Avant-Garde to New Wave: Czechoslovak Cinema, Surrealism and the Sixties

The cultural liberalization of communist Czechoslovakia in the 1960s produced many artistic accomplishments, not least the celebrated films of the Czech New Wave. This movement saw filmmakers use their new freedom to engage with traditions of the avant-garde, especially Surrealism. This book explores the avant-garde's influence over the New Wave and considers the political implications of that influence. The close analysis of selected films, ranging from the Oscar-winning Closely Observed Trains to the aesthetically challenging Daisies, is contextualized by an account of the Czech avant-garde and a discussion of the films' immediate cultural and political background.

Author: Jonathan L. Owen
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Published: 02/01/2013
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.76lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.54d
ISBN: 9780857459015

About the Author
Owen, Jonathan L.: -

Jonathan L. Owen is a Teaching Fellow at the University of St. Andrews. He completed his Ph.D. on Czech cinema at the University of Manchester. His research interests include the European cinema of the 1960s and 1970s and the Czech twentieth-century avant-garde.