Table of Contents

Introduction - Susan Hayward and Phil Powrie
1. Three neo-baroque directors - Raphaël Bassan
2. Du côté de Europa, via Asia: the post-Hollywood Besson - Rosanna Maule
3. Musical narration in the films of Luc Besson - Gérard Dastugue
4. Hearing Besson: the music of Eric Serra in the films of Luc Besson - Mark Brownrigg
5. Of suits and men in the films of Luc Besson - Phil Powrie
6. From Rags to Riches: Le Dernier combat and Le Cinquième élément - Susan Hayward
7. The sinking of the self: Freudian hydraulic patterns in Le Grand bleu - Laurent Jullier
8. Imprisoned freedoms: space and identity in Subway and Nikita - Mark Orme
9. Nikita: consumer culture’s killer instinct and the imperial imperative - Hilary Ann Radner
10. Léon and the cloacal labyrinth - Phil Powrie
11. Jeanne d’Arc: high epic style and politicising camp - Susan Hayward
12. An unpublished interview with Luc Besson - Gérard Dastugue
Filmography
Select bibliography

About the Author

Susan Hayward is the Established Chair of French at Exeter University where she is the Director of the Department of Film Studies. Phil Powrie is Professor of French Cultural Studies at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne