Film Studies

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.

Written by experts in the field, this dictionary covers all aspects of film studies, including terms, concepts, debates, and movements in film theory and criticism, national, international and transnational cinemas, film history, film movements and genres, film industry organizations and practices, and key technical terms and concepts in 500 detailed entries.

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 Historical Dictionary of British Cinema includes over 300 dictionary entries informing us about significant actors, producers and directors, outstanding films and serials, organizations and studios, different films genres from comedy to horror, and memorable films, among other things.

Guide to the cinema, from silent movies to the present day.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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" cliche 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 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.