| Selected
publications |
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| Books | ||
| Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the
Cinematic City (Wallflower Press, London/Columbia University Press, New York, 2006) |
 |
'The brief lifespan and relatively small output of this cinematic movement makes it perfectly suited to Wallflower's Short Cuts series, and this volume is the best yet among some fine competition. Mark Shiel concisely and unpretentiously provides everything you could need to know about the cornerstones of the genre, from its sudden birth following Mussolini's time in power, through seven key works, to a brief concluding look at its legacy. An excellent introduction to one of the often mentioned but lesser understood forms of world cinema, this achieves exactly what it sets out to, and delivers cinema-lit and its most comfortably digestible. *****' Empire, April 2006 'Mark Shiel's survey of Italian Neorealism is a well-written, well-researched and interesting book. His focus on the role of urban spaces in neorealist classics is particularly illuminating, and the discussions of the films in question are always based upon very intelligent and sensitive analyses of the many dimensions of these works (aesthetic, social, ideological, political) that make them so fascinating. Highly recommended.' Peter Bondanella, Indiana University 'A highly engaging introduction to Italy&rsquos most celebrated cinematic movement, its crucial relationship to modernist art cinemas, its privileging focus on the city and ontological truths, and its meaning in the films of five major auteurs &ndash Visconti, Rossellini, De Sica, Antonioni, and Fellini. Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the Cinematic City is a solid study of neorealist aesthetics, a book marked by a critical understanding of Italian cinema and culture, a valuable addition to a field crowded with specialized volumes.' Gaetana Marrone, Princeton University |
| Cinema and the City: Film
and Urban Societies in a Global Context (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford and New Malden, MA, 2001) Edited by Mark Shiel and Tony Fitzmaurice |
 |
"..recommended to those who are exploring the exciting reciprocity between the city and the cinema..." James A. Clapp, Journal of Urban Technology "Cinema and the City is an exceptional reader that interrogates a range of issues linking cities, film, and globalization. With essays of exceptionally high quality this is an intriguing, engaging and informed work that should be accessible to an array of disciplines and students." Leo Zonn, Annals of the Association of American Geographers "Stitching
together the complex and multiple intersections between
film, cities, urban cultures and globalisation is no
simple task, as any number of very good single-authored
works will demonstrate. Despite these difficulties, Shiel
and Fitzmaurice's excellent anthology rises to the
occasion and, in the process, pushes film studies beyond
its usual terrain of textual, audience and production
analyses to relocate the subject matter within urban
sociology [...] As the relationship between film and the
city continue to develop as a focus of critical inquiry, Cinema
and the City stands as one of the more accessible
and innovative entry-points into the issues [...] a
welcome addition to the reading-lists of graduate and
undergraduate courses in film studies and urban
studies/sociology" Joe Austin, Urban Studies. |
| Screening the City (Verso, London and New York, 2003) Edited by Mark Shiel and Tony Fitzmaurice |
 |
'...the book features
several excellent essays which follow its guiding
principle - juxtaposing city and cinema and using each to
look at the other. The best essays not only 'Collaboratively
edited by Mark Shiel and Tony Fitzmaurice, Screening The
City is an eye-opening collection of essays concerning
the motif of urban life and experiences as depicted by
and reflected in, twentieth-century filmmaking. Literate
and thought-provoking, with an eye for changes in cities
as seen film since the dramatic worldwide upheaval of
World War II, Screening The City Is An Erudite And
Recommended Addition to Cinematic Studies reading lists
and reference collections.' Midwest Book Review |
Recent books with chapters by Mark Shiel |
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| Contemporary American Cinema (McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 2006) Edited by Mike Hammond and Linda Ruth Williams |
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|
| "Un-American" Hollywood:
Politics and Film in the Blacklist Era (Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ and London, 2008) Edited by Frank Krutnik, Steve Neale, Brian Neve, and Peter Stanfield |
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Recent DVDs with commentary by Mark Shiel |
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| Bicycle Thieves (The Criterion Collection, 2007) "Life As It Is", a documentary and interview with Mark Shiel, Disc 2 DVD extra, running time 40 mins |
|
"...a 40-minute
documentary, with film clips illustrating a long, lucid
and articulate discourse on neorealism by film scholar
Mark Shiel." Mick LaSalle, San Francisco
Chronicle "Life As
It Is: The Neorealist Movement in Italy is a
clear-eyed, comprehensive survey of this influential
period of filmmaking presented by film scholar Mark
Shiel." Leonard Maltin, Leonard Maltin's Movie
Crazy "Mark Shiel
makes this a very accessible and informative feature,
looking in-depth at how the movement came about, its
characteristics, directors and writers, its growth and
its influence, comparing it to the Hollywood style of the
period. Comprehensive, informed, interesting and
unpretentiously delivered, this is excellent." Noel
Megahey, DVD Times
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