An Introduction to World Cinema, 2d ed. / Edition 2

by Aristides Gazetas

Overview

Motion pictures are more than just entertainment. In film studies courses in colleges and universities worldwide, students and professors explore the social, political, technological and historical implications of cinema.

This textbook provides two things: the history of film as an art form and an analysis of its impact on society and politics. Chapters are arranged chronologically, covering the major developments in film, like the advent of talkies or the French New Wave. Each era is examined in the context of several exemplary films commonly viewed in film studies courses. Thus students can watch Birth of a Nation and Intolerance while studying the innovations made by D.W. Griffith from 1910 to 1919. The scope is global, embracing the cinematic traditions of Asia, Latin America and Africa, as well as the ever important American and European output. Thoughtful articles from film scholars are included. The flexible structure of the text allows a variety of options for classroom use or personal study.

Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786439072
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	04/24/2008
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	378
Sales rank:	971,912
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.76(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Over a 30 year teaching career, the late Aristides Gazetas designed a graduate film studies program, wrote courses on international cinema and film history, and directed numerous productions of classic and modern plays. He lived in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface    
Introduction    

1. The Invention of Motion Pictures: 1895–1910     
2. Early Narratives and the Nickelodeons     
3. D. W. Griffith and Cinematic Language: 1910–1919    
4. UFA and the German Studio System: 1919–1925     
CRITICAL ESSAY: “Caligari” by Siegfried Kracauer     
5. The Impact of D. W. Griffith on Soviet Montage: 1919–1925     
6. The French Avant-Garde Tradition and Surrealism     
7. Hollywood Silent Films in the Jazz Age: 1919–1929     
8. Hollywood and the Sound Films of the 1930s     
9. French Cinema of the 1930s     
CRITICAL ESSAY: “The Evolution of the Language of Cinema” by André Bazin     
10. The Hollywood Golden Years: 1930–1945     
11. Italian Neorealist Cinema: 1945–1954     
CRITICAL ESSAY: “Some Ideas on the Cinema” by Cesare Zavattini     
12. Hollywood at War and Postwar Paranoia: 1940–1954     
13. Postwar Japanese Cinema: 1950–1990     
14. Hollywood in Transition and Decline: 1955–1962     
15. Symbolist Traditions in the Cinema: 1950s–1970s     
16. The French New Wave, Part One: 1957–1968     
17. The French New Wave, Part Two: 1959–1980     
CRITICAL ESSAY: “L’Année dernière à Marienbad: The Narration of Narration” by Allen Thiher     
18. Postwar British New Cinema: 1956–1972     
19. The Italian Cinema of Fellini and Antonioni     
20. Hollywood Revival and the Anti-Myth Era: 1964–1976     
CRITICAL ESSAY: “Blow-Up, Swinging London, and the Film Generation” by Peter Lev     
21. New Italian Cinema of Pasolini and Bertolucci     
22. New German Cinema     
23. American Auteurs: Allen, Altman and Coppola     
24. Revisiting Genre Films in the 1980s and 1990s     
25. Third Cinema and Post-Colonial Narratives in Africa, Latin America and Asia     
CRITICAL ESSAY: “From a Hybrid Place” by Trinh T. Minh-Ha with Judith Mayne     
26. Revisioning History: Contesting Colonialism     
27. Contemporary Canadian Filmmakers: 1987–2007     
28. Cultural Politics: Contemporary Inquiries into a “War on Terrorism”    

Index     

Editorial Reviews

scholarly...excellent”—The Midwest Book Review; “the finest book to supplement an introductory film course designed to help college students better understand the significance of the motion picture”—Rogue Cinema; “offers critical essays by film scholars...the best film text currently available...the quintessential study guide”—The Current.

From the Publisher

"offers critical essays by film scholars...the best film text currently available...the quintessential study guide"

The Current

the finest book to supplement an introductory film course designed to help college students better understand the significance of the motion picture

Rogue Cinema

scholarly...excellent

The Midwest Book Review