Jane Campion's The Piano

An examination of Jane Campion's The Piano from a variety of critical perspectives.

Jane Campion (Author), Harriet Margolis (Edited by)

9780521592581, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 October 1999

220 pages, 9 b/w illus.
23.4 x 15.6 x 1.9 cm, 0.44 kg

'This latest release in Cambridge's Film Handbooks series is a must for any Campion fan.' The Australian

Jane Campion's The Piano is one of the most unusual love stories in the history of cinema. The film swept the world upon its release, winning awards for its performances, script, and direction, including prestigious Cannes and Academy Award prizes. Rejecting virtually every stereotype of the romance genre, it poses a wholly new set of questions about relationships between men and women, and marriage in particular, as well as issues related to colonialism and property ownership. This volume examines The Piano from a variety of critical perspectives. In six essays, specially commissioned for this project, an international team of scholars examine topics such as the controversial representation of the Maori, the use of music in the film, the portrayal of the mother-daughter relationship, and the significance of the film in terms of international cinema, the culture of New Zealand, and the work of Jane Campion.

Introduction: 'A Strange Heritage': from colonisation to transformation? Harriet Margolis
1. Music in The Piano Claudia Gorbman
2. The last patriarch Ann Hardy
3. The Piano, the animus, and colonial experience John Izod
4. Ebony and ivory: constructions of Maori in The Piano Leonie Pihama
5. Foreign tunes? Gender and nationality in four countries' reception of The Piano Stephen Crofts.

Subject Areas: Films, cinema [APF]