Film History: An Introduction (softcover) [Paperback]

Kristin Thompson (Author), David Bordwell (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0070064458 | ISBN-13: 978-0070064454 | Publication Date: February 1, 1994 | Edition: 1

Written by two of the leading film scholars, Film History: An Introduction, is the long-awaited, comprehensive survey that not only acknowledges the contributions of Hollywood and films from other U.S. sources, but broadens its scope to examine filmmaking internationally. As with the authors' bestselling Film Art, Fifth Edition, concepts and events are illustrated with actual frame enlargements, giving students more realistic points of reference than competing books that use publicity stills. Any serious film scholar -- professor, undergraduate, or graduate student -- will want to see and keep Film History.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kristin Thompson is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She holds a master's degree in film from the University of Iowa and a doctorate in film from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She has published Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible (Princeton University Press, 1981), Exporting Entertainment: America's Place in World Film Markets, 1907-1934 (British Film Institute, 1985), Breaking the Glass Armor: Neoformalist Film Analysis (Princeton University Press, 1988), and Wooster Proposes, Jeeves Disposes; or Le Mot Juste (James H. Heinman, 1992). In her spare time she studies Egyptology. The authors have collaborated on Film History (McGraw-Hill, 1994) with Janet Staiger, on The Classical Hollywood Cinema (Columbia University Press, 1985) and Storytelling in the New Hollywood (Harvard University Press, 1999)

David Bordwell is Jacques Ledoux Professor of Film Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds a master's degree and a doctorate from the University of Iowa. He is the author of The Films of Carl Theodor Dreyer (University California Press, 1981), Narration in the Fiction Film (University Wisconsin Press, 1985), Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema (British Film Institute/Princeton University Press, 1988), Making Meaning: Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema (Harvard University Press, 1989), The Cinema of Eisenstein (Harvard University Press, 1993), On the History of Film Style (Harvard University Press, 1997) and Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment (Harvard University Press, 2000). He has won a University Distinguished Teaching Award.

Product Details

• Paperback: 864 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 1 edition (February 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070064458
• ISBN-13: 978-0070064454
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, nicely packaged, February 11, 2002

By 

Andy Williamson (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Film History: An Introduction (softcover) (Paperback)

I used this book in a film studies class about four years ago and I kept it because of the wealth of information. For the first time I understood the different epochs of film not only in the U.S. but also around the world. I was introduced to a wider variety of international film and the work of Eisenstein, Renoir, Kurosawa, and others. I highly recommend this book for the concise language, easy explanations, and beautiful black and white and color reproductions from many films. This book is a page turner.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treat for film buffs, September 20, 2008

By 

Diana (SC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Film History: An Introduction (softcover) (Paperback)

Excellent film studies text--informative. Delineates the different epochs of film not only in the U.S. It includes international film and the work of Eisenstein, Renoir, Kurosawa, and others. Concise language and beautiful black-and-white and color reproductions.

11 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just great, February 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Film History: An Introduction (softcover) (Paperback)

this is one of the most comprensive and clear books on film history. Just great to use it as a main reference book to college student