A study of Denis Villeneuve's genre-transcendent film.
In Denis Villeneuve's Arrival (2016), scientists must decipher the language of and peacefully communicate with aliens who have landed on Earth before the world's military attacks. In this first book-length study of the film, scholar David Roche argues that it is one of the most important films of this century, and the most brilliant science fiction film since Blade Runner. Roche posits Arrival as a blockbuster with artistic ambitions-an argument supported by the film's several Academy Award nominations-and looks closely at how the film engages with theoretical questions posed by contemporary film studies and philosophy alike. Each section explores a central aspect of the film: its status as an auteur adaptation; its relation to the science fiction genre; its themes of communication on narrative and meta-narrative levels; its aesthetics of time and space; and the political and ethical questions it raises. Ultimately, Roche declares Arrival a unique, multifaceted experience in the world of hard science fiction films, placing it in context with works like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Contact while also examining how it bridges the gap between genre and art house cinema.
| ISBN: | 9781477330159 |
| Publication date: | 17th September 2024 |
| Author: | David Roche |
| Publisher: | University of Texas Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 200 pages |
| Series: | 21st Century Film Essentials |
| Genres: |
Film, television, radio genres: Science fiction, fantasy and horror Film history, theory or criticism |
A study of Denis Villeneuve's genre-transcendent film.
In Denis Villeneuve's Arrival (2016), scientists must decipher the language of and peacefully communicate with aliens who have landed on Earth before the world's military attacks. In this first book-length study of the film, scholar David Roche argues that it is one of the most important films of this century, and the most brilliant science fiction film since Blade Runner. Roche posits Arrival as a blockbuster with artistic ambitions-an argument supported by the film's several Academy Award nominations-and looks closely at how the film engages with theoretical questions posed by contemporary film studies and philosophy alike. Each section explores a central aspect of the film: its status as an auteur adaptation; its relation to the science fiction genre; its themes of communication on narrative and meta-narrative levels; its aesthetics of time and space; and the political and ethical questions it raises. Ultimately, Roche declares Arrival a unique, multifaceted experience in the world of hard science fiction films, placing it in context with works like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Contact while also examining how it bridges the gap between genre and art house cinema.
Arrival features in the following genres: Film, television, radio genres: Science fiction, fantasy and horror, Film history, theory or criticism
Arrival is available in Hardback, Paperback
Arrival was written by David Roche and published by University of Texas Press
Arrival has 200 pages
Yes it is part of 21st Century Film Essentials series
£17.09