About the Book:

The Cinema of Neil Jordan discusses his entire output as part of the first comprehensive study of Jordan's career, looking beyond ideological and national concerns to view his films through the prism of Celtic folklore, fairy tales, the gothic, romanticism and postmodernism.

The most internationally renowned of Irish film directors, Neil Jordan's diverse work has spanned gothic horror (The Company of Wolves, and Interview With the Vampire), Irish history (Michael Collins), literary adaptation (The End of the Affair) and sexual identity (The Crying Game, and Breakfast on Pluto), while retaining a distinctive stylistic flair for fantasy and the carnivalesque.

Incorporating discussion of Jordan's award-winning literary work and benefiting from extensive access to Neil Jordan's personal archives, this book explains the mythic and poetic impulses that suffuse the director's work.

What people say:

"Not just an excellent introduction to Ireland's most famous cineaste, this book makes a convincing case to see Neil Jordan as a postmodern Dark Romantic, one who provocatively draws upon Ireland's rich Celtic mythology to comment on contemporary issues. This work will help to reorient debate about Jordan's oeuvre away from the usual historical and political contexts to his more universal and cinematic qualities." — Brian McIlroy, University of British Columbia

"Addressing the motifs of Jordan's narratives — questions of sexual identity, of mismatched lovers, the nature of violence and the world of dreams — this volume finds common threads across the diverse body of Neil Jordan's oeuvre. Written with clarity and intellectual enquiry, the book is a welcome contribution to the study of this elusive auteur." — Ruth Barton, Trinity College Dublin

About the Author:

Carole Zucker is Professor of Film Studies at Concordia University, Montreal, and has published several volumes of interviews with British, Irish and American actors. She is also the author of The Cinema of Neil Jordan.