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Revolution in 35mm: Political Violence and Resistance in Cinema from the Arthouse to the Grindhouse, 1960–1990
Revolution in 35 Political Violence and Resistance in Cinema from the Arthouse to the Grindhouse, 1960–1990 examines how political violence and resistance was represented in arthouse and cult films from 1960 to 1990.
This historical period spans the Algerian war of independence and the early wave of post-colonial struggles that reshaped the Global South, through the collapse of Soviet Communism in the late ‘80s. It focuses on films related to the rise of protest movements by students, workers, and leftist groups, as well as broader countercultural movements, Black Power, the rise of feminism, and so on. The book also includes films that explore the splinter groups that engaged in violent, urban guerilla struggles throughout the 1970s and 1980s, as the promise of widespread radical social transformation failed to the Weathermen, the Black Liberation Army and the Symbionese Liberation Army in the United States, the Red Army Faction in West Germany and Japan, and Italy’s Red Brigades.
Many of these movements were deeply connected with and expressed their values through art, literature, popular culture, and, of course, cinema. Twelve authors, including academics and well know film critics, deliver a diverse examination of how filmmakers around the world reacted to the political violence and resistance movements of the period and how this was expressed on screen. This includes looking at the financing, distribution, and screening of these films, audience and critical reaction, the attempted censorship or suppression of much of this work, and how directors and producers eluded these restrictions.
Including over two hundred illustrations, the book examines filmmaking movements like the French, Japanese, German, and Yugoslavian New Waves; subgenres like spaghetti westerns, Italian poliziotteschi, Blaxploitation, and mondo movies; and films that reflect the values of specific movements like feminists, Vietnam War protesters, and Black militants. The work of influential and well-known political filmmakers such as Costa-Gavras, Gillo Pontecorvo, and Glauber Rocha is examined side by side with grindhouse cinema and lessor known titles by a host of all-but forgotten filmmakers, including many from the Global South, that are deserving of rediscovery.
This historical period spans the Algerian war of independence and the early wave of post-colonial struggles that reshaped the Global South, through the collapse of Soviet Communism in the late ‘80s. It focuses on films related to the rise of protest movements by students, workers, and leftist groups, as well as broader countercultural movements, Black Power, the rise of feminism, and so on. The book also includes films that explore the splinter groups that engaged in violent, urban guerilla struggles throughout the 1970s and 1980s, as the promise of widespread radical social transformation failed to the Weathermen, the Black Liberation Army and the Symbionese Liberation Army in the United States, the Red Army Faction in West Germany and Japan, and Italy’s Red Brigades.
Many of these movements were deeply connected with and expressed their values through art, literature, popular culture, and, of course, cinema. Twelve authors, including academics and well know film critics, deliver a diverse examination of how filmmakers around the world reacted to the political violence and resistance movements of the period and how this was expressed on screen. This includes looking at the financing, distribution, and screening of these films, audience and critical reaction, the attempted censorship or suppression of much of this work, and how directors and producers eluded these restrictions.
Including over two hundred illustrations, the book examines filmmaking movements like the French, Japanese, German, and Yugoslavian New Waves; subgenres like spaghetti westerns, Italian poliziotteschi, Blaxploitation, and mondo movies; and films that reflect the values of specific movements like feminists, Vietnam War protesters, and Black militants. The work of influential and well-known political filmmakers such as Costa-Gavras, Gillo Pontecorvo, and Glauber Rocha is examined side by side with grindhouse cinema and lessor known titles by a host of all-but forgotten filmmakers, including many from the Global South, that are deserving of rediscovery.
379 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2024
About the author
Andrew Nette
43 books129 followersAndrew Nette is an award winning writer of fiction and non-fiction, pulp scholar, bibliophile, noir aficionado.
He is the author of three novels, Ghost Money, a crime story set in Cambodia in the mid 1990, Gunshine State and Orphan Road. His short fiction has appeared in a number of print and online publications, including Phnom Penh Noir and The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir , which won the prestigious Anthony Award in the US for best crime anthology in 2018.
He is co-editor of three books on the history of midcentury pulp and paperback publishing for PM Press, Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture, 1950 to 1980, Sticking it to the Man: Revolution and Counterculture in Pulp and Popular Fiction, 1956 to 1980, and Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950-1980. Dangerous Visions and New Worlds won the 2022 Aurealis Convenors Award for Excellence and the Locus Magazine award for non-fiction, and was been nominated for a Hugo award for non-fiction.
His scholarly works are Rollerball (Liverpool University Press, 2018), a monograph about Norman Jewison’s 1975 dystopian classic, and Horwitz Publications, Pulp Fiction and the Rise of Australian Paperback (Anthem Press, 2022).
His latest non-fiction book, co-edited with New York critic Samm Deighan, is Revolution in 35mm: Political Violence and Resistance in Cinema, from the Arthouse to the Grindhouse, 1960-1990 .
He writes a regular newsletter under his name on Substack.
He is the author of three novels, Ghost Money, a crime story set in Cambodia in the mid 1990, Gunshine State and Orphan Road. His short fiction has appeared in a number of print and online publications, including Phnom Penh Noir and The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir , which won the prestigious Anthony Award in the US for best crime anthology in 2018.
He is co-editor of three books on the history of midcentury pulp and paperback publishing for PM Press, Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture, 1950 to 1980, Sticking it to the Man: Revolution and Counterculture in Pulp and Popular Fiction, 1956 to 1980, and Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950-1980. Dangerous Visions and New Worlds won the 2022 Aurealis Convenors Award for Excellence and the Locus Magazine award for non-fiction, and was been nominated for a Hugo award for non-fiction.
His scholarly works are Rollerball (Liverpool University Press, 2018), a monograph about Norman Jewison’s 1975 dystopian classic, and Horwitz Publications, Pulp Fiction and the Rise of Australian Paperback (Anthem Press, 2022).
His latest non-fiction book, co-edited with New York critic Samm Deighan, is Revolution in 35mm: Political Violence and Resistance in Cinema, from the Arthouse to the Grindhouse, 1960-1990 .
He writes a regular newsletter under his name on Substack.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 18, 2025
(4.5) bajillion cool movies discussed here but also so fascinating to read these bite sized bits of history about revolutionary moments across the globe I never knew about. And with all these gorgeous/zany movie posters throughout
Particularly loved the discussion of Vago the homophobic villain in costa Gravas’ Z who, caught between his sexuality and the right wing dictatorship he supports, manages to be “one of the most vividly alive characters in pre gay liberation cinema”
Or the titular heroine of the Irish feminist film Maeve who demands more from her IRA boyfriend “men’s relationship to women is just like englands relationship to Ireland. You’re in possession of us. You occupy us like an army”
Or “Coffin Joe” the claw nailed, top hatted villain of Brazilian horror who’s blaspheming of all that was authoritative and holy, gave the public to permission to mock the supposedly invulnerable dictatorship.
Thx 4 the rec Joey!
Particularly loved the discussion of Vago the homophobic villain in costa Gravas’ Z who, caught between his sexuality and the right wing dictatorship he supports, manages to be “one of the most vividly alive characters in pre gay liberation cinema”
Or the titular heroine of the Irish feminist film Maeve who demands more from her IRA boyfriend “men’s relationship to women is just like englands relationship to Ireland. You’re in possession of us. You occupy us like an army”
Or “Coffin Joe” the claw nailed, top hatted villain of Brazilian horror who’s blaspheming of all that was authoritative and holy, gave the public to permission to mock the supposedly invulnerable dictatorship.
Thx 4 the rec Joey!
December 6, 2024
Lots of good juicy essays in here on radical political movements I knew so little about. Love the chapter on the Baader-Meinhof group in West Germany, loooove the chapter about Patty Hearst exploitation movies (99% of them sound stupid and one is literally pornographic, and personally I think that rocks). Especially liked learning about Argentina’s film history during the Dirty Wars, which I truly had noooo knowledge of whatsoever until I read Our Share of Night last year. Gonna create a whole movie watching syllabus for myself out of this.
December 16, 2025
Very torn on this, some of the essays were a real slog for me and would turn me off the book entirely for periods.
On the flip side, most of the essays were well written and easy to digest and even the densest more academic essays still highlighted conflicts and revolutionary movements that I wasn’t well educated on which is always cool.
On the flip side, most of the essays were well written and easy to digest and even the densest more academic essays still highlighted conflicts and revolutionary movements that I wasn’t well educated on which is always cool.
September 30, 2025
A very enjoyable collection of essays about films made in relation to twentieth century revolutions. Each essay looks at a geographic or thematic strand of revolution and covers films known and unknown. The book is at its best (for me) when it gives knowledgeable context to films I've seen.
November 29, 2024
Absolutely essential guide to the cinema of conflict, from arthouse to grind house. One of the finest books of its kind I’ve ever read.
December 26, 2024
This well-researched, well-illustrated book is a must-read for anyone who is a fan of politically-oriented films and filmmakers or anyone who wants to learn more about them. It includes articles by many contributors, but the principal contributors and co-editors are Andrew Nette and Samm Deighan.
I wasn’t familiar with Deighan’s work, but I am a huge fan of Andrew Nette. He’s one of the world’s foremost writers about non-mainstream books and movies, especially those in in the realms of pulp fiction and noir, and a novelist. Nette is widely known for his Pulp Curry blog (now a Substack) and his articles for the popular CrimeReads.com website. He’s also a prolific author and editor whose work includes three lushly-illustrated books about vintage paperbacks (my favorite of which GIRL GANGS, BIKER BOYS, AND REAL COOL CATS: PULP FICTION AND YOUTH CULTURE, 1950 TO 1980), two excellent, noir-flavored novels set in Australia (GUNSHINE STATE and ORPHAN ROAD), and much more. GIRL GANGS and two other books about vintage paperbacks Nette has previously co-edited were published by PM Press. That imprint also published REVOLUTION IN 35MM, and it has a similar format: a series of articles, essays and sidebars illuminated with many full color illustrations.
As the full title of REVOLUTION IN 35MM suggests, this book focuses on films involving post-World War II revolutions and revolutionaries. The majority of those covered were most commonly seen by Americans at theaters that featured cutting edge foreign and “art” films or low budget “grindhouse” movies, or on VHS tape editions. Some, like THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966) and ZABRISKIE POINT (1970) are well known, but the majority are not, especially to American viewers.
The films are grouped in chapters that generally focus on political films made in certain countries or by certain directors. Reading about them will give you many films to add to your “to watch” list and insights that will make them more interesting to view when you watch or rewatch them. REVOLUTION IN 35MM sheds light on genres of politically-oriented films you were probably not aware of, made in Africa, Japan, Ireland, Argentina, Italy, France, India, and many other countries. It also provides interesting background information about the political situations, movements and filmmakers involved.
In my opinion, the chapters and sidebars written by Andrew Nette alone are worth the price of admission to REVOLUTION IN 35MM. Among them is his article about “Poliziotteschi Cinema” — bloody, hardboiled Italian movies from the ‘60s and ‘70s that are somewhat like Spaghetti Westerns but with detectives and gangsters as the main characters. That chapter added quite a few movies to my own “to watch” list, and it’s only one of the many fascinating chapters.
I wasn’t familiar with Deighan’s work, but I am a huge fan of Andrew Nette. He’s one of the world’s foremost writers about non-mainstream books and movies, especially those in in the realms of pulp fiction and noir, and a novelist. Nette is widely known for his Pulp Curry blog (now a Substack) and his articles for the popular CrimeReads.com website. He’s also a prolific author and editor whose work includes three lushly-illustrated books about vintage paperbacks (my favorite of which GIRL GANGS, BIKER BOYS, AND REAL COOL CATS: PULP FICTION AND YOUTH CULTURE, 1950 TO 1980), two excellent, noir-flavored novels set in Australia (GUNSHINE STATE and ORPHAN ROAD), and much more. GIRL GANGS and two other books about vintage paperbacks Nette has previously co-edited were published by PM Press. That imprint also published REVOLUTION IN 35MM, and it has a similar format: a series of articles, essays and sidebars illuminated with many full color illustrations.
As the full title of REVOLUTION IN 35MM suggests, this book focuses on films involving post-World War II revolutions and revolutionaries. The majority of those covered were most commonly seen by Americans at theaters that featured cutting edge foreign and “art” films or low budget “grindhouse” movies, or on VHS tape editions. Some, like THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966) and ZABRISKIE POINT (1970) are well known, but the majority are not, especially to American viewers.
The films are grouped in chapters that generally focus on political films made in certain countries or by certain directors. Reading about them will give you many films to add to your “to watch” list and insights that will make them more interesting to view when you watch or rewatch them. REVOLUTION IN 35MM sheds light on genres of politically-oriented films you were probably not aware of, made in Africa, Japan, Ireland, Argentina, Italy, France, India, and many other countries. It also provides interesting background information about the political situations, movements and filmmakers involved.
In my opinion, the chapters and sidebars written by Andrew Nette alone are worth the price of admission to REVOLUTION IN 35MM. Among them is his article about “Poliziotteschi Cinema” — bloody, hardboiled Italian movies from the ‘60s and ‘70s that are somewhat like Spaghetti Westerns but with detectives and gangsters as the main characters. That chapter added quite a few movies to my own “to watch” list, and it’s only one of the many fascinating chapters.
January 30, 2025
This is a wide-ranging and excellent book, great for dipping into essay by essay. Favorites are the Godard piece and "Are You Asking Us to Investigate or Overthrow the Government" and "Don't Buy Bread...Buy Dynamite!" Essential for film nerds and revolutionary thinkers.
May 30, 2025
Really well-written, informative and deeply felt. A lot of films I was not familiar with, things I'd been holding out on (Citizen Above Suspicion and Battle of Algiers - both uniquely incredible and 5 star worthy) and a few things I feel like I need to go back and rewatch with context (Z, namely - which i just did and it's great). Might have to get a hard copy (checked out from library) because there was just so much useful info here. Great job film nerds!
February 24, 2025
I added so many of the films that are discussed in here to my watchlist, & it was interesting to read the analysis of the films that I’ve already seen. there was a lot in here about radical filmmaking, censorship, & impact that I think is important to engage with for any fellow aspiring filmmakers
December 9, 2025
Revolution in 35mm, edited by Andrew Nette and Samm Deighan, illustrates the role of cinema, among the other arts, as important for understanding revolutionary moments and movements, both at the time and from a more historical aspect.
For a reader mostly interested in just the films as film, there is plenty here to satisfy. You will be reminded of some movies you may have forgotten and find many more that will be new to you. The posters and stills serve to both make the book more appealing and highlight how the movies were marketed.
For those interested in more than just the films as film, the marketing and production background will offer insight into how movies can be used for many purposes, from gaining support to providing background for other, possibly future, movements. How those making the films worked around government obstacles and/or financial difficulties is both fascinating and could help others find ideas for their own activist/revolutionary projects.
One of the big takeaways for activists deeply involved in their own movements right now is how the international scope of the works included here speaks to the size of the underlying problems facing the world today. Whatever oppression and/or cruelty you're facing where you live is part of a larger tendency that has a long international history. We need to work together, beyond our borders and beyond our more narrow concerns to attack the root of the vast majority of the problems.
Recommended for any reader interested in film and how it intersects with social and cultural issues. Whether you're just a movie fan or someone more interested in issues facing society, there is plenty here to make you happy.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.
For a reader mostly interested in just the films as film, there is plenty here to satisfy. You will be reminded of some movies you may have forgotten and find many more that will be new to you. The posters and stills serve to both make the book more appealing and highlight how the movies were marketed.
For those interested in more than just the films as film, the marketing and production background will offer insight into how movies can be used for many purposes, from gaining support to providing background for other, possibly future, movements. How those making the films worked around government obstacles and/or financial difficulties is both fascinating and could help others find ideas for their own activist/revolutionary projects.
One of the big takeaways for activists deeply involved in their own movements right now is how the international scope of the works included here speaks to the size of the underlying problems facing the world today. Whatever oppression and/or cruelty you're facing where you live is part of a larger tendency that has a long international history. We need to work together, beyond our borders and beyond our more narrow concerns to attack the root of the vast majority of the problems.
Recommended for any reader interested in film and how it intersects with social and cultural issues. Whether you're just a movie fan or someone more interested in issues facing society, there is plenty here to make you happy.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.
October 25, 2024
Thirty-four essays cover the classics: Z, Gillo Pontecorvo, Jean Luc Goddard, Lindsay Anderson, Patty Hearst, and the RAF, but also take in Pan-Africanism, Italian polizotteschi, Mondo, Indian gangsters, hard-core feminism, Japan pinky violence, unsung directors, the hunting of humans, and whole movements and genres I had no idea existed.
There’s a nice coherence in the time frame that gives the book firepower, and the writing gives a good sense of how the events of those decades pushed political film to a new level rooted in awful facts; authentic, verité, straight from the streets or bush.
Lovingly crafted, Revolution In 35mm is filled with posters, stills, on-set pix, and news photographs, even full-page posters. The worn, red, dossier style Outtake pages are a nice touch.
Kudos to the editors and the writers for producing a book serious about its subject, but not academic and dry. With the essays that include 300+ films, plus the very cool selection of images, this is a solid book.
There’s a nice coherence in the time frame that gives the book firepower, and the writing gives a good sense of how the events of those decades pushed political film to a new level rooted in awful facts; authentic, verité, straight from the streets or bush.
Lovingly crafted, Revolution In 35mm is filled with posters, stills, on-set pix, and news photographs, even full-page posters. The worn, red, dossier style Outtake pages are a nice touch.
Kudos to the editors and the writers for producing a book serious about its subject, but not academic and dry. With the essays that include 300+ films, plus the very cool selection of images, this is a solid book.
October 4, 2025
This is the kind of book I wish I could write. I’ve seen quite a few of these movies, but also definitely have a lot of gaps. I finally saw The Battle of Algiers this year (which has actually come up a lot lately, and in my life in general) so I loved that it was used as a framing device. The chapter on Yugoslavia was great. It did lose some steam at the end, but remained an easy, enjoyable read.
April 29, 2025
incredibly interesting but a little too dry and technical in spots for me. I imagine this would be an easy 5 star for someone who is a film nerd and a leftist.
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April 30, 2026These articles either provide valuable historical context on the social climates and creators of the films explored or they just list off films with brief synopses of each one. And very very few of them provide any interesting critical lens. Michael A. Gonzalez’s and Annie Rose Malamet’s essays are standouts that I enjoyed reading. Otherwise this book is only good for bloating your film watchlist and dipping your toes in the political histories of countries around the world.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews