ENG 180 - Great Films/ENG 280 - Introduction to Film

Each chapter covers the history and major issues of film within that area, as well as providing bibliographies of the leading films, directors and actors. The areas covered are: Central Asia, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, The Magreb, Palestine, Turkey.

This reference provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to film and film studies, covering such aspects as production, national traditions, studios, genres, critical theory and film history.

A multicultural biographical source that covers notable individuals from every part of the world and from all time periods who have made significant contributions to human culture.

This concise, authoritative volume analyses critically the work of 100 British directors, from the innovators of the silent period to contemporary auteurs.

This encyclopedia presents a wealth of information on early cinema history, with coverage of the techniques and equipment of film production, profiles of the pioneering directors and producers, analysis of individual films and the rapid growth of distinct film genres, and the emergence of something the world had never seen before - the movie star.

Focus is on the relationship between American society and movies and filmmaking in the United States from the late 19th century through the present.

The Encyclopedia of Chinese Film, one of the first ever encyclopedias in this area, provides alphabetically organized entries on directors, genres, themes, and actors and actresses from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as 300 film synopses.

This wide range of stories, topics, views, and genres will finally give the world a glimpse of African American life that has long been ignored and has yet to be seen. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography.

Provides an overview of the beginnings of cinema through the first boom in the specialized moving-picture theaters known as nickelodeons, looking at the initial years of projected motion pictures and their aural accompaniment from 1895 to the fall of 1907. Early American cinema is examined as an industry and as an influential cultural practice in the context of a centuries-long history of projected images.

Chronicles the history of the American film business from the days of the little store-show nickelodeon to the premiere of D. W. Griffith's The Birth of A Nation, looking at the imbalance of the "Griffith did it all" cliché by discussing the efforts of countless lesser-known figures who also helped to create Hollywood and shape the growing American film industry. The effect of the surroundings are all examined for their impact on the filmgoing experience.

Chronicles how theatrical feature films dominated newly developed movie palaces, how expressive film faces became household names, and how Hollywood became the center of film as a major growth industry.

Chronicles the film industry's transition from silent films to sound cinema as it takes a critical step on its way to becoming the modern business enterprise of the 1930s.

Studies the advent of color, big musicals, the studio system and the beginning of institutionalized censorship which made the thirties the defining decade for Hollywood, the decade that ended with "The Greatest Year in Motion Pictures" - the year of "Gone With the Wind", "The Wizard of Oz", "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" and other classics.

Covers the period of 1939-1949, when the film industry came to grips with the development of the documentary, a shift to independent production, renewed government antitrust activity, and the emergence of television as a competitor.

Explores the challenges American cinema faced in the 1950's from the divorce of production companies from theater chains forced by an anti- trust decision, to the growth of television.

Examines the issues of this period, including competition with other leisure activities, transformation of the theater, changes in production, and the arrival of conglomerates.

Looks at how the emergence of new technology, such as steadicam and Dolby sound, and a new generation of talent challenged the old ways, with films like "Nashville" and "Five Easy Pieces".

Looks at the effects of video-cassettes and cable television on Hollywood, and the idiosyncratic visions of newcomers like Spike Lee and Tim Burton.