Jaffe looks at film with scrupulous intelligence and provides revelatory frame-by-frame formal analyses. At the same time, he places these films and their directors in the broadest social, historical, and aesthetic contexts. . . . After reading this book, you'll view all films with greater clarity, and with deeper appreciation of the art and magic of filmmaking.

Peter Walch, University of New Mexico

Anyone who wants to understand . . . more about the cutting edge of contemporary artistic creativity will find that Jaffe gives definition to what we are living through in some of our most dynamic cinematic moments.

Allan Casebier, Emeritus Faculty, University of Southern California

Jaffe demonstrates the 'both/and' nature of our cultural reality and . . . the importance of dialogue-in this case dialogue between the interdisciplinary nature of the past century's avant-garde practices and how they have played out . . . in Hollywood films that are not only popular, but artistically important as well.

Christopher Shultis, University of New Mexico

An engaging, adventurous study that seeks to break down the boundaries of genre-precisely, in short, as Hollywood is doing today. This interesting book could also serve as a text for a survey course on film genre. Recommended.

Choice Reviews

Jaffe's prose is elegant and easily accessible, recapturing the delicate art of film analysis at its finest.

Eric Patrick, Northwestern University