The Films of Nicolas Roeg: Myth and Mind

325 Pages·1992·35.236 MB·English

by  John Izod (auth.)

THE FILMS OF NICOLAS ROEG
Also by John Izod
HOLLYWOOD AND THE BOX OFFICE, 1895-1986
READING THE SCREEN
SATELLITE, CABLE AND BEYOND (with Alastair Hetherington)
The Films of
Nicolas Roeg
Myth and Mind
John Izod
Senior Lecturer, Department of Film and Media Studies
University of Stirling
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN 978-1-349-11470-2 ISBN 978-1-349-11468-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-11468-9
© Kenneth John lzod 1992
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1992 978-0-333-52269-1
All rights reserved. For information, write:
Scholarly and Reference Division,
St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue,
New York, N.Y. 10010
First published in the United States of America in 1992
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Izod, John, 1940-
The films of Nicolas Roeg: myth and mind/John Izod.
p. cm.
Filmography: p.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-07904-8
I. Roeg, Nicolas, 1928- -Criticism and interpretation.
1. Title
PN1998.3.R635196 1992
791.43'0233'092-dc20 91-45431
CIP
For Irene
- midwayan the epic journey ~
with love
e
Ah quanto a dir 'qual era cosa dura
esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte
che nel pensier rinova la paura!
Tant' e amara che poco e piu morte;
rna per trattar del ben ch'io vi trovai,
diro de l'altre cose ch'io v'ho scorte.
Dante, L'Inferno
'Every advance in culture is, psychologically, an extension of
consciousness, a coming to consciousness that can take place only
through discrimination. Therefore an advance always begins with
individuation, that is to say with the individual, conscious of his
isolation, cutting a new path through hitherto untrodden territory.
To do this he must first return to the fundamental facts of his own
being, irrespective of all authority and tradition, and allow himself
to become conscious of his distinctiveness. If he succeeds in giving
collective validity to his widened consciousness, he creates a tension
of opposites that provides the stimulation which culture needs for
its further progress: C. G. lung, On Psychic Energy
Contents
List of Plates ix
List of Figures xi
Acknowledgements xii
Introduction xiii
1 lung's Analytical Psychology and the Cinema 1
2 Threading the Maze 13
3 Performance 28
4 Walkabout 51
5 Don't Look Now 67
6 The Man Who Fell To Earth 87
7 Bad Timing 104
8 Eureka 125
9 Insignificance 152
10 Castaway 176
11 Aria - The Attempt on the Life of King Zog 195
12 Track 29 202
13 The Witches 217
14 Cold Heaven 230
Conclusion 249
Glossary of Jungian Terms 253
Notes and References 258
Filmography 273
Bibliography 278
Index 284
vii
List of Plates
1. Tibetan mandala showing the squaring of the circle
2. Maze mandala by one of Jung's patients
3. Performance. Turner (Mick Jagger) impersonates Harry
Flowers. (Warner Brothers)
4. Walkabout. The aborigine and a simple mandala. (Twentieth
Century-Fox)
5. Eureka. Claude succumbs to his own beauty. (UPI/British
Film Institute [Britain] MGM/UA [USA])
6. Performance. Pherber demonstrates Chas's sexual
ambivalence. (Warner Brothers)
7. Walkabout. The children's great journey begins. (Twentieth
Century-Fox)
8. Walkabout. The girl shields herself from the sun. (Twentieth
Century-Fox)
9. Francis Quarles, Emblemes (1635), Christ on the Cross as the
fruit of a tree
10. Don't Look Now. John Baxter pulls his child's body from
the pond. (British Lion and Paramount Pictures)
11. Don't Look Now. Laura and the sisters in the washroom.
(British Lion and Paramount Pictures)
12. Don't Look Now. John's vision. (British Lion and Paramount
Pictures)
13. Don't Look Now. John follows the dwarf into an abandoned
church. (British Lion and Paramount Pictures)
·14. The Man Who Fell to Earth. Newton's arrival. (British Lion)
15. The Man Who Fell to Earth. Newton dulls his mind. (British
Lion)
16. Gustav Klimt, Judith I, 1901. (Osterreichische Galerie,
Vienna)
17. Gustav Klimt, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907. (Osterreichische
Galerie, Vienna)
18. Gustav Klimt, The Kiss, 1907-8. (Osterreichische Galerie,
Vienna)
19. Bad Timing. Alex as conqueror, Milena as victim. (J. Arthur
Rank)
ix
x List of Plates
20. Eureka. Jack McCann near to death. (UPI/British Film
Institute [Britain] MGM/UA [USA])
21. Eureka. Jack's dinner party. (UPI/British Film Institute
[Britain] MGM/UA [USA])
22. Eureka. Jack feeds the wolves. (UPI/British Film Institute
[Britain] MGM/UA [USA])
23. Insignificance. The Actress on location. (Palace Pictures)
24. Insignificance. The Actress demonstrates the theory of
relativity. (Palace Pictures)
25. Castaway. Lucy works, Gerald thinks. (Columbia-Cannon
Warner)
26. Castaway. Gerald and Lucy brought together by their
failing strength. (Columbia-Cannon-Warner)
27. Track 29. Martin waiting for a start in life. (Handmade
Films/Recorded Releasing VHS Video: Cannon)
28. Track 29. Linda with her baby. (Handmade Films/
Recorded Releasing VHS Video: Cannon)
29. Track 29. Henry presides over the Trainorama conference.
(Handmade Films/Recorded Releasing VHS Video:
Cannon)
30. The Witches. Anjelica Huston rehearses the Grand High
Witch's salute. (Warner Brothers)
31. The Witches. Nic Roeg -caught between implacable
opposites. (Warner Brothers)