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Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s: Twelve American Films
Barnes and Noble
Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s: Twelve American Films
Current price: $39.95
Barnes and Noble
Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s: Twelve American Films
Current price: $39.95
Size: Paperback
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This examination of dark comedies of the 1970s focuses on films which concealed black humor behind a misleading genre label.
(1979) is a musical...about death--hardly Fred and Ginger territory. This masking goes beyond misnomer to a breaking of formula that director Robert Altman called "anti-genre." Altman's
(1970) ridiculed the military establishment in general--the Vietnam War in particular--under the guise of a standard military service comedy. The picaresque
(1970) turned the bluecoats vs. Indians formula upside-down--the audience roots for the Indians instead of the cavalry.
The book covers 12 essential films, including
(1971),
(1972),
(1975) and
(1979), with notes on
(1971). These films reveal a compounding complexity that reinforces the absurdity at the heart of dark comedy.