The Cinema of Neil Jordan: Dark Carnival

The most internationally renowned of Irish film directors, Neil Jordan's diverse work has spanned Gothic horror (The Company of Wolves, 1984, and Interview with the Vampire, 1994), Irish history (Michael Collins, 1996), literary adaptation (The End of the Affair, 1999) and sexual identity (The Crying Game, 1992, and Breakfast on Pluto, 2005), while retaining a distinctive stylistic flair for fantasy and the carnivalesque. This volume discusses Jordan's entire output as part of the first comprehensive study of his career, looking beyond ideological and national concerns to view his films through the prism of Celtic folklore, fairy tales, the Gothic, romanticism and postmodernism. Incorporating discussion of Jordan's award-winning literary work and benefiting from extensive access to his personal archives, this book explains the mythic and poetic impulses that suffuse the director's work.