Masters of American Cinema Book Series Published in Krakow

December 19, 2007

Vice Consul John Surface (left) and dr hab. Łukasz Plesnar

The Film Theory and Audio-Visual Department at the Jagiellonian University presented the publication of Rebellion and Nostalgia, the second volume of its "Masters of American Cinema" Series.  The US Consulate in Krakow provided funding to help with the publication of the series.  The book's opening ceremony was held at Collegium Novum on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 19.  The anthology includes extended essays on the careers of directors as varied as Francis Ford Coppolla, Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen.  Vice Consul John Surface, a former Los Angeles film critic, presented a lecture on the presentation of myth, legend and violence in the films of Sam Peckinpah and Arthur Penn, the directors of The Wild Bunch and Bonnie and Clyde.  Rabid Publishers put the book to press this fall and the anthology is currently in book stores across the country.  The publisher expects solid sales and will be publishing the third volume on directors of today in 2008.  Additional books for publication next year from the Film Department cadre include authoritative works on the American Western, Robert Altman and Stanley Kubrick.