CineACTION
Encyclopedia
CineAction is a Canada
-based film magazine, published three times a year, edited by an editorial collective that included critic Robin Wood
. It was founded in 1985 by members of the film department at Toronto's York University
.
, Tell Me a Riddle
, Death Watch
, and The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
. Among the first issue's contributors were Robin Wood, Richard Lippe, Bryan Bruce 2 (aka film director Bruce LaBruce
), Florence Jacobowitz, Maureen Judge
, and Lori Spring.
In subsequent issues, CineAction! (the logo dropped the exclamation point with the 23rd issue) went on to publish the work of Douglas Pye, V. F. Perkins, Scott Forsyth, Tony French, Tony Williams, Edward Gallafent, Brad Stevens
, Deborah Thomas, Andrew Britton, and scores more. CineAction generally poses a theme for each issue, and such themes have included comedy, sexuality
in cinema
, the films of Martin Scorsese
, Canadian film, teen films, Vietnam
, interpretation
, documentary
, rethinking authorship, and questions of value
.
In issue No. 70, Wood announced that he was stepping down from the collective board, but would continue to contribute to the magazine. Issue No. 71 (Sexuality in the Cinema) was delayed for several months due to financial problems. However, it finally appeared on store-shelves in late May 2007.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-based film magazine, published three times a year, edited by an editorial collective that included critic Robin Wood
Robin Wood (critic)
Robert Paul "Robin" Wood was a Canada-based film critic and educator. He wrote books on Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, Ingmar Bergman, and Arthur Penn and was a member, until 2007, of the editorial collective that publishes the magazine CineACTION!, a film theory collective founded by Wood and...
. It was founded in 1985 by members of the film department at Toronto's York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
.
Overview
CineAction began publishing in spring of 1985 (as CineAction! with an exclamation mark), and reached its 70th issue mark in early 2007. In a lead editorial in its first issue, the collective wrote that the aim of the publication was to "provide, within the field of film criticism, alternatives to what is generally available. We want to steer a course between, on the one hand, the practice of journalistic reviewing (the expression of personal opinions, within an entertainment format) and, on the other, academic "criticism" of a certain type (detached from contemporary social realities and frequently inaccessible to the uninitiated)". The first issue then went on to offer articles on films such as A Matter of TimeA Matter of Time (1976 film)
A Matter of Time is a 1976 American/Italian musical fantasy film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by John Gay is based on the novel Film of Memory by Maurice Druon...
, Tell Me a Riddle
Tell Me a Riddle
Tell Me a Riddle is a 1980 American drama film directed by Lee Grant. The screenplay by Joyce Eliason and Alev Lytle is based on Tillie Olsen's collection of four short stories of the same name which won the 1961 O. Henry Award. This is Grant's first film as director...
, Death Watch
Death Watch
Death Watch is a 1980 science fiction film directed by Bertrand Tavernier. It is based on the novel The Unsleeping Eye by David G. Compton, also known as The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe...
, and The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (film)
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia is a 1981 film, starring Kristy McNichol, Dennis Quaid, Mark Hamill, and Don Stroud, directed by Ronald F. Maxwell. It was very loosely inspired by the Vicki Lawrence song of the same name...
. Among the first issue's contributors were Robin Wood, Richard Lippe, Bryan Bruce 2 (aka film director Bruce LaBruce
Bruce LaBruce
Bruce LaBruce is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, photographer and underground gay porn director based in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:...
), Florence Jacobowitz, Maureen Judge
Maureen Judge
Maureen Judge is a critically acclaimed Canadian filmmaker and television producer. Most of her work is documentary and explores themes of love, betrayal and acceptance in the context of the modern family.-Biography:...
, and Lori Spring.
In subsequent issues, CineAction! (the logo dropped the exclamation point with the 23rd issue) went on to publish the work of Douglas Pye, V. F. Perkins, Scott Forsyth, Tony French, Tony Williams, Edward Gallafent, Brad Stevens
Brad Stevens
Brad Stevens is an American college basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head men's basketball coach at Butler University. He grew up in Zionsville, Indiana, where he starred on the Zionsville Community High School basketball team, setting four school records...
, Deborah Thomas, Andrew Britton, and scores more. CineAction generally poses a theme for each issue, and such themes have included comedy, sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
in cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, the films of Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, Canadian film, teen films, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, interpretation
Interpretation (aesthetics)
An interpretation in philosophy of art, is an explanation of the meaning of some work of art. An interpretation expresses an understanding of a work of art, a poem, performance, or piece of literature.- One or many :...
, documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, rethinking authorship, and questions of value
Value (economics)
An economic value is the worth of a good or service as determined by the market.The economic value of a good or service has puzzled economists since the beginning of the discipline. First, economists tried to estimate the value of a good to an individual alone, and extend that definition to goods...
.
In issue No. 70, Wood announced that he was stepping down from the collective board, but would continue to contribute to the magazine. Issue No. 71 (Sexuality in the Cinema) was delayed for several months due to financial problems. However, it finally appeared on store-shelves in late May 2007.
External links
- CineAction.ca – official website
- A list of CineAction issue contents