Bernués and Mireia
Gabilondo, 2006; prod. Tentazioa Produkzioak). Courtesy
of Tentazioa Produkzioak. 96
4.4 Poster for Xavier Villaverde’s Continental (1989; prod. Continental
Producciones). Courtesy of Continental Producciones. 103
4.5 Poster for Miguelanxo Prado’s De profundis (2006; prod. Continental
Producciones). Courtesy of Continental Producciones. 107
5.1 The leg fetishism in Buñuel’s Ensayo de un crimen (1955) would
inspire Almodóvar’s Carne trémula (1997; prod. El Deseo),
as illustrated in this shot. 121
5.2 The Buñuelian specular ritual aligns the gaze of characters on
screen with the extradiegetic gaze of the camera and spectators:
Belle de jour (Buñuel, 1967; prod. Robert and Raymond
Hakim / Paris Film Production). 123
5.3 Saura’s use of freeze-frames at the end of La caza (1965)
and Ana y los lobos (1973; both prod. Elías Querejeta PC)
gives them a photographic quality that encourages spectators
to “relive” the characters’ fictional past. 129
5.4 Almodóvar’s ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto? (1984; prod.
Kaktus PC / Tesauro SA): domestic objects look back
at housewife Gloria. 133
5.5 The magic pendulum in Víctor Erice’s El sur (1983; prod. Elías
Querejeta PC); Sonsoles Aranguren as the young
Estrella (1983). 139
5.6 Looking into the void in Medem’s Vacas (1992; prod. Sogetel):
Emma Suárez (Cristina) and Txema Blasco (Manuel). 143
5.7 The Gran Vía emptied for the opening sequence of Amenábar’s
Abre los ojos (1997; prod. Las Producciones del Escorpión). 148
6.1 The ghost of Robinson de Mantua (Félix de Pomés) emerges
from a mirror in La torre de los siete jorobados (Edgar Neville, 1944;
prod. España Films). 155
6.2 Jaume Canivell (José Zazatornil) attempts small talk in the company
of Chus (Amparo Soler Leal) and Laura (Laly Soldevila) in La escopeta
nacional (Luis García Berlanga, 1978; prod. Impala). 157