Play It Again, Sam: Retakes on Remakes

Play It Again,Sam is a timely investigation of the cinematic remake, exploring Hollywood films, foreign films, and foreign films based on American works. It considers gender, genre, and psychological issues, presenting the remake as a unique artistic form of repetition with a difference and a commercial product.

Format: Hardback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 25 March 2022
Publisher: University of California Press

Play It Again, Sam is a groundbreaking exploration into a topic that has largely been overlooked in film and cultural studies: the cinematic remake. As the film industry enters its second century, an unprecedented surge of remakes is emerging, encompassing a wide range of Hollywood films that have been recycled by Hollywood, such as The Jazz Singer, Cape Fear, and Robin Hood; foreign films like Breathless; and foreign films based on American works, including Yugoslav director Emir Kusturica's Time of the Gypsies, which is a reimagining of Coppola's Godfather films.

As these essays vividly demonstrate, films are not only remade by other films but also by various other media. Alfred Hitchcock, for instance, went as far as to remake his own The Man Who Knew Too Much. The editors and contributors employ narrative, film, and cultural theories, delving into gender, genre, and psychological aspects, presenting the remake as a unique artistic form of repetition with distinct differences. At the same time, it is also recognized as a commercial product designed to generate profits in the marketplace.

The remake thrives at the intersection of the familiar and the unfamiliar, the known and the unknown. Play It Again, Sam takes the reader on an illuminating journey into this previously unexplored realm, offering a fresh perspective on the ever-evolving world of film remakes.

This title is proudly part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, a testament to the publisher's commitment to seeking out and nurturing the brightest minds, providing them with a platform to express their ideas, reach a wider audience, and make a lasting impact. Drawing on a rich backlist dating back to 1893, Voices Revived employs print-on-demand technology to make high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again, ensuring that the wisdom and insights of past generations are preserved and shared with new generations.

Weight: 726g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520356924