As far as I am aware, this is the first book completely dedicated to just one of Argento's films. However, anyone expecting a book with loads of stills and on set photographs will be sadly disappointed. This is not for a casual fan who just happens to like the film, no, this book attempts to analyse every detail and thus view the film in a different light.
The author, Xavier Mendik, is a lecturer in media and popular culture at Northampton University and director of the Cult Film archive there. This shows through in the style of writing with advanced psychoanalysis used to explain different aspects of the film. Comparisons with real life case studies abound in a complex re-evalution of attitudes towards TENEBRAE.
Xavier clearly knows what he is talking about it is just that I find it all rather dry. There are some interesting parts to the book admittedly but I found these were the more factual aspects. I am not particularly fond of film analysis in any form as it removes the 'magic' of the cinematic event; besides, not everything has a myriad of hidden meanings or agenda's; it is possible to take stories at face value.
I am sure there are plenty of people who will like this book and it's approach to one of Argento's more complex films but it is certainly not for everyone. There are no illustrations or photo's of any kind and it is a slim volume at 56 pages. However, if you want an exhaustive examination of TENEBRAE then this is probably the book for you.
It forms part of the cinetek series from Flicks Books, priced £9.99 and is available from:
Flicks Books
29 Bradford Road
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 9AN
email: flicks.books@dial.pipex.com |
