Table Of ContentFILM / MEDIA STUDIES
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Abel Ferrara Nicole Brenez, promi-
e
Nicole Brenez nent fi lm critic and cura-
l
Translated from the French by Adrian Martin tor for the experimental
F
cinema programs at the
e
Cinémathèque française
“A truly remarkable achievement. Brenez does the r
best job to date in defending an underappreciated in Paris, teaches cinema r
a
American director not only in terms of aesthetics, studies at Universite Paris
r
but also for his ethical refl ections on the crimes and I/Pantheon-Sorbonne. She a
abuses of the past century.”
is the author of Shadows
—Jonathan Rosenbaum
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other books.
“One of the most exciting fi lm books I have read in
years. This essay is not only a brilliant study on Abel Adrian Martin is coeditor
Ferrara’s work, but a deep plunge into the stormy
of the internet magazine
waters of fi lm theory. In short, a masterpiece of
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modern literature about more than cinema.”
of Once Upon a Time in C O N T E M P O R A R Y F I L M D I R E C T O R S
—Carlos Losilla, fi lm critic and professor of fi lm
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theory, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona)
Movies.
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“Where critical work on Ferrara is concerned,
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e
Brenez has set a daunting new standard.” A volume in the series n
e
—Brad Stevens, author of Abel Ferrara: Contemporary Film z
The Moral Vision Directors, edited by
James Naremore
In this concise study, Nicole Brenez argues for Abel
Ferrara’s place in a line of grand inventors who have Cover illustration: Terry Kinney
blurred distinctions between industry and avant- and the shadows of the three
soldiers in Body Snatchers.
garde fi lm, including Orson Welles, Monte Hellman, Photo courtesy Zone Frontiére.
and Nicholas Ray. Rather than merely reworking Cover design: Paula Newcomb
genre fi lm, Brenez understands Ferrara’s oeuvre as Abel Ferrara
University of Illinois Press
formulating new archetypes that depict the evil of
Urbana and Chicago
the modern world. Focusing as much on the human
www.press.uillinois.edu
fi gure as on elements of storytelling, she argues
that fi lms such as Bad Lieutenant express this evil isbn-10: 0-252-07411-4 Nicole Brenez
through visionary characters struggling against isbn-13: 978-0-252-07411-0 ILL
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the inadmissible (inadmissible behavior, morality, O
images, and narratives). IS
Abel Ferrara
Contemporary Film Directors
Edited by James Naremore
The Contemporary Film Directors series provides concise,
well-written introductions to directors from around the
world and from every level of the film industry. Its chief
aims are to broaden our awareness of important artists,
to give serious critical attention to their work, and to il-
lustrate the variety and vitality of contemporary cinema.
Contributors to the series include an array of internationally
respected critics and academics. Each volume contains
an incisive critical commentary, an informative interview
with the director, and a detailed filmography.
A list of books in the series appears
at the end of this book.
Abel Ferrara
Nicole Brenez
Translated from the French by
Adrian Martin
University
oF
illinois
Press
UrBANA
AND
ChICAgo
© 2007 by Nicole Brenez
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brenez, Nicole.
[Abel Ferrara. English]
Abel Ferrara / Nicole Brenez ; translated from
the French by Adrian Martin.
p. cm. — (Contemporary film directors)
Filmography: p.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-252-03154-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-252-03154-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn-13: 978-0-252-07411-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-252-07411-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Ferrara, Abel, 1951—Criticism and interpretation.
I. Title. II. Series.
pn1998.3.f465b7413 2007
791.4302'33092—dc22 [b] 2006011276
Maybe it comes from being brought up in America
and idolizing Patrick henry and all these guys. It’s
about freedom of speech and will.
—Abel Ferrara (2002)
give me liberty or give me death.
—Patrick henry (1775)
Contents
Acknowledgments | xi
a cinema of negation | 1
Some Ethical Stakes in Ferrara’s Cinema 1
What Is Passion? Central Figures of Hypermorality 22
“Going to the End of Being” 68
Self-Consciousness: The Visionaries 110
Cinema and Symbolic Reparation 150
interview: abel ferrara | 165
Filmography | 173
Bibliography | 193
Index | 199
