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Early cinema : space-frame-narrative / edited by Thomas Elsaesser with Adam Barker. [0851702449 (cased) : ] London : BFI Publishing, 1990.
Call#: Van Pelt Library Rosengarten Reserve PN1993.5.A1 E37 1990

Tom Gunning, "The Cinema of Attractions: Early Film, Its Spectator and the Avant-Garde"
tagged early_cinema film_history by dkelly ...on 22-SEP-07
"The Debate about Cinema: Charting a Controversy (1909-1929)"
tagged film_history by dkelly ...on 13-SEP-07
Saunders, Thomas J. . Hollywood in Berlin : American cinema and Weimar Germany / Thomas J. Saunders. [0520083547 ] Berkeley : University of California Press, c1994.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.G3 S34 1994


while German film gained status as art through Wegener's "neo-Romantic preference for pre-industrial visual worlds" and expressionism, Hollyood was deemed merely commercial product and escapist fantasy.

see also Kreimeier, The Ufa Story: A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company, 1918-1945, and for consideration of question of whether Expressionist film was kitsch, Elsaesser, Weimar Cinema and After: Germany's Historical Imaginary 

tagged film_history by dkelly ...and 1 other person ...on 13-SEP-07
American film industry / edited by Tino Balio. [0299098745 (pbk.) : ] Madison, Wis. : University of Wisconsin Press, c1985.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.U6 A87 1985


tagged film_history by dkelly ...and 1 other person ...on 01-JUL-07
Georgia review. [0016-8386 ] [Athens, University of Georgia]
Call#: Van Pelt Library AP2 .G375

Cavell, "More of The World Viewed" 28 (1974), 571-631.
tagged film_history by dkelly ...on 13-MAY-07
Cavell, Stanley, 1926- . World viewed; reflections on the ontology of film. [0670790028 ] New York, Viking Press [1971]
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995 .C42


tagged film_history platos_cave by dkelly ...on 13-MAY-07
Ceram, C. W., 1915-1972. . Archaeology of the cinema / [by] C.W. Ceram. [Translated by Richard Winston] 293 illustrations. New York, Harcourt, Brace & World, [1965].
Call#: Storage: From RECORD page, use Place Request tab PN1993.5.A1 M383


belongs to Archaeology of Cinema project
tagged early_technology film_history by dkelly ...on 12-MAY-07
History of the American cinema / Charles Harpole, general editor. [0684184133 (v. 1 : alk. paper) : ] New York : Scribner ; Toronto : Collier Macmillan Canada ; New York : Maxwell Macmillan International, c1990-2003.
Call#: PN1993.5.U6 H55 1990


tagged film_history by dkelly ...and 2 other people ...on 13-APR-07
Viewing positions : ways of seeing film / edited with an introduction by Linda Williams. [0813521327 ] New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c1995.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995 .V437 1995

Gunning, "An Aesthetic of Astonishment: Early Film and the [In]Credulous Spectator"
tagged film_history modern_perception by dkelly ...and 1 other person ...on 13-APR-07
Wide angle. [0160-6840 ] [Athens, Ohio, Ohio University School of Film in cooperation with the Ohio University College of Fine Arts and the Athens Center for Film and Video, etc.] 1976-
Call#: Annenberg Library Periodicals PN1993 .W48

Mary Ann Doane, "When the Direction of the Force Acting on the Body is Changed: The Moving Image" 1985, 7/2.
tagged film_history modern_perception by dkelly ...and 1 other person ...on 13-APR-07
Cinema and the invention of modern life / edited by Leo Charney, Vanessa R. Schwartz. [0520201116 (alk. paper) ] Berkeley : University of California Press, c1995.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.S6 C47 1995


tagged film_history modern_perception by dkelly ...on 13-APR-07
Brewster, Ben. . Theatre to cinema : stage pictorialism and the early feature film / Ben Brewster, Lea Jacobs. [0198182678 ] Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1997.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.25 .B73 1997


thorough discussion of early cinema's relation to theatrical practice, says Gunning. europe and us.  influence and transformation of theatrical performance style, lighting techniques, sensation scenes.
tagged early_cinema film_history by dkelly ...on 13-APR-07
Kirby, Lynne. . Parallel tracks : the railroad and silent cinema / by Lynne Kirby. [0822318334 (cloth : alk. paper) ] Durham : Duke University Press, 1997.
Call#: Van Pelt Library Rosengarten Reserve PN1995.9.R25 K57 1997


tagged film_history modern_perception perception by dkelly ...on 13-APR-07
Zielinski, Siegfried. . Audiovisions : cinema and television as entr'actes in history / Siegfried Zielinski ; translated by Gloria Custance. [9053536032 (hardcover) ] Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, c1999.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1992.2 .Z5413 1999


tagged film_history by dkelly ...on 21-MAR-07
Zielinski, Siegfried. . Deep time of the media : toward an archaeology of hearing and seeing by technical means / Siegfried Zielinski ; translated by Gloria Custance. [0262240491 (alk. paper) ] Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c2006.
Call#: Van Pelt Library P91 .Z53813 2006


tagged film_history mediea_history by dkelly ...on 21-MAR-07
Hills, Matt, 1971- . Pleasures of horror / Matt Hills. [0826458874 (HB) ] London ; New York : Continuum, c2005.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN3435 .H55 2005

Chapter 4. Displaying Connoisseurship, Recognizing Craftmanship.

In this chapter Hills explores how the pleasures of horror are constructed and narrated through fan discourses. He analyzes horror fan discourses on a few different horror internet forums and concludes that connoisseurship is the master trope in fan struggles against "inauthentic" horror consumers (non-fans) and taste-making authorities who marginalize horror. Horror fans position themselves as "authentic" through knowledge of the genre and by privileging this intellectual engagement with horror over any affective, emotional engagement. That is, "nonfans" react to horror emotionally (they express fear), while "fans" are interact in a conscious, "knowing" (and at times "superior") way. Ironically, the ostensive purpose of horror films (to instill "horror") is marginalized in these fan communities to "non-fans"). However, it is also recuperated through personal narratives of first/childhood experiences with horror. These narratives admit the affective aspect of horror as experienced in childhood and this serves as a "discourse of affect." This discourse allows the horror fan to positions themselves as rational and literate ("serious") to gain cultural credibility pushing emotion to the past and turning affect into knowledge.

Hills considers online communities--following Pierre Levy and Henry Jenkins--as a 'cosmopedia.' In horror fan forums, fans establish their subcultural identities through appropriate performances within this collective, interactive, and contested "knowledge space." Horror fans also express connoisseurship through their recognition and celebration of horror "special effects" (SFX). Hills rightfully points out that while horror directors are celebrated as auteurs (George Romero, Dario Argento, etc.), SFX creates a network of author functions. The reading of horror films by "fans" often involves a "double attention" to both the experience of the horrific content and the content as special effect. While some fans may use the attention to SFX as a "masculine" reading strategy to deflect affective (i.e. "feminine) responses, Hills points out that a aignificant portion of the audience does so to generate and sustain a reading of "horror-as-art." These fan discourses, Hills argues, work contra to many theories of horror which privilege cognitive,literary, or psychoanalytic textual aspects as generating the (dis)pleasures of horror. Fans' constructed pleasures of horror revolve more around imagined version of their "generic community" or subculture and its particular distinctions from other cultures.

 

Horror film : creating and marketing fear / edited by Steffen Hantke. [1578066921 (alk. paper) ] Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, c2004.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.H6 H674 2004

This edited collection of essays has the overarching goal of exploring the horror film genre by paying attention to the technical and industrial aspects of film that distinguish horror films from horror in other media (such as literature or comic books). The two general questions that the essays-to one degree or another-address are: what role does technology play in the production of horror films, and what role does technology play in the distribution, exhibition, and reception of horror films? ("technology" defined broadly to include production equipment, industrial mechanisms, ideological mechanisms, etc.). The first section of the book consists of essays that explore various technologies and formal innovations employed in the production of horror films. The second section of the book deals with issues surrounding horror films in the marketplace (advertising, distribution, and reception). Finally, the third section examines discursive and ideological aspects of the horror genre from censorship to fan discourse.

Philip Simpson's chapter entitled "The Horror 'Event' Movie: The Mummy, Hannibal, and Signs" explores horror films as they are positioned as Hollywood blockbusters. These marketing and promotion of these films often downplay or outright deny the film's association with the horror genre (still often seen as a marginal or low brow genre). Simpson argues that these horror 'event' movies reach a larger mainstream audience by using star actors and high profile directors, high production values, and genre mixing. Simpson distinguishes between major studio horror films and "second tier" cult audience films. While it is true that many of the films that Simpson discusses are marketed as something other than horror (either as thrillers, adventure films, or even supernatural thrillers), it is not clear where the division between A-list productions and "second tier" films lies. He cites the $100 million dollar domestic theatrical gross mark as certifying a blockbuster, but fails to cite many of the low budget, independent, or "second tier" horror films that crossed that barrier such as The Blair Witch Project (1999), The Ring (2002), and The Grudge (2004).

 Variety.com - MPAA tries to remove NC-17 stigma: Glickman takes a hard look at ratings

Sat., Mar. 10, 2007

By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

This  Variety article discusses MPAA chairman-CEO Dan Glickman ongoing attempts to fine-tune the movie-ratings system. The issue is that many theaters and video stores will not carry NC-17 rated films (or the original rating "X" which fell into disuse after pornography began using "XXX"), but at the same time parents and other groups believe that the R category has become too vague with many films (especially horror) falling into what is unofficially called a "hard-R" category. The article states that studios are weary of altering the ratings as they "consider the R rating restrictive enough, with its marketing limitations (e.g., no TV ads before 9 p.m.) and a proviso that kids aren't allowed in without an adult." Studios--and presumably theaters--make the majority of their profit (over 50%) from PG-13 rated films. This is why many horror, sci-fi, and action films strive for the PG-13 rating in order to maximize theater audience and profits. The criteria of the rating system have major implications on the types of films that get made, their content, their distribution and their reception. This is particularly true of genres which tend to contain graphic depictions of sex and/or violence.

It has always been in Hollywood's best interest to self-regulate. As the article points out "the ultimate fear is that watchdog groups and Washington lawmakers could try to exert political pressure on the industry -- precisely the reason Valenti started the system in the 1960s."

Hawkins, Joan, 1953- . Cutting edge : art-horror and the horrific avant-garde / Joan Hawkins. [0816634130 (alk. paper) ] Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, c2000.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.E96 H38 2000

Hawkins builds off of Jeffrey Sconce’s discussion of “paracinema” and “trash aesthetics” to explore the historical relationship between “high-end” avant-garde or art cinema and “low brow” horror and exploitation films. Hawkins seeks to break down the boundaries erected between “high” and “low” by demonstrating the shared stake that both horror and the avant-garde have in challenging mainstream notions of good taste and dominant Hollywood productions. The most interesting aspect of the book is her exploration of mail-order video companies such as Sinister Cinema and Something Weird Video whose photocopied “DIY” catalogs in the 1980s served as a collective space of horror and cult fandom long before the Internet. These catalogs tended to mix cheap exploitation and European art fare often with little distinguishing between the two. The second chapter of the book (“Medium Cool”) explores the culture of collecting inherent in both paracinema video culture and the niche market for Criterion Collection laser discs. Hawkins’s work is important as it captures a particular historical moment, but it also feels woefully out of date. This is not a critique of the book as much as a call for a revised edition that explores paracinema in the digital age (e.g., blogs, fan forums, web mail-order sites, etc.). In addition to patterns of consumption which blur the boundaries between “high” and “low” art, Hawkins explores a number of films which form a sort of hybrid category by combining aspects of art cinema with the horror genre. Her prime example is Georges Franju’s Eyes Without a Face (1959) which combines the formal aesthetics of French “poetic realism” with an exploitation story—and graphic gore—many consider as ushering in (along with Hitchcock’s Psycho [1960]) the slasher subgenre. Ironically, when the U.S. imported Franju’s film to play in the “grindhouse” circuit with the sensational new title of The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus, they excised the graphic “face removal” surgical scene which most qualified the film as horror in the first place.

Hawkins’s book provides a useful exploration of how genres circulate within culture often in ways that defy “officially” sanctioned categories and counter to the wishes and intentions of institutions, gatekeepers, and other “taste-makers.”

Heffernan, Kevin. . Ghouls, gimmicks, and gold : horror films and the American movie business, 1953-1968 / Kevin Heffernan. [0822332027 (alk. paper) ] Durham : Duke University Press, 2004.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.H6 H45 2004

Heffernan’s book seeks to investigate the economic and industrial aspects of the horror film genre that many scholarly accounts (which typically focus on cultural and/or aesthetic issues) fail to adequately consider. The book focuses on the postwar period (1953-1968); a period comprised of drastic changes in the film industry (i.e., Paramount decree, TV, technological innovation), and charts some of the functions or positions that horror genre pictures filled during this time period. He argues that this period—which is book-ended by 3D technology and the adoption of the MPAA rating system—saw a major cultural and economic shift in the production and reception of horror movies. This was partially due to the Supreme Court’s Paramount decision in 1948 which required the break-up of Hollywood’s vertically integrated system of production, distribution, and exhibition. As Hollywood studios began producing fewer films, independent distributors and exhibitors needed more product to fill out their schedules including B-pictures for the bottom half of popular double-feature bills. Heffernan argues that “low” genres like horror and sci-fi played an important part in the testing and development of new technologies and methods of production, distribution, and advertising to accommodate various changes including suburbanization, the growth of television, new youth markets, and the new economic and business structures of the film industry. Although written as a “corrective” to scholarship which focuses solely on culture and aesthetics, Heffernan avoids “economic determinism” by deftly intertwining the exploration of various aesthetic and formal changes of the horror genre during this period including greater psychological realism and, of course, graphic gore.

Using Philadelphia as his test market, Heffernan chronologically traces the distribution and exhibition patterns of various horror films across both theatrical and television venues. He begins with the early 1950s cycle of 3D horror films arguing that the narrative and stylistic norms of the horror genre could best negotiate the conflicting demands of “attraction” (the gimmick shots) and narrative integration of the classical Hollywood model, and also detailing the challenges faced by small theater owners to equip theaters to show 3D. Heffernan continues through the 50s and 60s exploring the impact of Hammer’s color saturated and bloody Gothic updates of the classic Universal monsters, how shortages in production from majors caused independent distributors and exhibitors to get into the production business, how the rise in art theaters utilized both exploitation/genre films and art cinema (i.e., “paracinema”), and the rise of “adult” horror in the late 60s. Overall, Heffernan’s book is well-researched, clearly written, and provides a wealth of knowledge for film scholars interested in the economic side of the industry—especially those interested in genre film. The only quibble is with the brief conclusion “The Horror Film in the New Hollywood.” It feels not only tacked on, but somewhat dismissive of the horror film post-1968. He also makes some broad—and I believe incorrect—claims such as that in the 1980s horror film spectacle overwhelms narrative. This comment flies in the face of the convincing arguments he lays out in discussing the intricate relation between technology and genre film of the 50s and 60s (such as horror’s ability to navigate 3D and narrative).

Fielding, Raymond. . Technological history of motion pictures and television; an anthology from the pages of the Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. [0520050649 ] Berkeley, University of California Press [1983, c1967]
Call#: Van Pelt Library TR848 .F5 1983


tagged film_history by dkelly ...on 09-MAR-07

Peter Brunette's Commentary: "What David Hemmings is doing here is putting photographs together to makes some kind of narrative to figure
out what the story was, which of course is the definition of a movie, putting together still photographs that run in some kind of narrative way through some kind of temporal sequence to makes some kind of meaning. And that's exactly what's happening here."

tagged film_history magic_lantern by dkelly ...on 16-FEB-07
Uricchio, William. . Reframing culture : the case of the Vitagraph quality films / William Uricchio and Roberta E. Pearson. [069104774X (cl : alk. paper) : ] Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1993.
Call#: Annenberg Library Reserve PN1995.9.S6 U75 1993

Cited by Gitelman Always Already New.
tagged film_history by dkelly ...on 04-FEB-07

History of Hollywood in 1960’s and 1970’s.  By M. Kach and G. Lane.

belongs to Theater Locations, 1965-1975 project
tagged film_history hollywood pfdoctype_book by wellske ...on 20-DEC-06
Lastra, James. . Sound technology and the American cinema : perception, representation, modernity / James Lastra. [0231115164 (cloth : alk. paper) ] New York : Columbia University Press, c2000.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.7 .L37 2000


tagged coming_of_sound early_technology film_history technology by dkelly ...and 1 other person ...on 04-NOV-06
Historical journal of film, radio and television [electronic resource]. [1465-3451 ] [London] : Carfax


tagged early_recording technology history early_technology film_history by dkelly ...on 29-OCT-06
Hearing cultures : essays on sound, listening, and modernity / edited by Veit Erlmann. [1859738230 (cloth) ] Oxford ; New York : Berg, 2004.
Call#: University Museum Library GN307.5 .H4 2004

 8	Edison's Teeth: Touching Hearing
Steven Connor 000
9 Thinking about Sound, Proximity, and Distance in
Western Experience: The Case of Odysseus's Walkman
Michael Bull 000
10 Wiring the World: Acoustical Engineers and the Empire of
Sound in the Motion Picture Industry, 1927-1930
Emily Thompson 000

tagged early_recording film_history early_technology by dkelly ...on 29-OCT-06
American movie audiences : from the turn of the century to the early sound era / edited by Melvyn Stokes and Richard Maltby. [085170722X ] London : Bfi Publishing, 1999.
Call#: Van Pelt Library Rosengarten Reserve PN1995.9.A8 A44 1999


tagged audience film_history silent_film by dkelly ...on 29-OCT-06
tagged film film_history by vallhonr ...and 2 other people ...on 25-JUL-06
Grau, Robert, 1858-1916.. Theatre of science, a volume of progress and achievement in the motion picture industry.New York, B. Blom, [1969].
Call#: Storage: From RECORD page, use Place Request tab PN1994 .G7 1969


"Ever since the advent of the two- and three-our photoplay, which also inaugurated an era of building palatial playhouses for their exhibition, there has come an increased demand for these so-called organ-orchestras and the one at the Strand has attracted so much attention that th ewriter ventured to ask Mr. Austin whether he believed that the mechanical orchestra - though operated at the console by a competent musician - was destined to eventually replace the large orchestral bodies in our play-houses of various grades" (335)..."'But we are convinced that the organ can be made a vital part of the equipment of the modern photoplay-house and by special arrangements of its tonal scheme and voicing can be rendered truly imitative of orchestral qualities and at the same time have sufficient inherent dignity which is invariably lacking in the usual theatre orchestra. The best results in my opinion,' continued Mr. Austin, 'can be obtained in the combination of the pipe organ and a limited orchestra, in fact, I think that not only in the moving picture theatres but in all play-houses the best effects will be achieved by such a combination of the larger organ and a few solo pieces in the orchestra.' The influence of the organ orchestra in the theatre of science has tended to greatly augment the musical side of photplay presentation and it is, indeed, a befitting as well as a truly artistic adjunct of the modern motion picture theatre, illustrating as it does the gradual resort to scientific means of expression. Hence, it is not surprising in this era of newly erected palatial photoplay houses that as high as $50,000 is being expended for what is known as the Wurlitzer Unit Orchestra." (336)

Also discusses potential of talking pictures and first experience with telephone. 

tagged film_history film_music by dkelly ...on 24-JUL-06
Naylor, David, 1955- . American picture palaces : the architecture of fantasy / David Naylor. [0442238614 : ] New York : Van Nostrand Reinhold, c1981.
Call#: Fine Arts Library NA6846.U6 N39

Good history of buildings for movies.
tagged edifice film_history by dkelly ...on 12-JUN-06
Schoen, Juliet P. Silents to sound : a history of the movies / Juliet P. Schoen. [0590073370 :] New York : Four Winds Press, c1976.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.U6 S33

Basic historical story, stuff you'll find elsewhere.
tagged film_history silent_film by dkelly ...on 12-JUN-06
The aims of this research project are to 1) historicize the Classical Hollywood orchestra, and 2) interrogate the cultural significations of the orchestral sound that Hollywood both deployed and helped to form.
Bordwell, David.. Classical Hollywood cinema : film style & mode of production to 1960 / David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, and Janet Staiger. [0231060548 (alk. paper) :] New York : Columbia University Press, 1985.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.U6 B655 1985

David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, and Janet Staiger have provided the canonical and definitive study of the Hollywood film industry of the classical era--approximately 1917 to 1960. As the subtitle to the book indicates, this study looks at the intersection of film style and modes of production (including technology, business models, studio ownership, technical craft, etc.) and generally argues that the studio era of Hollywood is marked by a fairly coherent aesthetic system and consistent style which the modes of production worked to reinforce. According to Bordwell, the classical style does not consist of iron-clad rules, but rather offers a paradigm of "bounded alternatives" from which filmmakers can choose allowing individual creativity while still reinforcing the overall aesthetic system. Additionally, the system is flexible enough to incorporate stylistic innovations into its own schemata--for example, German Expressionism was incorporated into both the horror films of the 1930s and the cycle of film noir in the 1940s and 50s. The book is extensively researched, highly detailed, and very useful for anyone researching Hollywood cinema. The approach to this book is based in industrial history and formal aesthetic analysis of films--it is not a cultural studies text nor does it engage critical theory is any sustained way (which is part of its strength). However, nothing prevents one from applying the insights from Bordwell, Thompson, and Staiger to a cultural studies project. If you are looking for a more cultural history of Hollywood, then Robert Sklar's Movie-made America: A Cultural History of American Movies is a good bet.
tagged film_history by vallhonr ...on 01-MAY-06
Horror film / edited and with an introduction by Stephen Prince. [0813533627 (hardcover : alk. paper) ] New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2004.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.H6 H667 2004

Excellent collection of essays on the history of the horror film, the aesthetics of horror, and audience reception of the horror film. Many of the essays presented here can be seen as useful companion pieces to Noel Carroll's seminal book The Philosophy of Horror or Paradoxes of the Heart (1990) as they continue to explore the question of horror affect and why people like to be scared by movies. Also of particular interest are two essays which discuss the under-explored silent-era horror film (see below).

"Shadow-Souls and Strange Adventures: Horror and the Supernatural in European Silent Film" by Casper Tybjerg

Tybjerg argues that despite the fact that most histories of the horror film begin their story with the first Hollywood sound horror films, Tod Browning's Dracula and James Whale's Frankenstein (both 1931), while paying only passing attention to such "precursors" as Murnau's Nosferatu (1922), there are a substantial number of European silent films (especially from Germany, but also from Denmark, Sweden and Russia) that should arguably be considered a part of the horror genre proper due to their common features of the supernatural and depictions of nightmarish situations. Tybjerg also usefully explores the relation between "fantastic" literature of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the development of the horror film in Germany in the 1910s and 1920s which, of course, served as an influence for the "golden age" of the Hollywood sound horror film of the 1930s.

"Before Sound: Universal, Silent Cinema, and the Last of the Horror-Spectaculars" by Ian Conrich.

Conrich performs a service similar to Tybjerg's but this time concentrates on the cycle of "horror-spectaculars" produced by Universal before the advent of sound: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), The Phantom of the Opera (1925) and The Man Who Laughs (1928). Conrich does not insist that these pre-sound horror films represented a fully developed genre, but rather that the periodization that tends to be inforced using sync sound as the demarcation can efface continuities and create somewhat false divisions. By tracing certain continuities of technical staff, themes, and film style across this divide, he shows that silent and sound horror films have more in common than often asserted.

belongs to Horror film and Sound project
tagged film_history film_theory horror horror_film by jfiumara ...on 30-APR-06
Lastra, James.. Sound technology and the American cinema : perception, representation, modernity / James Lastra. [0231115164 (cloth : alk. paper)] New York : Columbia University Press, c2000.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.7 .L37 2000

James Lastra situates the development of sound technology within the context of modernity with special attention paid to the relation of sound to other representational technologies such as photography and phonography. The book attempts to trace the exchanges and shifting relationships between human senses, technologies, and forms of representation (i.e., senses shaped technology development and those devices shaped our sensory experiences). The first couple chapters are a more general account of the material history of sound technology as both a means of simulating the sensory capacities of the ear and as a means of "writing" sound. The remaining chapters are nominally about the cinema beginning with the coming of sound and moving through the classical Hollywood system. Overall, Lastra's book is indebted to cultural theorists of modernity (Benjamin, Comolli, Adorno) which is not surpising as Lastra teaches at Chicago along with other modernity film scholars Tom Gunning and Miriam Hansen. The book has many strengths including giving ample attention to the practices and theories of early film sound technicians and engineers (and not just academic theorists), but suffers a bit from lack of attention to actual films themselves. Chapters 5 & 6 claim to examine the relationship between sound aesthetics, technology and film form, but while attention is paid to various sound technologies and ideas of "realism" there is little attention paid to demonstrating their effect on the form of actual films. Still, it is a well written and interesting book that will be especially useful for those interested in modernity, technology and theories of representation.
Moving picture world [microform]. New York : Chalmers Pub. Co., 1907-1927.
Call#: Microfilm cont 761


tagged film_history film_music by dkelly ...and 1 other person ...on 29-APR-06
Marks, Martin Miller.. Music and the silent film : contexts and case studies, 1895-1924 / Martin Miller Marks. [0195068912 (alk. paper)] New York : Oxford University Press, 1997.
Call#: Van Pelt Library ML2075 .M37 1997

This book is amazing; it situates its contributions to our knowledge of silent film music – which our copious – within the existing body of literature, providing a solid point of departure for all further study. Marks gives extensive consideration to the availability and state of the historical evidence, and works to piece together the surviving (often partial) scores, advertisements and reviews in order to create a more complete picture of the silent era’s musical practices then has elsewhere been achieved. Marks debunks the notion that there was a period during which anything went musically as long as it covered up the noise of the projector and compensated for the uncanny flatness of the moving image by looking at music for some of the proto-film technologies (vitascope, biograph and bioskop). The more compelling case of bioskop took place in Europe, however, and their film music practices were not immediately taken up in America. In 1909 Moving Picture World dubbed the majority of pianists inadequate movie accompaniests, and only months later Edison published its first guidelines for film accompaniment. Marks observes that the 1910-14 period has been subject to severe music scholarly neglect due to the perceived lack of evidence. Marks finds and considers numerous “special scores,” i.e. scores written specially for particular movies, that predate Birth of a Nation (1915), the oft cited “first.” Birth of a Nation gets its own chapter too, however, for it was a significant and influential achievement. Marks includes numerous facsimiles as well as transcriptions of the surviving parts/scores, and subjects them to paleographic as well as music analysis. I would say this is THE book for silent film music.
belongs to cinema and orchestra ann. project
tagged film_history film_music silent_film by dkelly ...on 29-APR-06
The aims of this research project are to 1) historicize the Classical Hollywood orchestra, and 2) interrogate the cultural significations of the orchestral sound that Hollywood both deployed and helped to form.
This documentary spends an unfortunate amount of time on a present day studio orchestra recreating the event of recording a hollywood film score. However, besides that there are enlightening discussions and examples of film scores by Max Steinr and Erich Korngold in particular, and conversations with then still living composer of Laura, David Raskin. The state of film music archives depicted is exciting and depressing: some scores from classical hollywood era survive but many were thrown away when studios ran short of space. Much film music research is devoted to reconstructing the partially surviving scores.  The technique for achieving synchrony between sound and image - which involves punches and streamers - is well illustrated.
belongs to cinema and orchestra ann. project
tagged film_history film_music by dkelly ...on 29-APR-06
Sklar, Robert. . Movie-made America : a cultural history of American movies / Robert Sklar. [0394721209 ] New York : Vintage Books, 1976, c1975.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.U6 S53 1976

Sklar argues that the development of the movies during critical years of change (industrialization, urbanization, modernization) in the social structure of America is responsible for their success in becoming the most popular and influential media of the first half of the 20th century; I would say that there is no doubt some truth to this but that it fails to recognize the role of movies in actually bringing about changes in the modern, urban social structure. The older American city, according to Sklar, juxtaposed and intermingled different income levels and occupations, while the new city segregated them.  When Sklar calls the discovery of storefront movie theaters “a shocking revelation to the middle class” he paints the middle class with too broad a brushstroke; he does, however, vividly report the reaction of social reformers to the specter of entertainment and information sources unsupervised by by churches and schools.  Sklar suggests that the middle-class saw censorship as a way to control the movies and to realize a desire to return to a society (a la Elizabethan) in which high culture was popular culture accessible to and enjoyed by alls social groups.  This dream failed to materialize because demonopolization (the busting of the Edison Trust) of the movie industry thwarted efforts at exert complete control over movie content through censorship.  The desire to make high culture popular culture factors significantly in my research interests, and while it is not Sklar’s main concern his history usefully details the movie situation within which such desire was expressed. His history covers the period from the birth of the movies to “Hollywood’s collapse” as he puts it, which coincided with the rise of television, art films and hard-core porn films. 
belongs to cinema and orchestra ann. project
tagged cultural_history film_history highbrow_lowbrow by dkelly ...on 28-APR-06

As Bates has learned over the course of his teaching career, students are often “not much more open to history than they are to old films.”  Thus instead of trying to lecture students on why specific films were so meaningful during the time they were released, Bates attempted to come up with an innovative way to relate students to the historical context of the films they are watching.  Over time, Bates developed and polished a teaching technique in which his students discover the significance of films through writing and self-reflection.  His main assignment consists of three major essays: Essay 1 “asks the students of identify a film that had [a] powerful resonance for them and to account for that response historically.” Essay 2 – the “vertical study” – has students choose a film that was perceived as a major “event” for audiences of the past and develop a theory on why the public responded as it did.  Essay 3 – the “horizontal study” – encourages the students “choose three films that have something in common,” but also span a historical gap of at least thirty years.

            By completing these assignments one after another, Bates’ students learn to define the historical significance of any given film first by thinking critically about how films as a medium affect their own lives and then extrapolating those feelings onto an audience in another time and place.  As an example for his students, Bates contextualizes the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, by discussing his personal encounter with the film as a young viewer 1969.  At the time, Bates explains that he was an eighteen-year-old student with a low draft-number that would likely send him to Vietnam once he graduated from school.  Upon watching the film, Bates instantly identified with “Butch and Sundance’s irreverent defiance of authority,” and strongly sympathized with their “frustration and few over the relentless pursuit of [their] faceless posse.”  The violent conclusion of the film, however, only served to “confirm [his] fatalism: like Butch and Sundance, [he] could defy authority for a while…but ultimately [he] didn’t stand a chance.”

Smith, Dina M. "Global Cinderella: Sabrina (1954), Hollywood, and Post-War Internationalism." Cinema Journal 41.4 (2002): 27.

 

Smith’s complex article focuses on the relationship between the United States and Europe post-World War II, in the framework of politics, foreign policy, economics, and the cinema. Films of that era, like Sabrina, she argues, twist the classic Cinderella story to fit the gendered metaphors intrinsic in foreign policy of the time, namely that Europe, as the “culturally savvy orphan” is in need of a “strong rich man,” like America, to save it. The Europe of these films was like a “postcard fantasy” to sheltered Americans: Paris was marketed as a one-dimensional entity that was the visualization of the notion of culture. Smith traces this relationship between American and French film industries back to the era of Lumiere and Pathe Freres. France, and Paris in particular, was something to be consumed, for its food, literature, fashion, and everything else: this idea is central to the plot of Sabrina, and is reflected in much of Hepburn’s career as a “European” star, as argued by Handyside.

Smith also comments on the casting of Bogart, who she claims had an identity of “rugged cowboy American individualism,” as an antithesis to Hepburn’s European sensibilities. In this film, Bogart’s character is the epitome of American economic style, yet by the end, he is inextricably attached to Europe, as both an idea and physically. The author finds many ties between American and European cultural codes referenced in the film, such as how Sabrina needs her Parisian makeover in order to socialize with the higher class of Americans. The film, as mentioned in many other placed, was the first full-scale use of European fashions in an American film; these only emphasize Hepburn’s thin, “hungry” European body, which becomes the clothing that she wears. Smith notes that this film made significant inroads to “incorporate and denationalize” French cultures and its products, something that has continued in American film through the present.

belongs to Sabrina project
tagged 1950s Audrey_Hepburn European_culture film_history Sabrina Billy_Wilder by kmkeller ...on 07-APR-06
Riley, Tim. . Fever : how rock 'n' roll transformed gender in America / Tim Riley. [0312286112 ] New York : St. Martin's Press, 2004.
Call#: Van Pelt Library ML3918.R63 R55 2004

      One of notable aspects in the movie Grease  is Sandy's transformation. Sandy starts out with a reserved, innocent and sometimes even nerdy “Sandra Dee” character. Therefore, her transformation into “Bad Sandy” is shocking. Tim Riley’s book Fever answers the reason for Sandy’s transformation. It explains how Rock ‘n’ Roll transformed the gender and the world. 

      His main argument is “contrary to the fears of parents, educators, and politicians over the past fifty years, what rock ‘n’ roll stars set in motion had an overwhelmingly positive impact on the concept of gender.”

      To prove his thesis, he defines the role of Rock ‘n’ Roll as “giving the simultaneously liberating and frightening realization that they possessed enormous power simply because they were young.” He argues that Elvis’“unabashed physical expression of pleasure and earthy enthusiasm for sex” was a big sensation of the era. He then, discusses several other features such as Tina, girls group and the Rolling Stones.He explains about political and social changes that the era underwent concluding that these changes accelerated the young generation to acquire freedom of self-expression and change their attitude toward the gender.

tagged film_history by chosk ...on 07-APR-06
Wyatt, Justin, 1963-. High concept : movies and marketing in Hollywood / Justin Wyatt. [0292790902 (alk. paper)] Austin : University of Texas Press, 1994.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.M29 W9 1994

    The author Justin Wyatt defines “high-concept” film as one“comprising 'the look, the hook, and the book.' The look of the images, the marketing hooks, and the reduced narratives form the cornerstones of high concept" (22). He waqnts to draw critical attention to the popular films as much as people give to the more “serious” films. He argues that through understanding the economic determinants of the popular films, one can truly appreciate the contemporary landscape of American film. Therefore, he continues to argue, consideration of economic reality should be incorporated in appreciating the high concept films.

    Then he tries make distinction between the “high concept” film ( Grease as an example) and “low concept” film ( All That Jazz as an example). Which aspects of Grease make it a “high concept” movie?

    Wyatt cites the cast of the famous stars such as John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John to attract young audiences and stars of the 50s such as Eve Arden as the principal “to attract older audiences seeking the film’s nostalgia.” Then, he mentions about the sound track of the movie which succeeded in commercializing. Finally, he argues that the logo of the film “ a small car containing the word “Grease” written in fluid, grease-like style” was also a great marketing strategy. Therefore, he says Grease posseses the high-concept qualities while All That Jazz , a less commercially successful movie, is a “low concept movie.”

tagged film_history by chosk ...and 1 other person ...on 07-APR-06
Halberstam, David. . Fifties / David Halberstam. [0449909336 (pbk.) ] New York : Fawcett Columbine, 1994.
Call#: Van Pelt Library E169.02 H34 1994
  
    Even though the movie was made in 1978, it depicts high school seniors life in the 1950s. The book The Fifties by David Halberstam gives extensive description of lives of the United States citizens in several respects.

   The author starts with an explanation of the political environment. He mentions Franklin D. Roosevelt who left a profound impact on American politics. (In the scene when the Principal McGee makes a commencement announcement, she is talking about Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelts wife.This scene tells us how the 1950s was filled up with legacy of the Roosevelts.) He further goes on unfolding forthcoming political developments ;Presidents of the United States after Roosevelt, important world events such as the Korean War, Black Civil Rights Movement and political and economic developments which brought remarkable prosperity to American citizens of the 1950s.

   He then discusses the rise of a new culture- The rise of television and rock n roll. It is notable that the author put a strong emphasis on Elvis Presleys influence! The fast spread of the popularity of Rock n Roll is attributed to the rise of television, according to the author. This social upheaval enabled more teenagers to get more contact with Rock n roll, which caused psychological change.

tagged film_history by chosk ...on 07-APR-06
Mordden, Ethan, 1947- . Hollywood musical / by Ethan Mordden. [0312388357 : ] New York, N.Y. : St. Martin's Press, c1981.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1995.9.M86 M6
   
    This book by Ethan Mordden is about the American film musicals. The author evaluates the movie Grease as an adoptation of a Broadway musical.

    In chapter 19, the author talks about the entrance of rock into the film since 1963 ,from the movie Bye Bye Birdie.  He marks the year 1978 for the success of a story musical Grease.
 
   The author notes several differences between the musical version of Grease and movie version of Grease. “The film threw away the spoof (the musical version) and turned romantic because “at least the romanticism was easier to take than the comedy.”In addition, the musical Grease opened with a performance of Rydell High’s Alma Mater while the film opens with a shot of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John kissing on the beach.
  
    The author criticizes the film in an aspect that the casting of Sid Caesar, Eve Arden, and Dody Goodman. They “disgraced their repuations and, as the local hash waitress, the once formidable Joan Blondell acted and sounded like hamburger helper.”  Although he recognizes one value in the film, “a new theme song that set mood and viewpoint”, the author sarcastically notes “the film was too busy making money to contain any message at all.”

    In the last paragraph of the chapter, pointing that many musical films with rock ‘n’ roll except Grease failed, he concludes rock ‘n’ roll music cannot be “a realistic form” in the movie. He finishes the chapter saying “Grease isn’t rock, either. It’s a doo-wop sitcom with kiss panels.”
tagged film_history by chosk ...and 1 other person ...on 07-APR-06
Aylesworth, Thomas G.. Broadway to Hollywood : musicals from stage to screen / Thomas G. Aylesworth. [0831710063] New York : Gallery Books, W.H. Smith, c1985.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1997.85 .A95
     
     Originated from Broadway, Grease was produced in Hollywood with Hollywood stars such as John Travolta and several stars of the 1950s.
     
     This book is about the Hollywood musicals from Broadway. In the preface, the author mentions that “since World War II, it has been the Broadway musical that has provided the Hollywood musical-film makers with a great deal of their material.”
The author’s listing of properties of the film-adopted Broadway musical proves that Grease shares many similarities with the other musical films. To name big two first, it has to be a ‘book musical’, the one with the plots. Second, many of the musical films have been completely rewritten, the songs have been replaced, or both.  The author explains the evolution of producers’ role in film-making process as a musical from Broadway is transformed to the Hollywood films.  Emphasis on the composers’ role in the musical is replaced by that of the director. 
    
    The book introduces musical films from Broadway since the 1920s. When it reaches the period of seventies, it terms the period as “the nostalgic Seventies.” It was the period of reaction, and most musicals were looking backward. Grease’s retrospective view on the 1950s exemplifies the sentiment of the era.The author also discusses success of grease as both a musical and a film, the author endows significance to Grease for marking the end of the musical film slow-down period.
tagged film_history by chosk ...on 07-APR-06
Shumway,R . "Rock 'n' Roll Sound Tracks and the Production of Nostalgia" Cinema journal [0009-7101] 38.2 36-51.
   
     In 1978, the film version of Grease spawned four Top 5 hits: the title theme, "You're the One That I Want," "Hopelessly Devoted to You," and "Summer Nights." Surprisingly, only one of them -- the latter song -- actually came from the original score. From this fact, it is evident that music in film is a very significant factor to the audience.

This article is about the films such as easyrider, American Griffities, the graduate, and dirty dancing. One common aspect shared with movies above and Grease is that they are the production of nostalgia. The author argues how it is important to incorporate musical elements next to the notion of nostalgia.

First of all, the author mentions about the change of role of music in film: whereas the goal of the traditional film score was to cue an emotional response in the viewer, recent sound tracks are put together on the assumption that the audience recognize the artists, the song, and at least a familiar style. This explains rising numbers of the film producers hire musical consultants for wider appealing and higher sales in Original Sound Track. (OST).

By presenting detailed explanation of nostalgia films, he shows how filmmakers strived to reconstruct the past time throughout an effective use of music.   
tagged film_history by chosk ...on 07-APR-06
Ravid . "Information, Blockbusters, and Stars: A Study of the Film Industry" The journal of business [0021-9398] 72.4 (1999). 463-492.
   
    The film Grease earned estimated USD $6,000,000. Can this interpreted as a success? If so, how did the castings of the character help the films success? This article on Film industry discusses about the role of stars in the movie.

    The writer of the article defines role of stars on the first page. According to the writer, the role of the star according to the author is early attention to the movie stars draw as they participate in the movies. Once a person is a star, even if his or her fortune seems to have changed, he or she will be recognized and valued by public. This role is explicitly manifested in the trailer of Grease because the trailer tried to underscore the meeting of two world-famous stars as a couple for the first time in the movie.

    After explaining about the role of stars in the movie, the author discusses how to measure the success of the movie. Arguing that the returns to the investment should be the gauge for the economic success of the movie (not the earning itself), the author comprehensively presents data of 200 films made from 1991 and early 1993. Using supplicated method of calculating, the author tries to figure out how casting of big stars plays role in the return to the investment. Showing the results of the calculation on page 474, the author proves the star-dubbed films are more profitable which is also manifested in the video sales record.

     The success of Grease can be attributed to many factors. However, this article proves that the cast of two top stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John was an important contributor to its success.

tagged film_history by chosk ...on 07-APR-06
"Outsiders and justice consciousness." Contemporary justice review [1028-2580] 6.4 (2003). 357-.
   
    Many of the dictionaries define the word “greaser” as a disparaging term for a Latin American, especially a Mexican. However, as seen in the movie, Greasers of the 1950s were rather a sub-cultural group of the United States. Then, what is exactly to be a “greaser”?

   

     The writer of the article, Michelle Inderbitzin uses a book by S.E. Hinton The Outsiders to give a good definition of a “greaser.” On the first page, the author explains that greasers are very similar to the hoods, and “they get into trouble, steal things, and occasionally have a gang fight.” Their opponents are the “Soc,” the wealthier West Side kids who also get into troubles, but are “more likely to have it overlooked and to get the benefit of the doubt from the rest of the community.”
Citing several passages of the book, she presents the moral values of the greasers. The most highly prized value for a greaser is loyalty to each other. Even though greasers did not have the best grades, best homes and great future, they did have each other. This camaraderie is well illustrated in the movie Grease when Kenickie asks Danny to accompany as the second for the car racing. In the interview with Jeff Conway who starred Kenickie, he picks the scene as one of his favorite. Even though Kenickie asks Danny in an authoritative way to be his lieutenant, he confesses that he was actually saying “I am scared, would you be there for me?” Danny hugs Kenickie in a way of showing affirmation and then they break apart and comb their hair “like it didn’t happen.” Even though loyalty to one another in the movie Grease is not a main theme of the film, it certainly is a defining character of Danny as a “greaser.”
   
    In the later part of the article, the author hints that greasers did not like the treat of the society to them.
Identified as greasers and treated accordingly, Ponboy and his friends hope to someday find a comfortable place for themselves in society.” This attitude can be found in the film also when Danny attempts to join sports team and wear lettered sweater at the carnival as a sign of his determination for the transformation.
tagged film_history by chosk ...on 07-APR-06
Best, Amy L., 1970- . Fast cars, cool rides : the accelerating world of youth and their cars / Amy L. Best. [0814799302 (cloth : alk. paper) ] New York : New York University Press, c2006.
Call#: Van Pelt Library HQ796 .B432 2006
   
    The scene in which Danny wins a car racing against his rival “the Scorpions” is a momentous point in the movie. It marks end of the conflicts between the protagonist and the antagonist, but on the other hand, marks the beginning of Sandy’s transformation. How did the Greasers and the Scorpions get into conflicts? Why did they choose car-racing as thei