About the Book This book is a study of Far from Heaven, a commercially successful film that nevertheless sits rather ambiguously on the boundary between independent and mainstream cinema, operating as an alternative to blockbuster fare. Book Synopsis Nominated for four Oscars, Far from Heaven earned rave reviews and won widespread cultural and critical recognition. A knowing and emotionally involving homage to the films of Douglas Sirk, this film is a key text in the canon of American independent cinema. This book offers a detailed and perceptive study of Haynes film, with each chapter centred on a topic crucial for understanding Far from Heaven s richness and seductive pleasures (authorship, melodrama, queerness). The film is also positioned in relation to the rest of Todd Haynes work, the New Queer Cinema movement, and the history of US independent cinema.Key Features* Introduces queer theory, and applies insights from the field to Far from Heaven .* Explores the changing meaning and form of independent film in the US.* Tackles the spectatorship issues surrounding retrospective viewing and rereading of classical Hollywood film.* Written by a leading authority on Todd Haynes. From the Back Cover APPROVED BY AUTHOR Written with clarity and charm, Davis study furnishes film student and film-lover alike with an accessible and erudite reading of Far from Heaven and of the key issues surrounding it. What emerges is the films significance both for the discussion of contemporary American cinema and for understandings of the aesthetic and critical productivity of queering film. Michele Aaron, University of Birmingham AMERICAN INDIES Series Editors: Gary Needham and Yannis Tzioumakis This series of books discusses contemporary American films that have found commercial success but which have not been constrained by the formal and ideological parameters of mainstream Hollywood cinema. Each volume explores a specific film and combines original research with clearly defined classroom-orientated frameworks of film analysis. FAR FROM HEAVEN GLYN DAVIS Nominated for four Oscars, Far from Heaven earned rave reviews and won widespread cultural and critical recognition. A knowing and emotionally involving homage to the films of Douglas Sirk, this film is a key text in the canon of American independent cinema. This book offers a detailed and perceptive study of Haynes film, with each chapter centred on a topic crucial for understanding Far from Heaven s richness and seductive pleasures (authorship, melodrama, queerness). The film is also positioned in relation to the rest of Todd Haynes work, the New Queer Cinema movement, and the history of US independent cinema. Key Features Introduces queer theory, and applies insights from the field to Far from Heaven . Explores the changing meaning and form of independent film in the US. Tackles the spectatorship issues surrounding retrospective viewing and rereading of classical Hollywood film. Written by a leading authority on Todd Haynes. Glyn Davis is Coordinator of Postgraduate Stud Review Quotes Written with clarity and charm, Davis study furnishes film student and film-lover alike with an accessible and erudite reading of Far from Heaven and of the key issues surrounding it. What emerges is the films significance both for the discussion of contemporary American cinema and for understandings of the aesthetic and critical productivity of queering film.--Michele Aaron, University of Birmingham About the Author Glyn Davis is Academic Coordinator of Postgraduate Studies at the The Glasgow School of Art