History of Film (World of Art)
David Parkinson
Language: English
Pages: 304
ISBN: 0500204101
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
“Impressively thorough . . . adeptly articulates the contributions of particular directors and movements.” —Publishers Weekly
In this lively and up-to-date analysis, David Parkinson traces the evolution of the moving image from the earliest shadow shows to the digital filmmaking of the twenty-first century. Covering the key elements and players that have contributed to its artistic and technical development, the book offers a concise overview of film throughout the world. Beginning with the origins of the movies, it assesses the achievements of an international body of filmmakers. A new chapter maps the developments in form and technology across the world from the mid-1990s to today, examining among other things experiments in three-dimensionality, the revival of animation, the democratization of filmmaking following the digital revolution, and the impact of DVDs and the download market in exponentially widening access and audiences. 176 illustrations, 15 in color
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193 5 f o l l o w i n g W i l l i a m F o x ' s ruinous attempt to retain exclusive A m e r i c a n rights to the T r i - E r g o n sound system. C o n t r o l l e d by D a r r y l F. Z a n u c k (1902—79), the studio was r e n o w n e d for its production-line manufacture of hard, glassy musicals, sound remakes of silent hits, folksy comedies and exercises in period nostalgia. It also boasted the best special effects department in H o l l y w o o d (as in The Rains Came, C l a r e n c e B r o w
failed to respond. B y 1938 K o r d a was o n the v e r g e o f bankruptcy and not e v e n an extension of the quota was able to prevent a dramatic drop in p r o duction t h r o u g h o u t the rest of the industry. O n l y the British d o c u mentary m o v e m e n t c o n t i n u e d to prosper. x 71 E v e n before J o h n Grierson (1898—1972) made Drifters for the E m p i r e M a r k e t i n g B o a r d ( E M B ) in 1929, Britain was r e n o w n e d for the quality of its documentaries. H o w
impression of the passing scene, the depth of framing to c o n v e y privileged information to the audience, and the use of 'pans' and 'tilts' to f o l l o w the action all added to the fluidity and intensity of the narrative. Regrettably, there was no intercutting w i t h i n scenes, the interiors (in stark contrast to the realism of the exteriors) w e r e w o e f u l l y synthetic and the acting highly theatrical; still, The Great Train Robbery established the basic principles of continuity
fatalist and a moralist (in spite of his frequent misogyny), Hitchcock was also a perfectionist, whose preoccupation with form made possible a unique interpretation of the anxieties of his age. If divestiture and television had prompted the technical experiments of the 1950s, fear of blacklisting was largely responsible for the new directions taken within the Hollywood genres. Comedy struggled to accommodate the widescreen format and besides the films of Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe, the
ironies of life in a visually arresting and intellectually challenging way. While Bergman invariably remained within the same state-subsidized environment, Luis Bufiuel was an itinerant prepared to operate in more commercially oriented industries. After spells as a producer in Europe, war-documentary editor in N e w York and Spanish-version supervisor in Hollywood, he drifted to Mexico, where on the back of two popular comedies, he was offered the chance to direct Los Olvidados (1950).