Movie History: A Survey

"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

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.

Acknowledgements Illustrations Preface Section 1: The Silent Cinema 1895-1927 1. The Invention and Innovation of the Motion Pictures Case Study 1: Who Went to See Early Movies in the USA? 2. The Triumph of Hollywood Case Study 2: Government Control of What Audiences Saw The Battle on Film Censorship in Germany and the USA 3. Hollywood Establishes the Classic Narrative Style Case Study 3: The Acceptance of the Classical Hollywood Filmmaking Style 4. Influential Alternatives to Hollywood: European Cinema Case Study 4: Carl Dreyer A Danish Individualist 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 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 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. 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 9. Television, Wide-Screen and Colour Case Study 9: Film Societies as Alternative Spaces for Movie Exhibition 10. A Transformation of Hollywood Movie-Making Case Study 10: A Critic who Changed the Status of Hollywood Movies 11. The European Art Cinema Alternative Case Study 11: Art Movie Theaters in the USA 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 13. Contemporary World Cinema History 1975 and Beyond Case Study 13: Film Historical Research in the Digital Age 14. Hollywood Thrives Case Study 14: The Reception of James Camerons Avatar Bibliography Glossary Index