Though the creative community of Reykjavík, Iceland, has earned a well-deserved reputation for its unique artistic output – most notably the popular music that has emerged from the city since the 1980s – Reykjavík’s filmmakers have received less attention than they merit. World Film Locations: Reykjavík corrects this imbalance, shedding new light on the role of cinema in a country that, partly because of its small population, produces more films per capita than any other in the world. 

The contributors to this volume trace cinema in Iceland from the 1979 establishment of the Icelandic Film Fund – before which the country’s film industry barely existed – through to today. In a series of illuminating scene reviews, they show how rapidly the city has changed over the past thirty years. In thematic spotlight articles, they go on to explore such topics as the relationship between Iceland and its capital city; youth culture and night life; the relationship between film and the local music community; cinematic representations of Scandinavian crime; and filmmakers’ response to the 2008 banking crisis. Together, these varied contributions show how films shot in Reykjavík have been shaped both by Iceland’s remoteness from the rest of the world and by Icelandic filmmakers’ sense that the city remains forever on the brink of desolate and harsh wilderness.

World Film Locations: Vienna provides a panorama of international motion pictures shot on location in Austria's once imperical capital. Informative reviews of 46 film scenes and evocative essays examine for the first time Vienna's relationship to cinema outside the waltz fantasies shot in the studios of Hollywood, London, Paris, Berlin... and Vienna. Illustrations and screen-grabs are set alongside current images, as well as city maps locating ‘cinematic Vienna’. A Vienna at the crossroads of a turbulent history, as a source of great music and literature, and a site of world-famous architecture ranging from gothic cathedrals and baroque palaces to Jugendstil (Vienna's art nouveau) to the eco-challenges of the postmodern is revealed. Spotlight essays cover the images that evoke the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; the pioneering filmmaking of Willi Forst and Walter Reisch in the 1930s; Vienna's role in the entertainment cinema of the Third Reich; opulent royal epics of the 1950s and the city as backdrop for international moviemaking; Jewish filmmakers and their take on lost cultural imagery; and a startling New Wave cinema from filmmakers such as Michael Haneke, Barbara Albert and Ulrich Seidl.

With more and more filmmakers taking advantage of its rich and varied settings, New Orleans has earned star-studded status as the 'Hollywood of the South'. From the big-screen adaptation of the stage classic A Streetcar Named Desire to the Elvis Presley musical King Creole, many well-known films have a special connection with the Big Easy, and this user-friendly guide explores the integral role of New Orleans in American film history.

World Film Locations: New Orleans features essays that reflect on the city’s long-standing relationship with the film industry. Among the topics discussed are popular depictions of Hurricane Katrina on film, the prevalence of the supernatural in New Orleans cinema and recent changes to city ordinances that have made New Orleans even more popular as a film destination. As the most frequently filmed area of New Orleans, the French Quarter is given particular attention in this volume with synopses of scenes shot or set there, including The Big Easy, Interview with the Vampire and the much-loved Bond film Live and Let Die. Additional synopses highlight numerous other film scenes spanning the city, and all are accompanied by evocative full-colour stills. The historic neighbourhoods and landmarks of New Orleans have provided the backdrop for some of the most memorable moments in film history, and this book offers fans a guided tour of the many films that made the city their home.

Popular films can do more than merely entertain us; they can contribute to our understanding of human nature and the ethical theory that informs it. Feminist Ethics in Film explores a varied group of cinematic narratives from the perspective of care-based ethics. The interpersonal relationships they portray disclose important dimensions of care that have been overlooked in less contextualized discussions. In particular, the book examines the relationships between care and community, autonomy, family and self transformation. Interpreting films from the perspective of the feminist ethics of care both expands our knowledge of this burgeoning area of philosophy and adds depth to our appreciation of the films.

Commended for their social relevance and artistic value, Chinese films remain at the forefront of international cinema, bolstered in recent years by a new generation of talented young filmmakers. Directory of World Cinema: China presents an accessible overview of the definitive films of Hong Kong and mainland China, with particular attention to the achievements of prolific industry figures, the burgeoning independent sector and the embrace of avant-garde practices of art cinema. Spanning a variety of characteristic genres, including horror, heroic bloodshed, romantic comedy and kung-fu, reviews cover individual titles in considerable depth and are accompanied by a selection of full-colour film stills. A comprehensive filmography and a bibliography of recommended reading complete this essential companion to Chinese cinema.

Despite critical acclaim and a recent surge of popularity with Western audiences, Iranian cinema has been the subject of lamentably few academic studies—and those have by and large been limited to the films and filmmakers most visible on the international film circuit. Iranian Cinema and Globalization seeks to broaden readers’ exposure to other dimensions of Iranian cinema, including the works of the many prolific filmmakers whose films have received little outside attention despite being widely popular within Iran. Combining theories of globalization and national cinema with in-depth, interdisciplinary analyses of individual films, this volume expands the current literature on Iranian cinema with insights into the social, and religious political contexts involved.

World Film Locations: Madrid is a trip through the urban space conceived as film location. The premise is that these locations must have been protagonist of films shot in Madrid since the silent era to the present. Madrid is the film capital of the Hispanic World from the standpoint of production. Being also one of the most visited cities in the world, this book tries to discover its most imaginative side for the visitor who dares to take this journey. But it is a tour that is not covered in the guidebooks. The different suggestions are explained in a series of essays written by experts, which analyses the role that the city plays in the stories filmed in Madrid. This is a city of contrasts where lives high culture (the best universities, the Museo del Prado, etc.), with the most popular and sparkling nightlife that began with La Movida and Almodóvar.

These essays account for this life contrast, addressing from the corralas (popular architecture) in Egdar Neville’s films, to the underground cinema of Iván Zulueta. Madrid’s spaces and their films are visually discussed as well through 44 microanalysis of sequences, whose selection criteria has been its importance in the plot and its ability to represent the true spirit of the city, rather than its tourist attractive. Casual visitors or permanent inhabitants, and general lovers of Spanish culture in a broad sense, will find in these pages reasons to wander through Madrid’s films and streets.

The cinematic output of Australian director Peter Weir has garnered numerous awards and widespread critical acclaim – from his early short films of the 1970s to the Hollywood hits he’s helmed since 1985, including the likes of Witness, Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show and Master and Commander.

Drawing on contemporary concepts from transnational cinema studies, this book investigates Weir’s entire three-decade career, paying particular attention to his journey from his native Sydney, with its largely auteur-driven national cinema, to the multimillion-dollar Hollywood film industry with its many genre conventions. Along the way, the author explores a host of questions accompanying this move, including Weir’s status as a transnational filmmaker and a more generalized discussion of the critically controversial idea of the auteur. Rounding out this volume are interviews with leading Hollywood filmmakers who discuss Weir’s work.