States of danger and deceit places key films (Z (1969), The Mattei Affair (1972), State of Siege (1972), The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (1975), Illustrious Corpses (1976)) and filmmakers (Costa-Gavras, Elio Petri, Francesco Rosi, Volker Schlöndorff) from across Europe into their historical, political and social contexts before considering the ways they have impacted upon politically engaged filmmakers since.

Presented in a dossier format, made up of shorter engaging pieces, this volume offers a series of contextualisations and detailed explorations of significant examples of the political thriller from across Europe.