A History of Narrative Film (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Now in its third edition, A History of Narrative Film continues to be the most comprehensive and complete history of international cinema in print. This book conveys the vastness and heterogeneity of film history; it describes the extraordinary number of extraordinary films that have been made over the last hundred years. Even in 1,100 pages and more than 1,500 illustrations, Cook can but summarize the development of film narrative and film art in every major country. He has wisely complemented his survey with in-depth analyses of three hugely important movies, The Birth of a Nation, The Battleship Potemkin, and Citizen Kane. He also focuses on major films--The Rules of the Game, Tokyo Story, Vertigo, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors--when he assesses the careers of landmark directors. This edition, updated for the '90s, adds a section on "Hollywood 1965-present," as well as new chapters on "The Former Soviet Union" and "Third World Cinema."

Product Description

This guide to the history of narrative film evaluates important film-makers and assesses film-making techniques. Coverage in the third edition has been extended to Third World cinema in Africa and Asia and to the films of the former Soviet Union.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1087 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 3rd edition (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393968197
• ISBN-13: 978-0393968194
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #148,718 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Encyclopedic Coverage, May 15, 2000

By	Donald Beale (Baton Rouge, LA United States) - See all my reviews

Even considering its more than 1,000 pages, this book packs an astounding amount of information between its covers. In attempting to provide a comprehensive history, the book's strength sometimes becomes its weakness--on many topics, Cook offers sketchy coverage, occasionally reduced to simple lists of films and filmmakers. A natural hazard, perhaps, of such an undertaking. Despite that, there are many excellent sections, including those on the early development of the film industry and some of the discussions of particular films, directors, and genres, such as Potememkin, Orson Welles, and film noir. Ultimately, it's a worthwhile volume for the reference shelf of anyone interested in film.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best General History available, January 30, 2002

By	Mad Dog (Canada) - See all my reviews

Imagine having the gall to write a history of "Narrative Film" -- not just Hollywood production, but ALL film, from ALL OVER...

Well Cook does, and does it better than anyone else.

The most amazing thing about this book is that is reads so well: you can literally open it up anywhere, start reading, and start learning -- and be entertained at the same time. I just love reading this book.

The second amazing thing is that Cook seems to have seen a lot of movies and taken the time to think carefully about them. As a result his comments, his sense of historical perspective, and his assertions are usually accurate, frequently insightful, and always enlightenling.

If you're studying film in ANY context, this is the book to buy. If you prefer a video store with a foreign language section instead of your local Blockbuster, this is the catalog for you. Within days of reading this book I was making lists of films that I had to see (The Red And The White, and the Wadja trilogy among them), and running out to find them.

For those in need of a text-book, this is the best value-for-money you can get. For thos FEARING a text-book, relax: it's actually a real page turner.

Any short-commings? There are some minor factual errors (the photographs demonstrating zoom, telephoto and wide lenses use inaccurate frames from Barry Lyndon, for example), but nothing to worry about -- there so much about this book that's good it really doesn't make a difference. The only real problem is that it will never be big enough.

This is the book against which the others are judged.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice summary of... well... film, March 31, 2004

By A Customer

Lets think of it like this: If you wanted to know the entire history of narrative film, this will do the trick. So it does its job. Granted, there are some omissions, and some things could be a little more in depth, but when you have a project with the girth that Cook does, it's completely understandable.

It does its job, that's for sure.