ReFocus: The Films of Lawrence Kasdan

Brett Davies is Associate Professor of English at Meiji University, Tokyo

• List of FiguresAcknowledgementsIntroductionPart I: "I’m making this up as I go": Lawrence Kasdan and Raiders of the Lost ArkChapter 1. Smith and Jones: Discourse Analysis of the Raiders of the Lost Ark Story ConferenceChapter 2. Visual Language in the Raiders of the Lost Ark ScreenplayPart II: Kasdan the Director: Developing Style(s)Chapter 3. Body Heat: Heightened Style in the Neo-NoirChapter 4. Classical Structure in the "Perfect Ensemble" of The Big ChillPart III: Voice of the Largest GenerationChapter 5. Altruism and Condescension in The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist, and Grand CanyonChapter 6. Cowboys, Aliens, and Sixtysomethings: Age and Nostalgia in Kasdan’s Later FilmsPart IV: Influences, Without and WithinChapter 7. From Noir to Kurosawa: Allusion and Homage in Lawrence Kasdan’s FilmsChapter 8. Kasdan’s Collaborations: Creation and PerformancePart V: A Long Time in a Galaxy Far, Far AwayChapter 9. From Star Wars to Saga: Lawrence Kasdan and The Empire Strikes BackChapter 10. Revenge of the Monomyth: Reclaiming the Hero’s Journey in Return of the JediChapter 11. A New Hope in The Force AwakensChapter 12. A Changed Man: Solo and BeyondPart VI: An Interview with Lawrence KasdanLawrence Kasdan: Writing and Directing CreditsFilmographyBibliographyIndex

This is an important book that uses a holistic approach – drawing on primary source material, interviews and film analysis – to demonstrate why Lawrence Kasdan and his films should be taken seriously. Davies reinforces the importance of studying so-called non-auteur directors and writers, whose contributions to cinema are worthy of attention.