Robert Young began his prolific filmmaking career while a student at Harvard University, where he majored in English literature, founded the Harvard Film Society, and, with the help of several colleagues, put together his first film (about a Boston factory worker). His reputation as a documentary filmmaker earned him a prestigious position with NBC, and he has since worked within and without the Hollywood production system for five decades. At age 80, Robert M. Young continues to be actively involved in a variety of projects as a commercially successful filmmaker and an independent artist.
In this compilation of 15 essays, scholars of both English literature and film analyze the aesthetic and thematic elements of Young’s many works. Among the films examined are Nothing But a Man, Triumph of the Spirit, Cortile Cascino, ALAMBRISTA!, Short Eyes, Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, Extremities, Dominick and Eugene, Talent for the Game, Roosters, Caught, and Human Error. The book includes an extensive interview with Young that provides a retrospect of Young’s life as a director, cinematographer, writer and producer. A filmography of Young’s work and a chronology of his life are also provided.

Leon Lewis, professor of film and literature at Appalachian State University, founded and directed the English department’s film program for 25 years. He lives in Boone, North Carolina.

Edited by Leon Lewis
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 271
Bibliographic Info: photos, filmography, chronology, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2005
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2063-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8271-9
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction by Leon Lewis      1

1. Interview with Robert M. Young      9

2. NBC White Paper, Cortile Cascino, and the Assault on the Familiar      43

3. Demanding Dignity: Nothing But a Man      58

4. Alambrista! Walking the Illegal Tightrope      74

5. From Cell to Celluloid: A Dramaturgical Note on Miguel Piñero’s Short Eyes      87

6. Ballad of Gregorio Cortez: A Traditional Tale for Postmodern Times      112

7. Love, Death and Healing: Some Psychoanalytic Themes in Extremities      133

8. “Don’t Let Anybody Hurt Anybody”: Working-Class Masculinity in Dominick and Eugene      149

9. Memory and History in Triumph of the Spirit      161

10. “California Dreamin’”: Talent for the Game      180

11. Stereotypes Collide: Machismo and Marianismo in Roosters      91

12. Space and Sexuality in Caught      206

13. From Script to Screen: Adaptation of Richard Dresser’s Below the Belt      219

Appendix A: Filmography      239

Appendix B: Chronology      242

The Contributors      245

Index      249