Review of Pam Cook, 'Baz Luhrmann' (World Directors series). London: British Film Institute and Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, 208 pp

Abstract

Baz Luhrmann is a fascinating figure for scholars working across a range of fields, from Australian film studies and theories of transnational cinema, to the study of adaptations and the musical genre, to conceptualizations of the contemporary post-auteur. The diversity of these fields of inquiry is reflected in the scope of Pam Cook's detailed and thorough investigation of the cinematic works of this iconoclastic director who began his career in theatre in Sydney in the 1980s. Luhrmann's 1992 screen adaptation of his play 'Strictly Ballroom' caused a sensation at the Cannes Film Festival, propelling him into the international market and a first-look deal with 20th Century-Fox.