The Undercurrent Of Threat

As an American Director who was blacklisted in the McCarthy era, Joseph Losey made several film noirs which have high quality. These films are underestimated and neglected. After being forced into exile by The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), he went to Britain, and took the style of film noir into the films which he had made in Britain, these films also grasp a touch of "Britishness" accurately. He also made some films in several European countries outside Britain.The Go-Between, which he made with Nobel laureate Harold Pinter, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival. He was also Award-winning director in some other famous international film festivals. A director with such remarkable achievement and great talent hasn’t got noticed in China as he should have. This thesis tries to change the situation.In this thesis, Losey’s life, the themes and the audio-visual techniques of his works are discussed in depth and in three chapters. His theater director career, his special identity of blacklisted Hollywood film director and his exile in Britain are discussed in Chapter1.The themes of his films though out his film career are discussed in Chapter2, these themes come from his personal life and his political conviction, the most important feature is that there are many elements of binary opposition in these themes. The most notable features of audio-visual techniques in Losey’s film are discussed in Chapter3.The aim of this thesis is not only to "introduce" Losey from the English-speaking world to China, but also let us think of the relationship between ourselves and the world and have a deeper understanding of film forms he showed preference.