The Films of Peter Weir: 2nd Edition
By (Author) Jonathan Rayner
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
1st September 2003
2nd edition
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Individual film directors, film-makers
791.430233092
Paperback
256
366g
Peter Weir is, without doubt, one of the most important Australian film directors of all time. His films have had a major impact, both in terms of the Australian film industry (Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Cars That Ate Paris, and Gallipoli) and as the work of an innovative auteur working within the confines of the Hollywood system (Witness, Dead Poets Society, Fearless, and The Truman Show). This fully revised and updated edition of Jonathan Rayner's acclaimed study takes an in-depth look at the career of a filmmaker who has, over the course of 30 years, put together a substantial and much-loved body of work. Rayner illustrates how Peter Weir brings a consistent vision to his films, no matter how disparate their subject matter - and how he uses his 'outsider' status in the American film industry to his advantage. The release of Weir's new movie, a sea-faring epic starring Russell Crowe, in 2003, will likely heighten his status as a great director still further.
JONATHAN RAYNER teaches in the Department of English Literature at the University of Sheffield. He is also the author of Contemporary Australian Cinema (2000).