The Emergence Of Cinema

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.

Between the two world wars, a distinct and vibrant film culture emerged in Europe. Film festivals and schools were established; film theory and history was written that took cinema seriously as an art form; and critical writing that created the film canon flourished. This scene was decidedly transnational and creative, overcoming traditional boundaries between theory and practice, and between national and linguistic borders. This new European film culture established film as a valid form of social expression, as an art form, and as a political force to be reckoned with. By examining the extraordinarily rich and creative uses of cinema in the interwar period, we can examine the roots of film culture as we know it today.

Looks at the early years of the motion picture industry through 1907.

Bordwell scrutinizes the theories of style launched by various film historians and celebrates a century of cinema. The author examines the contributions of many directors and shows how film scholars have explained stylistic continuity and change.

This is an exploration of the representation of Ireland and the Irish in British and US cinemas, as well as Irish-made films. The book offers readings of a wide range of key films such as The Butcher Boy (1997), Patriot Games (1992) and Angela's Ashes (1999). It discusses the full range of Irish cinematic productions from the low-budget work of Comerford and Breathnach, to the bigger Hollywood productions like Ron Howard's Far and Away (1992), and looks at the 'second' cinema of directors such as Neil Jordan and Jim Sheridan where medium-sized budgets allow for greater creative control in Ireland. Feeding into wider debates about national and cultural identity, post-national cinema and the role of the state, the book provides an overview of how a relatively small film culture such as Ireland's can live successfully in the shadow of Hollywood.

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.

Featuring nearly three thousand film stills, production shots, and other illustrations, an authoritative history of the cinema traces the development of the medium, its filmmakers and stars, and the evolution of national cinemas around the world

This text offers readers a look at the time when sound was a vexing challenge for filmmakers and the source of contentious debate for audiences and critics. The author presents a view of the talkies' reception, amongst other issues.