Film History An Introduction

This book introduce the history of film as it is presently conceived, written, and taught by its most accomplished scholars. However, this book is not a distillation of everything that is known about film history.

Written by two of the leading scholars in film studies, Film History: An Introduction 4e is a comprehensive, global survey of the medium that covers the development of every genre in film, from drama and comedy to documentary and experimental. Concepts and events are illustrated with frame enlargements taken from the original sources, giving students more realistic points of reference.

Written by two leading film scholars,Film History: An Introductionis a comprehensive survey of film-from the backlots of Hollywood, across the United States, and around the world. As in the authors' bestsellingFilm Art, concepts and events are illustrated with actual frame enlargements, giving students more realistic points of reference than competing books that use publicity stills.

"Around the world, at any instant, millions of people are watching movies. They watch mainstream entertainment, serious "art films," documentaries, cartoons, experimental films, educational shorts. They sit in air-conditioned theaters, in village squares, in art museums, in college classrooms, in their homes before a television screen, in coffee shops before a computer monitor or cell-phone screen. The world's movie theaters sell 8 billion tickets each year. With the availability of films on video-whether broadcast, fed from cable or satellites or the Internet, or played back from disc or digital file-the audience has multiplied far beyond that. Nobody needs to be convinced that film has been one of the most influential media of the past hundred years. Not only can you recall your most exciting or tearful moments at the movies, you can also probably remember moments in ordinary life when you tried to be as graceful, as selfless, as tough, or as compassionate as those larger-than-life figures on the screen. The way we dress and cut our hair, the way we talk and act, the things we believe or doubt-all these aspects of our lives are shaped by films. Films also provide us with powerful artistic experiences, insights into diverse cultures, and new ways of thinking"--

This comprehensive survey not only acknowledges the contributions of Hollywood and films from other US sources, but broadens its scope to examine film-making internationally.

With more than 250 images, new information on international cinema—especially Polish, Chinese, Russian, Canadian, and Iranian filmmakers—an expanded section on African-American filmmakers, updated discussions of new works by major American directors, and a new section on the rise of comic book movies and computer generated special effects, this is the most up to date resource for film history courses in the twenty-first century.

Geoffrey Nowell-Smith defines the field of cinema, and explores its fascinating history within the cultural and aesthetic sphere. Considering the influences of the other art forms from which it arose, he looks at how technological advances have opened up new horizons for the cinema industry.

6. udg. Originaludgave fra 1977