'In the introductory chapter of Second Take, Raffaele Caputo and Geoff Burton affirm the phrase “reculer pour mieux sauter” as the impulse of their collection. This eclectic and self-reflective collection of essays, interviews and diary entries reviews fifty years of Australian film-making in order to establish its health, current standing and future. The contributors, who are both practitioners and critics rather than film academics, discuss the post-colonial legacy which has shaped Australian cinema and, crucially, the logistics of getting films made in a Hollywood-dominated yet global financial economy. Their themes call into question rigid academic notions of national cinema and reveal the pragmatic relationship between film-making, artistic vision, location and the material conditions of production.' (Introduction)
