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Republic of Images: A History of French Filmmaking

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I'm writing this because I notice this book is rated lower than the Lanzoni book on the same national cinema. I find this utterly perturbing, not because of whatever merits or demerits the Lanzoni book may have, but because Alan Williams book is a true breakthrough in the field of French film studies. It is a model of historical research, filled with a respectful love of its subject. Williams does not play favorites, he is inclusive, yet utterly readable and fair, without ignoring somewhat marginal figures. He can deliver in one or two paragraphs the essentials of a filmmaker's career. Even when Williams is subjective his comments are dead on. His story unfolds and unfolds, from 17th-century theater to the 1980's. He provides the theory as it develops. The only knock one could have on it is that it stops early, having of course been published in 1992.

Williams takes the reader on an exotic journey of the landscape of French Filmmaking. Williams situates French film movements against the backdrop of the simultaneous and pioneering innovations both in France and the United States that eventually led to the film revolution. Williams' lucid writing provides both beginners and seasoned film analysts with insights about the influence French films on world cinema.