Costa-Gavras: Encounters with History

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Costa-Gavras: Encounters with History explores the life and work of the director intertwined with historical and socio-political events, from the early stages of his career: emigrating to France from Greece in 1955 and first studying at the Sorbonne, then focusing on filmmaking at IDHEC, now La Fmis. He became an internationally respected director, first with his Oscar-award winning film Z (1969) and continued with a vast array of films, including his most recent work, Adults in the Room (2019). His films portray the complexities of human nature, relationships challenged by historical and contemporary socio-political issues. In this overview of the directors films, the authors shed light on his encounters with history from his youth in war-torn Greece to his later films on immigration, unemployment, global capitalistic greed, and the abuse of political and economic power in Europe. Costa-Gavras' films have spanned several decades and several continents, to combat unethical laws and injustice, oppression, legal/illegal violence, and torture. Throughout his evolution in the world of cinema for over half a century as director, writer, and producer, Costa-Gavras has told human-interest stories that entertain and inspire, and that help us better understand ourselves and a fragile, fragmented world.

Reviews

The authors of this book contribute significantly to a thorough understanding of the historical background of the entire work of Costa-Gavras. With an apt classification of films based on historical themes rather than chronology, they provide an in-depth insight into how the director highlights the effects of the past on the present and the collective memory. * Mado Spyropoulou, Associate Researcher, Paris University 3, Sorbonne Nouvelle, CERLIS, France *
Long-time film history scholar John Michalczyk and his wife, film and literature professor Susan Michalczyk, both documentary filmmakers, collaborate once again to give us a much needed update of the political cinema of Costa-Gavras. Together, they do an admirable job of discussing 14 of his landmark films made over 50 years, from Z to Adults in the Room. Deeply researched, filled with anecdotes, and amply illustrated, their volume reveals the way that this pivotal director has tackled the crucial social and political issues of our times, from the terrors of fascism and Communism, to the ongoing abuses of capitalism and the crisis of migration. There is no better survey of the work of the legendary director. * Steve Kovacs, Professor Emeritus, School of Cinema, San Francisco State University, USA *
Along with offering a detailed, informative history of Costa-Gavras's extraordinary political films, the Michalczyks also reveal how real-world politics, usually of oppression and corruption, affected this legendary director's humane view of social justice in modern global history. * Homer B. Pettey, Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona, USA, and author of The Films of Costa-Gavras *
Costa-Gavras: Encounters with History is the best book in English on one of the worlds most consequential and influential filmmakers, a compelling and informative blend of biography, historical and political contextualization, production history, and critical response to the films. It offers a renewed appreciation of the early and controversial classics as well as the lesser-known works and encourage readers to seek them out for screening or rescreening. * Gary Crowdus, Editor-in-Chief, Cineaste Magazine, USA *

Author Bio

John J. Michalczyk is Professor and Director of Film Studies in the Art, Art History, and Film department of Boston College, USA, and author and/or editor of fourteen books, including works on Ingmar Bergman, as well as on French and Italian filmmakers. More recently he has published Filming the End of the Holocaust (Bloomsbury 2016), Confront! Resistance in Nazi Germany (2005), and Nazi Law: From Nuremberg to Nuremberg (Bloomsbury 2017). Since 1992, he has been a documentary filmmaker, whose works include The Cross and the Star: Jews, Christians and the Holocaust; Nazi Medicine: In the Shadow of the Reich; Creating Harmony: The Displaced Jewish Orchestra from St. Ottilien; Writing on the Wall: Remembering the Berlin Wall; Nazi Law: Legally Blind; and Hitlers Mein Kampf: Prelude to the Holocaust. Susan A. Michalczyk is a professor in the Boston College Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, USA. Author, editor, and documentary filmmaker, her main interests are comparative literature, language, art, and film, focus upon the autobiographical narrative/memory experience as it relates to film and literature. She has been a partner with her husband, John J. Michalczyk, in both teaching and film production for over twenty-five years, focusing on issues of social justice and human rights. Co-producer and scriptwriter, her works include Nazi Medicine: In the Shadow of the Reich; Creating Harmony: The Displaced Persons Orchestra from St. Ottilien; Killing Silence: Taking on the Mafia in Sicily; Writing on the Wall: Remembering the Berlin Wall; Lou Montgomery: A Legacy Restored; Nazi Law: Legally Blind, Hitlers Mein Kampf: Prelude to the Holocaust.