Beyond Realism

Beyond Realism: Naturalist Film in Theory and Practice is a treatise on naturalist themes and the moving image, a platform of continuous intertextual references. With this book, Singer takes us on a fascinating (inter)national journey of theories, genres and themes dedicated to the naturalist film, while also presenting a renewed vision of ourselves and our bodies as spectacles.

--Jos? Duarte, Film Studies Professor at the School of Arts and Humanities, ULisboa.

"Robert Singer's Beyond Realism: Naturalist Film in Theory and Practice is a comprehensive guide to naturalistic film; Singer has been the leading global expert on this topic for many years. His book is a life's work. He is able to move from the dark corners and sharp bright angles of early film to similar naturalist concerns in cinema today: social struggle, poverty, homelessness, violence, injustice, the naturalistic body, psychological conflicts, and many other features. It's an erudite but engaging read and a must for any naturalist or film student."

--Jeanne Campbell Reesman, Professor Emerita, University of Texas at San Antonio

Robert Singer's Beyond Realism: Naturalist Film in Theory and Practice is a breathtakingly comprehensive and insightful investigation of naturalist themes in film. From Lumi?re actualit?s to the latest examples of international cinema, each chapter focuses on a separate facet of "naturalism's grinding tradition" and its themes of violence, degradation, disease, and the tension between the human spirit and naturalism's relentless assault on the body.

--Professor Donna M. Campbell, author of Bitter Tastes: Literary Naturalism and Early Cinema in American Women's Writing