Customer Reviews

Gaumont: A Century of French Cinema

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1995, the Gaumont Company celebrated its Centennial Anniversary as one of the oldest existing film producers in the world. This work covers Gaumont's humble beginnings as a producer of films used only to sell the cameras and projectors the company manufactured, all the way to 1994 and the release of the big budget opera film, "Carmen".

Gaumont and Company should be known for many things, but is often overlooked as a footnote in film history. The founder, Leon Gaumont (1864-1946) was an engineer of equal stature with the Lumiere Brothers, Gustave Eiffel, and Georges Demeney. He pursued patents for synchronized sound on film, three-color film processes, and the development of the modern film projector.

His innovation included employment of the world's first female film director, his secretary Alice Guy. His only business rival on the world scene before the advent of Hollywood was the great Charles Pathe himself. His studios employed the likes of Abel Gance, Leonce Perret, Emile Cohl, and Alfred Hitchcock. Gaumont newsreels were preeminent in their field.

Most people who know silent film will recognize film titles like Louis Feuillade's "Judex", "Les Vampires", and "Fantomas". These were all mainstays of this studio, but in today's France, the name is evident above many cinema theatre marquees as a place to see and experience film. Gaumont is also the name above the title in many recent block-buster's like "Highlander" and "Leon".

This book details the considerable financial up's and downs of an innovative and historic manufacturer, producer, distributor, and cultivator of film. "Here, in a lively text and vivid illustrations, is the history of Gaumont, the oldest movie company in the world".