The History of Cinema: A Very Short Introduction

Description

In this Very Short Introduction Geoffrey Nowell-Smith defines the field of cinema, and explores its fascinating history within the cultural and aesthetic sphere. Considering the influences of the other art forms from which it arose, he looks at how technological advances have opened up new horizons for the cinema industry.

• Provides an engaging overview of the defining moments in the history of cinema
• Explores cultural, aesthetic, and technological changes in film, such as the rise of home viewing with videos and DVDs and even on mobile phones
• Looks at the cinema industry, discussing the rise of Hollywood and its competitors and other national film industries
• Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series - over seven million copies sold worldwide

About the Author(s)

Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, Honorary Professorial Fellow in the School of History at Queen Mary, University of London

Professor Geoffrey Nowell-Smith is one of the leading scholars in film studies. During his long academic career he taught film studies in various universities in Britain and the US, and from 1978-1989 he was Head of Education and then Head of Publishing at the British Film Institute. He has authored and edited a number of books, including The Oxford History of World Cinema (OUP, 1996) and Making Waves: New Wave, Neorealism, and the New Cinemas of the 1960s (Bloomsbury, 2007).

Table of Contents

Preface
1:Introduction: what is Cinema?
2:Technologies
3:Industry
4:Aesthetics
5:Cinema and the outer world
6:Shaping the imaginary
7:Seven epochs
8:Conclusion
Further reading
Index

Reviews

"Nowell-Smith's packed an astounding amount into 120-page, pocket-sized book. Not just a capsule history of movies, but also summaries of technological, cultural and ideological developments, plus reflections on the current multimedia revolution. There's even room for notes on further reading. Ideal for first-year students; but even well versed will find useful insights." - Philip Kemp, Total Film

"Never be fooled by the title: there may only be 100 pages of narrative, and you can easily fit the book into a pocket, but packed into that is a wealth of detail Geoffrey Nowell-Smith worked for many years at the British Film Institute, and therefore writes with the benefit of insider access to archive footage and documentary records... Definitely a must read for [those] who belong to film groups" - Chris Green, Suffolk Norfolk Life