Books on Exploitation Films

Embojitsu

Hi all,

I'm researching the exploitation film I Spit On Your Grave for my doctorate - can anyone recommend some books on the exploitation film genre for me? I'm not looking for any lurid material, just some good old discussion and academic opinion, etc etc. - I'd be very grateful as this is proving to be a difficult genre to research.

Thanks in advance.:)

mike65

Research eh?

Do you have a timeframe in mind?

American cinema
http://www.amazon.com/Nightmare-USA-Untold-Exploitation-Independents/dp/1903254469
European cinema
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alternative-Europe-Eurotrash-Exploitation-Alterimage/dp/1903364930

djkeogh

there was a good documentary on Sky Arts there recently called American Grindhouse.

It charted the rise in popularity of exploitation and more extreme cinema from the dawn of the medium right up to more recent years. Interesting that there used to be an awful lot of dubious material (perhaps not by todays standards) produced in Hollywood in the early 20's and 30's which resulted in public outcry and the creation of the MPAA. One of the last films made outside the jurisdiction of the MPAA was Todd Brownings: Freaks. Quite odd to see such a film given a budget and good production values.

I've not read books on the subject but there should be a wealth of information available.

Interesting topic.

Embojitsu

mike65 wrote: »

Research eh?

Do you have a timeframe in mind?

American cinema
http://www.amazon.com/Nightmare-USA-Untold-Exploitation-Independents/dp/1903254469
European cinema
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alternative-Europe-Eurotrash-Exploitation-Alterimage/dp/1903364930

Thanks so much - the Nightmares book is perfect and I promise it is for research! It can be hard to find a good collection of critical responses to films such as ISOYG and other such films, a lot of it tends to be lurid and doesn't explore the cultural resonance of such films. Thanks again.