Cinema

A Critical Dictionary (2 volume set)

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Last edited by ImportBot
July 31, 2014 | History

Cinema

A Critical Dictionary (2 volume set)

  • 0 Ratings
  • 3 Want to read
  • 1 Currently reading
  • 1 Have read

It's 35 years out of date. Its coverage of Asian cinema is limited by today's standards. It's relentlessly high minded, and will test your enthusiasm for such observations as, "Whereas the découpage of the tightening ropes and falling statue respected the singleness of viewpoint...while destroying the continuity of temporal flow, the opening of the bridge is filmed and edited from contradictory points of view, so that even the continuity of direction, never rationally in doubt from the action, is constantly challenged on the surface of the screen itself." (Oh gimme that ol' time Soviet montage.) It even manages to misidentify a haunting double-page spread of a still of Fabienne Faberges in "Fantômas" as Musidora in "Les Vampires"!

But never mind all that 'cause this is an 1120 page education in cinema (and critical discourse) that's still fascinating even if it is out of date. Released long before home video existed, it's where I've recently turned for information on the work of such directors as Rouben Mamoulian, Jean Epstein, Marcel L'Herbier, and Budd Boetticher. I just had the pleasure of rediscovering a brief, insightful essay on Tex Avery (and "the elaborate cadenzas on sexual hysteria" throughout his work) by Jonathan Rosenbaum, of all people. And I still enjoy the late Richard Roud's sometimes caustic commentary on each of his contributors' essays. "Anglo-Saxons do not take kindly to hypothetical truth," he reminds us. "We are impatient with hypotheses; we are not trained, as are the French, to juggle with contradictory theories." Plus ça change...

Publish Date
Publisher
Viking Adult
Language
English
Pages
1121

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Cinema
Cinema: A Critical Dictionary (2 volume set)
May 1, 1980, Viking Adult
Hardcover in English

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Book Details


The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Number of pages
1121
Dimensions
20 x 20 x 20 inches
Weight
20 pounds

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL7641892M
Internet Archive
cinemacriticaldi01roud
ISBN 10
0670222577
ISBN 13
9780670222575
Library Thing
3537477
Goodreads
599688

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
July 31, 2014 Edited by ImportBot import new book
August 6, 2010 Edited by IdentifierBot added LibraryThing ID
April 24, 2010 Edited by Open Library Bot Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs.
April 16, 2010 Edited by bgimpertBot Added goodreads ID.
April 29, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from amazon.com record.