Refocus: The Films of Lawrence Kasdan - (Refocus: The American Directors) by Brett Davies (Hardcover)

About the Book

Critically examines the work of American filmmaker and screenwriter, Lawrence Kasdan

Book Synopsis

Acknowledgements
Introduction

Part I: "I'm making this up as I go" Lawrence Kasdan and Raiders of the Lost Ark
Chapter 1. Smith and Jones: Discourse Analysis of the Raiders of the Lost Ark Story Conference
Chapter 2. Visual Language in the Raiders of the Lost Ark Screenplay

Part II: Kasdan the Director: Developing Style(s)
Chapter 3. Body Heat: Heightened Style in the Neo-Noir
Chapter 4. Classical Structure in the "Perfect Ensemble" of The Big Chill

Part III: Voice of the Largest Generation
Chapter 5. Altruism and Otherness in The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist, and Grand Canyon
Chapter 6. Cowboys, Aliens, and Sixtysomethings: Age and Nostalgia in Kasdan's Later Films

Part IV: Influences, Without and Within
Chapter 7. From Noir to Kurosawa: Allusion and Homage in Lawrence Kasdan's Films
Chapter 8. Kasdan's Collaborations: Creation and Performance

Part V: A Long Time in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
Chapter 9. From Star Wars to Saga: Lawrence Kasdan and The Empire Strikes Back
Chapter 10. Revenge of the Monomyth: Reclaiming the Hero's Journey in Return of the Jedi
Chapter 11. A New Hope in The Force Awakens
Chapter 12. A Changed Man: Solo and Beyond
Chapter 13. An Interview with Lawrence Kasdan

Lawrence Kasdan: Writing and Directing Credits

Filmography
Bibliography

From the Back Cover

Lawrence Kasdan has created some of the most influential films in Hollywood history. He is the screenwriter of beloved blockbusters such as The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Bodyguard (1992) and The Force Awakens (2015). Simultaneously, he has gained critical acclaim as the director of pictures that dissect contemporary American society: Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), The Accidental Tourist (1988) and Grand Canyon (1991). Frequently experimenting in different genres, Kasdan's filmography defies easy classification. Taking an inclusive, interdisciplinary approach to examine all aspects of his eclectic canon, ReFocus: The Films of Lawrence Kasdan reveals a filmmaker who has helped shape modern American cinema, both through his screenplays for popular classics, and as the writer-director of films synonymous with the largest demographic in US history. Brett Davies is Associate Professor of English at Meiji University, Tokyo.

Review Quotes

In this wide-ranging volume, Brett Davies offers an absorbing overview of Lawrence Kasdan's career as Hollywood screenwriter and director. As well as examining Kasdan's directorial style, worldview, influences, and collaborations, Davies' volume is also notable for revealing Kasdan's role in the formation of the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises.

--Warren Buckland, Reader in Film Studies at Oxford Brookes University and author of Directed by Steven Spielberg.

This is an important book that uses a holistic approach - drawing on primary source material, interviews and film analysis - to demonstrate why Lawrence Kasdan and his films should be taken seriously. Davies reinforces the importance of studying so-called non-auteur directors and writers, whose contributions to cinema are worthy of attention.

--Claire Jenkins, University of Leicester

About the Author

Brett Davies is Associate Professor of English at Meiji University, Tokyo