Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies [Paperback]

Robert Sklar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 1994

Hailed as the definitive work upon its original publication in 1975 and now extensively revised and updated by the author, this vastly absorbing and richly illustrated book examines film as an art form, technological innovation, big business, and shaper of American values. 80 black-and-white photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sklar has revised and updated this imposing, wide-ranging analysis of American cinema, first published in 1975; 80 b&w photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Sklar shows that movies not only reflect our society but influence it as well. This update advances the study to 1993 films. "Well worth consideration" (LJ
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Rev Sub edition (December 5, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679755497
• ISBN-13: 978-0679755494
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect, December 4, 2003

By 

Devon (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies (Paperback)

Sklar's Movie Made America was assigned as my textbook for a film class I just finished here at UCLA. At first I thought it to be a bit boring, especially because I thought it was just repeating what the professor had discussed in class. However, when I truly began to appreciate this book and take the time to read every word, I realized that Sklar not only presents the facts, but synthesizes the history of American cinema in innovative and interesting contexts. He discusses the way that film, from its start, has changed America as a social body, as a political body, as an economic body, and as a body in of itself.

Certain chapters were intriguing because they took standpoints different than any other author. And while the words are a bit dated, last revised over 10 years ago, it still has a spooky sense of relevance.

Overall, a wonderful book. If you're interested in the history of American film, here you go. I'm not selling this one back to the bookstore during Buy-Back time. That's for sure.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough and Meticulous Guide, November 22, 2000

By 

cinemagirl (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies (Paperback)

For those who wish to extend beyond the wisdom of the typical movie buff -- knowing how much a particular film grossed; memorizing the dialogue of a film word for word; spotting discrepancies in plots -- this book is for you. Do you know how films came to be? Who and what were the catalysts that aided the popularity of the motion picture industry? What's the story on the current Hollywood studios? Although sometimes tedious, this book is the complete guide for those who are curious about both motion pictures and the interesting history that entails.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Highly over-rated, December 21, 2008

By 

Mark S. Snyder (Boca Raton, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies (Paperback)

While I realize that Robert Sklar's Movie Made America is a regularly used text in many university film courses, I can only surmise that this may be why so many film classes are boring. While Skylar's book is somewhat comprehensive as far as it goes, it is not only overly pedantic but it is written with no determinable sense of chronology. While it is subtitled "A Cultural History of American Movies," it is more a social history of early Hollywood with an emphasis on the old studio system and those early personages which comprised that system. Furthermore, easily one-third of the book is dedicated to the first twenty years of American film making.

I purchased this book for adoption in a university film course that I teach which has as its emphasis the cultural underpinnings of American Film. While my students appreciated that the book was inexpensive, both the students and I agreed that the book was uninspired, unexciting, unimaginative, unattractive, unintelligible, and nearly unreadable. Additionally, it is cheap looking; it is printed on cheap paper which allowed bleed-through of the ink; and the photographs are reproduced with less quality than you would find in a newspaper. I am going back to John Belton's book, American Cinema, American Culture, next semester.