The Legend Returns and Dies Harder Another Day

This work examines film series. Some are representative of three periods in American film history--silent cinema, Classic Hollywood cinema, and the post-Classic or New Hollywood cinema. And some are in the tradition of other national cinemas, including those of France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and India. The series are examined from a variety of cultural and critical perspectives.

In the initial chapter the editor analyzes the series form. Part One examines early cinema, outlining the events and situations after 1907 that allowed early filmmakers to begin creating series based on the complex narratives of popular fiction. Part Two explores the cultural implications of such series as Tarzan, Nancy Drew, and Maisie. Chapters in Part Three analyze James Bond and Star Wars, two of the most widely recognized series in Hollywood history. Part Four examines mid-century Germany's Fridericus and France's Angelique and Caroline. The final part presents studies of the postwar Japanese series Godzilla and Tora-San, the popular Better Tomorrow series from Hong Kong, and several Hindi series from postcolonial India.