A History of Film

Substantially revised for this edition, "A History of Film" is a comprehensive international survey of film from its beginnings to the present. This text highlights the contributions of major film-producing countries, significant filmmakers, and their films within social, artistic, economic, and technological contexts. This Sixth Edition incorporates major revisions designed to improve the book's focus and provide more balanced coverage.

New to the Sixth Edition Includes new chapters on Indian and Chinese cinemas, emphasizing the exploding film industry in these two countries. Adds a chapter on "The Digital Future" in American film, bringing the text up-to-date with latest technological and industrial developments. Discusses more women filmmakers throughout the text and adds a section on Asian-American filmmakers, expanding the diversity and inclusiveness of the text. Replaces many illustrations with new examples, most of them frame enlargements, and, specifically, keys all illustrations to discussions in the text, ensuring that the images will be valuable learning tools for students. Adds more extended analyses of individual films, helping students grasp large historical questions by presenting them within specific cases rather than in abstract generalities. Provides a new glossary, helping students understand the technical, foreign-language, and industry terms used in the text. Praise for "A History of Film"

"The reason why I selected "A History of Film" over all of the other textbooks has to do with the basic approach of the subject of film as a developing art form while paying careful attention to film genres and history; the organizational structure of the chapters; a clear and authoritative writing style that explains the interconnectivity of film as a global phenomenon; and the use of judiciously selected stills in support of the text. . . . The structure, organization and content of "A History of Film" is so good that it is, to me, still the standard by which all other film textbooks must be measured."
-"Stephen Ambra, New Hampshire Technical Institute"

"The text concisely covers all of film history, and its size makes it particularly useful for film history courses taught in a single term. . . . It is typically quite insightful, yet not too dense for motivated introductory students."
-"Mark Gallagher, University of Missouri"