Desire Unlimited: The Cinema of Pedro Almodóvar

by Paul Julian Smith

In the last decade, Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar has grown from critical darling of the film circuit scene to mainstream success. Frequently comic, often deadly serious, always visually glorious, his recent films range from the Academy Award–winning drama Talk to Her to the 2011 horror film The Skin I Live In. Though they are ambitious and varied in style, each is a distinctive innovation on the themes that have defined his work. Desire Unlimited is the classic film-by-film assessment of Almodóvar’s oeuvre, now updated to include his most recent work. Still the only study of its kind in English, it vigorously confirms its original argument that beneath Almodóvar's genius for comedy and visual pleasure lies a filmmaker whose work deserves to be taken with the utmost seriousness.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Queer, American, Art, Spain

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 17, 1994

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Pedro Almodovar? Like film theory? Than this is the book for you! This is the comprehensive breakdown of all of Almodovar's films...

[Onur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almodovar sinemasına dair dilimizdeki sayılı kaynaktan biri. Yönetmeni film film ele alan bir kitap, kısa bir de söyleşi de var. Bu açıdan filmlerden ilerlediği için şöyle bir önerim olacak. İlgili filmi izledikten hemen sonra filme dair başlığı okursanız kitaptan alacağınız keyif daha çok olacaktır. Çünkü yazar sinopsisleri yazarken anlatımı arap saçına çeviriyor. (Arada aynı filmlere dair başkalarının yazdığı sinopsisler de var ona hiç değinmeyeceğim.) Bunun dışında Agora yayınları tuhaf bir çeviriye imza atmış, kombinasyon kelimesi bir çok yerde kombinezon olarak geçiyor. Bu kadar hataya razıyız yeter ki sinemaya, müziğe dair daha çok kitaplar dilimize çevrilsin.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

First film critique book I tried to read - a bit pretentious although some of the analyses were interesting, not for me.

[Clove · Rating 4 out of 5]

A year and 18 films later!

[Alexander Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

The films of Pedro Almodovar (from "Pepi, Luci, Bom . ." to "All About My Mother") deconstructed and demystified for those who have often wondered (or missed) hidden nuances and meanings in his work (and the Spanish and American audience reactions to his films). For fans of Almodovar's work - from the ardent admirer to the curious novice.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope they've updated this book with chapters on the newer films. This is an interesting and thorough exploration of the many themes that run through the work of this great auteur. A wonderful companion to the films.

[Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

yes yes yes yes yes.