Beckett and Keaton ― The Comic and the Angst/Beckett E Keaton - Il Comico E L'angoscia Di Esistere

Literary Nonfiction. Film. Translated from the Italian by John Rugman. A history and analysis of a major work by Samuel Beckett, the neglected 1965 film called simply Film, starring Buster Keaton. The author repudiates previous skimpy criticism holding the work to be minor, and examines the work in detail, providing its plot, history and a reinterpretation of its meaning and significance. It places Film within the Beckett corpus, demonstrates its centrality and level of excellence, and explores its relationship to psychoanalysis, surrealism, existentialism, Kafka, Kierkegaard, Sartre and other writers. It also discusses film techniques, perspective and philosophy.




"In response to the critical dearth surrounding one of Samuel Beckett's most enigmatic works, Film, starring Buster Keaton, this book examines the creative process used by the Irish author from inception to final cut. Parallels are drawn with the silent film epoch, while all-new interpretations bring together cinema, philosophy and literature. Film has become a crucial nerve center within the Beckett oeuvre, as stereotypes and simplifications are laid to waste."--Paolo Bertinetti, University of Torino, Italy