Film

"This major new publication presents the entire span of the film medium, from pre-cinema to the present, in a global perspective. By focusing on a historical approach, yet including in its framework such themes as aesthetics, technology, craft, and social impact, Film: An International History of the Medium provides a complete analysis of the principal films, directors, and national cinemas as well as a thorough grounding in the social, economic, and political foundations crucial to an understanding of film as both art and industry. The insightful, highly readable text covers not only commercial and narrative film but also animation, documentaries, art cinema, and the cinematic avant-garde. All significant periods and styles are explored extensively, with emphasis on the international relationship among film communities in the areas of personnel, influence, opposition, and innovation. Entire chapters are given to the study of, for example, Italian Neorealism; the French New Wave; Soviet Silent Cinema; Hollywood Genres; Documentary, Propaganda, and Politics; and the Cinema of Liberation, and substantial sections are devoted to the films of Eastern Europe, Latin America, Japan, China, Africa, the Middle East, India, and other non-Western cultures. Fascinating sidebars amplify ancillary material introduced in the main text, and six timelines place all the components in a historical context. Film: An International History of the Medium is beautifully designed and strikingly illustrated by more than 750 film stills, frame enlargements, production shots, and diagrams. The 120 full-color images include rare examples of early hard-tinting, pre-cinema technology, two- and three-color Technicolor, and other innovations as well as stills from modern films. These large, stunning illustrations combined with the author's penetrating analyses, wide-ranging perspective, and lucid text to assure Film's great appeal to anyone with an interest in the medium as well as in college-level courses the world over. Notes, a selected bibliography, a filmography, and a complete glossary of film terms round out this extraordinary volume." -- Provided by publisher