1st Edition

Movie History: A Survey Second Edition

    How can we understand the history of film? Historical facts don’t answer the basic questions of film history. History, as this fascinating book shows, is more than the simple accumulation of film titles, facts and figures. This is a survey of over 100 years of cinema history, from its beginnings in 1895, to its current state in the 21st century. An accessible, introductory text, Movie History: A Survey looks at not only the major films, filmmakers, and cinema institutions throughout the years, but also extends to the production, distribution, exhibition, technology and reception of films. The textbook is divided chronologically into four sections, using the timeline of technological changes Written by two highly respected film scholars and experienced teachers, Movie History is the ideal textbook for students studying film history.

    Contents

     

    Acknowledgements

    Illustrations

    Preface

    SECTION 1: The Silent Cinema 1895-1927

    Chapter 1: The Invention and Innovation of the Motion Pictures

    Case Study 1: Who Went to See Early Movies in the USA?

    Chapter 2: The Triumph of Hollywood

    Case Study 2: Government Control of What Audiences Saw - The Battle on Film Censorship in Germany and the USA

    Chapter 3: Hollywood Establishes the Classic Narrative Style

    Case Study 3: The Acceptance of the Classical Hollywood Filmmaking Style

    Chapter 4: Influential Alternatives to Hollywood: European Cinema

    Case Study 4: Carl Dreyer - A Danish Individualist

    Chapter 5: Experiments in Filmmaking: The USSR

    Case Study 5: Evaluation in Movie History - The Case of Odessa Steps

    SECTION 2: The Hollywood Studio Era 1928-1950

    Chapter 6: The Coming of Sound & the Studio System

    Case Study 6: The Coming of Sound to Europe - The Triumph of National Film Production in Holland

    Chapter 7: The First Golden Age of Hollywood Movie Making

    Case Study 7: How was the Moviegoer Affected by the Movies? – Reconstructing the Meaning of Movies and Movie Going with the Help of Oral History.

    Chapter 8: European Alternatives to Hollywood: France, Britain, Germany and Italy

    Case Study 8: What Did the European Moviegoer Really Like? – Reconstructing the taste of the Moviegoer with the Help of Film Programming and Statistics.

    SECTION 3: The Television Era 1951-1975

    Chapter 9: Television, Wide-Screen and Colour

    Case Study 9: Film Societies as Alternative Spaces for Movie Exhibition

    Chapter 10: A Transformation of Hollywood Movie-Making

    Case Study 10: A Critic who Changed the Status of Hollywood Movies

    Chapter 11: The European Art Cinema Alternative

    Case Study 11: Art Movie Theaters in the USA

    Chapter 12: Alternative Film Industries – The Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, South America, Australia and Japan

    Case Study 12: The Importance of Film Festivals

    SECTION 4: The Video to Digital Era 1975-2010

    Chapter 13: Contemporary World Cinema History – 1975 and Beyond

    Case Study 13: Film Historical Research in the Digital Age

    Chapter 14: Hollywood Thrives

    Case Study 14: The Reception of James Cameron’s Avatar

    Bibliography

    Glossary

    Index

    Biography

    Douglas Gomery is emeritus professor at the University of Maryland, USA. His publications include two prize winning books, Shared Pleasures: A History of Movie Presentation (1991) and Who Owns the Media (2000).

    Clara Pafort-Overduin teaches at the Department of Theater, Film and Television Studies at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and is a founding member of the International Cinema Attendances Research Group.

    "Covering everything from Edison to Avatar, Gomery and Pafort-Overduin have written the clearest, best organized, and most user-friendly film history textbook on the market. It masterfully distills the major trends and movements of film history, so that the subject can be taught in one semester. And each chapter includes a compelling case study that highlights an important moment in movie history and, at the same time, subtly introduces a methodological approach. This book is a pleasure to read and to teach." Peter Decherney, University of Pennsylvania, USA

    "In addition to providing a comprehensive overview of the development of film around the world, the book gives us examples of how to do film history, including organizing the details and discussing their implications." Hugh McCarney, Western Connecticut State University, USA

    "Douglas Gomery and Clara Pafort-Overduin have created an outstanding textbook with an impressive breadth of content, covering over 100 years in the evolution of cinema. Movie History: A Survey is an engaging book that will reward readers with a contemporary perspective of the history of motion pictures and provide a solid foundation for the study of film." Matthew Hanson, Eastern Michigan University, USA