Cinema of Obsession: Erotic Fixation and Love Gone Wrong in the Movies (book)
Encyclopedia
Cinema of Obsession: Erotic Fixation and Love Gone Wrong in the Movies by Dominique Mainon
and James Ursini
is a non-fiction book documenting the history of obsessive love, amour fou and erotic fixation in cinema.
It begins with an overview of "mad love" in literature and myth, then moves quickly into an in-depth overview of the theme in modern cinema. From its origins in the myths of Ovid
such as Pygmalion-Galatea, Pysche and Cupid, and Narcissus
to medieval tales of tragic love triangles like that of Arthur-Guenivere-Lancelot and Mark-Isolde-Tristan and on to the Romantic tales of the Brontes and twentieth-century works of writers of erotica like Lawrence and Anaïs Nin
, this theme has become emblematic in cinema today.
The book features seminal works in obsession themes like Buñuel's Un Chien Andalou
, Dietrich's The Blue Angel, Peter Ibbetson
, The Phantom of the Opera
, Renoir's La Bête Humaine
, and Of Human Bondage, which set the groundwork for films to follow. It also defines and examples of the explosive nature of amour fou with adaptations of legendary films such as Romeo and Juliet
, Duel in the Sun
, Wuthering Heights
, Carmen
, Last Tango in Paris
, Bette Blue, Sid and Nancy
, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
, and the more recent films of Wong Kar Wai and Almodovar.
, Hitchcock's Vertigo
and Marnie
, Basic Instinct
, Visconti's Death in Venice
, Fellini's The Temptation of Doctor Anthony. Male masochism, a key element in many of the films, especially film noirs like Criss Cross
, The Killers, Gilda
, The Postman Always Rings Twice
, and more modern explorations like Lolita
and Cronenberg's M. Butterfly
, earns its own chapter.
The fugitive couple, love on the run, another noir theme, is also studied centering on films like Gun Crazy
, Truffaut's Mississippi Mermaid
and its recent remake with Angelina Jolie Original Sin
, Moulin Rouge
, and Lynch's Wild at Heart
. The book shifts gears in its finale and concentrates on the female gaze, films of female obsession: e.g., Jane Eyre
, Lady Chatterley's Lover
, The Piano
, The Story of Adele H., The Lover
, Fatal Attraction
, Vanilla Sky
, to name but a few.
From the same authors of The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women On-Screen, this book also contains a filmography of over one hundred films including hundreds of illustrations and a complete bibliography.
Dominique Mainon
Dominique Mainon, born , is an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker living in Laguna Beach, California. She has written several books along with noted author and film historian James Ursini including Femme Fatale: Cinema's Most Unforgettable Lethal Ladies , Cinema of Obsession: Erotic...
and James Ursini
James Ursini
James Ursini is a teacher and writer living in Los Angeles. He received his Master's Degree in Theater Arts and a Doctorate in Film in 1975 from UCLA...
is a non-fiction book documenting the history of obsessive love, amour fou and erotic fixation in cinema.
It begins with an overview of "mad love" in literature and myth, then moves quickly into an in-depth overview of the theme in modern cinema. From its origins in the myths of Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
such as Pygmalion-Galatea, Pysche and Cupid, and Narcissus
Narcissus (mythology)
Narcissus or Narkissos , possibly derived from ναρκη meaning "sleep, numbness," in Greek mythology was a hunter from the territory of Thespiae in Boeotia who was renowned for his beauty. He was exceptionally proud, in that he disdained those who loved him...
to medieval tales of tragic love triangles like that of Arthur-Guenivere-Lancelot and Mark-Isolde-Tristan and on to the Romantic tales of the Brontes and twentieth-century works of writers of erotica like Lawrence and Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin was a French-Cuban author, based at first in France and later in the United States, who published her journals, which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death, her erotic literature, and short stories...
, this theme has become emblematic in cinema today.
The book features seminal works in obsession themes like Buñuel's Un Chien Andalou
Un chien andalou
Un Chien Andalou is a 1929 silent surrealist short film by the Spanish director Luis Buñuel and artist Salvador Dalí. It was Buñuel's first film and was initially released in 1929 to a limited showing in Paris, but became popular and ran for eight months....
, Dietrich's The Blue Angel, Peter Ibbetson
Peter Ibbetson
Peter Ibbetson is an American black-and-white drama film released in 1935 and directed by Henry Hathaway.The picture is based on a novel by George du Maurier, first published in 1891. In 1917, du Maurier's story was adapted into a very successful Broadway play starring John Barrymore, Lionel...
, The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel of the same title directed by Rupert Julian. The film featured Lon Chaney in the title role as the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to force...
, Renoir's La Bête Humaine
La Bête Humaine (film)
La Bête Humaine is a film directed by Jean Renoir, with cinematography by Curt Courant...
, and Of Human Bondage, which set the groundwork for films to follow. It also defines and examples of the explosive nature of amour fou with adaptations of legendary films such as Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, Duel in the Sun
Duel in the Sun
Duel in the Sun is a Technicolor 1946 Western film directed by King Vidor, produced and written by David O. Selznick, which tells the story of a Mestiza girl who goes to live with her Anglo relatives, becoming involved in prejudice and forbidden love...
, Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë published in 1847. It was her only novel and written between December 1845 and July 1846. It remained unpublished until July 1847 and was not printed until December after the success of her sister Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre...
, Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, Last Tango in Paris
Last Tango in Paris
Last Tango in Paris is a 1972 Italian romantic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci which portrays a recent American widower who takes up an anonymous sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman...
, Bette Blue, Sid and Nancy
Sid and Nancy
Sid and Nancy is a 1986 British biopic directed by Alex Cox. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious , bassist of the seminal punk rock band the Sex Pistols, and his relationship with girlfriend Nancy Spungen .-Plot:The film opens with several police officers dragging Sid Vicious out of the Hotel...
, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American romantic science fiction film about an estranged couple who have each other erased from their memories, scripted by Charlie Kaufman and directed by the French director, Michel Gondry. The film uses elements of science fiction, psychological...
, and the more recent films of Wong Kar Wai and Almodovar.
Theme
The book's theme encompasses issues of attempted male control over the object of his obsession, which is highlighted in films like Franju's Eyes without a FaceEyes Without a Face
Eyes Without a Face is a 1960 French-language horror film adaptation of Jean Redon's novel, directed by Georges Franju, and starring Pierre Brasseur and Alida Valli. During the film's production, consideration was given to the standards of European censors by setting the right tone, minimizing...
, Hitchcock's Vertigo
Vertigo (film)
Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. The screenplay was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A...
and Marnie
Marnie (film)
Marnie is a 1964 psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on the novel of the same name by Winston Graham. The film stars Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery. The original film score was composed by Bernard Herrmann.-Plot:...
, Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone....
, Visconti's Death in Venice
Death in Venice (film)
Death in Venice is a 1971 film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Dirk Bogarde and Björn Andrésen. The film is based on the novella Death in Venice by Thomas Mann.-Plot:...
, Fellini's The Temptation of Doctor Anthony. Male masochism, a key element in many of the films, especially film noirs like Criss Cross
Criss Cross
-People:*Kris Kross, an American rap duo*Criss Cross Jazz, a jazz label*Chris Cross, bassist for the UK band Ultravox*ChrisCross, an American comic book artist...
, The Killers, Gilda
Gilda
Gilda is a 1946 American black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale. The film was noted for cinematographer Rudolph Mate's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis' wardrobe for Hayworth , and...
, The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1934 crime novel by James M. Cain.The novel was quite successful and notorious upon publication, and is regarded as one of the more important crime novels of the 20th century...
, and more modern explorations like Lolita
Lolita
Lolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian...
and Cronenberg's M. Butterfly
M. Butterfly
M. Butterfly is a 1988 play by David Henry Hwang loosely based on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a male Peking opera singer....
, earns its own chapter.
The fugitive couple, love on the run, another noir theme, is also studied centering on films like Gun Crazy
Gun Crazy
Gun Crazy is a 1950 film noir feature film starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall in a story about the crime-spree of a gun-toting husband and wife. The film was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and produced by Frank King and Maurice King...
, Truffaut's Mississippi Mermaid
Mississippi Mermaid
Mississippi Mermaid is a French film directed by François Truffaut. The film is adapted from the 1947 William Irish novel Waltz into Darkness. The film features Jean-Paul Belmondo, Catherine Deneuve, and others. The film was the 17th highest grossing film of the year with a total of 1,221,027...
and its recent remake with Angelina Jolie Original Sin
Original sin
Original sin is, according to a Christian theological doctrine, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred...
, Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge is a cabaret built in 1889 by Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Olympia. Close to Montmartre in the Paris district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, it is marked by the red windmill on its roof. The closest métro station is Blanche.The Moulin Rouge is...
, and Lynch's Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula is a 1990 pulp, "neo-noir" novel by Barry Gifford which was adapted to film in 1990.The novel begins the adventures of two sex-driven, star crossed protagonists on the road, Sailor and Lula...
. The book shifts gears in its finale and concentrates on the female gaze, films of female obsession: e.g., Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
, Lady Chatterley's Lover
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Lady Chatterley's Lover is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, first published in 1928. The first edition was printed privately in Florence, Italy with assistance from Pino Orioli; it could not be published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960...
, The Piano
The Piano
The Piano is a 1993 New Zealand drama film about a mute pianist and her daughter, set during the mid-19th century in a rainy, muddy frontier backwater on the west coast of New Zealand. The film was written and directed by Jane Campion, and stars Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, and Anna Paquin...
, The Story of Adele H., The Lover
The Lover
The Lover is an autobiographical novel by Marguerite Duras, published in 1984 by Les Éditions de Minuit. It has been translated to 43 languages and was awarded the 1984 Prix Goncourt...
, Fatal Attraction
Fatal Attraction
Fatal Attraction is a 1987 American thriller blended with horror, directed by Adrian Lyne and stars Michael Douglas, Glenn Close and Anne Archer. The film centers around a married man who has a weekend affair with a woman who refuses to allow it to end, resulting in emotional blackmail, stalking...
, Vanilla Sky
Vanilla Sky
Vanilla Sky is a 2001 American psychological thriller film directed, co-produced and co-written by Cameron Crowe. The film is an English-language remake of the 1997 Spanish movie Abre los ojos , the screenplay for which was written by Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil...
, to name but a few.
From the same authors of The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women On-Screen, this book also contains a filmography of over one hundred films including hundreds of illustrations and a complete bibliography.