The Story of Film

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The Story of Film Page 53

by Mark Cousins


  Film Noir: Visually and morally dark crime films first made in America in the 1940s, often directed by European emigrés, and influenced by crime fiction and German Expressionism.

  Focus Pull: A change of focus within a shot, often used to keep a moving object or person sharp, or to direct the audience’s attention.

  Gaffer: The chief electrician on a film.

  Gombrich, E.H.: The art historian who argued that technique in art evolved through “schema plus correction”.

  Grip: The technician who positions film lights, pushes or pulls the dolly, or mounts “flags” in front of lights to control what they illuminate.

  Impressionism: The use of shots, cuts and photography to capture the fleeting aspects of human perception, mostly asso-ciated with French filmmakers like Abel Gance and Germaine Dulac but employed sporadically by directors before and since.

  Jump Cut: An unconventional join between two pieces of usually similar action, which does not obey the convention of “invisible” and continuity editing.

  Kinetoscope: A machine into which individuals looked to see moving images in the days before cinemas and projection.

  Master Shot: A wide view of a situation, revealing all the main elements in a scene.

  Method Acting: A raw performance style inspired by the theories of Konstantin Stanislavski and developed by the Actors Studio in New York.

  Montage: This French term for editing has come to mean either a discreet sequence in mainstream cinema which summarizes – or captures the flavour of – a series of events or, alternatively, a more theoretical way of looking at how the editing has structured a film.

  Naturalism: A general term used to describe a style of cinematography which approxi-mates everyday lighting and storytelling and which does not overdramatize real events. Some writers argue that naturalism is a surface quality whereas realism cap-tures a deeper truth about lived experience.

  New American Cinema: The 1970s films of Martin Scorsese, Francis Coppola, and others which were more personal and stylistically ambitious than the mainstream, often family oriented, studio pictures

  New Wave/Nouvelle Vague: In general this self-explanatory term refers to the emergence of a group of new – sometimes dissident – artists. In film history it is usually applied to those directors in the 1960s in many countries around the world who tried to refresh film language or make movies more relevant to the political imperatives of their time.

  Pillow Shot: A phrase used by some commentators on Japanese cinema to describe images in Ozu films whose spaces do not necessarily relate to the incidents around them and which function more like meditative pauses in the action.

  Reverse-Angle Shooting: Cutting between a person and what he or she is looking at or talking to. Also sometimes used when people are not in a scene – for example when an inflammable liquid is flowing towards a naked flame, an editor is likely to cut between the liquid and the flame.

  Schemata/Schema: A unit of technique.

  Schema Plus Variation: How a film-maker takes an existing technique and modifies it to his or her own purpose.

  Shot: A single piece of exposed film, without joins.

  Soviet Montage/Editing: A theoretical, dynamic and polemical cutting style devised by Lev Kuleshov, Sergei Eisenstein and others in the USSR in the 1920s. Challenging the conventional idea that the purpose of editing is invisibly to create nar-rative coherence, they suggested instead that the ideas in each of two shots, when brought together, produced a third.

  Surrealism: Ideas in, and styles of, cine-ma which portray the irrational aspects of life – particularly associated with the work of Luis Buñuel.

  Tableau Shot: A wide, static and frontal image which looks as if it was created by photographing a stage play from the front row of the stalls. Widely used in cinema’s first decade, its distancing and composi-tional possibilities interested later avant-garde directors such as Peter Greenaway, Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Bruno Dumont.

  Tradition of Quality: A term used by French critics in the 1950s to disparage the technically proficient but impersonal films that they so disliked.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  The following hundred books are not necessarily the ones which have most informed this text, but are recommendations for further reading. Just one per major director is included (with a few exceptions), and all are published in English. First person accounts – descriptions of the filmmaking process, compilations of interviews, mem-oirs and letters – are favoured over books written by critics, historians or theoreticians.

  AFRICA, SOUTH AMERICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

  Armes, Roy and Malkmus, Lizbeth. Arab and African Film Making. Zed Books, 1991.

  Armes, Roy. Third World Film Making and the West. University of California Press, 1992.

  Barnard, By. South American Cinema. Garland Science, 1996.

  Boughedir, Ferid. African Cinema from A to Z (Cinemedia Collection: Cinemas of Black Africa). OCIC Edition, 1992.

  Cheshire, Godfrey. Iranian Cinema. Faber and Faber.

  Dabashi, Hamid. Close Up: Iranian Cinema, Past, Present and Future. Verso Books, 2001.

  Fawal, Ibrahim. Youssef Chahine (BFI World Directors Series). BFI Publishing, 2001.

  Johnson, Randal and Stam, Robert. Editors. Brazilian Cinema (Morningside Books). Columbia University Press, 1995.

  King, John. Magical Reels: A History of Cinema in Latin America (Critical Studies in Latin American Culture). Verso Books, 1990.

  Kronish, Amy and Safirman, Costel. Israeli Film: A Reference Guide (Reference Guide’s to the World’s Cinema). Greenwood Pub Group, 2003.

  Leaman, Oliver (Editor). Companion Encyclopedia of Middle Eastern and North African Film. Routledge, 2001.

  Paranagua, Paulo Antonio. (Editor) Mexican Cinema. BFI Publishing, 1996.

  Shafik, Viola. Arab Cinema: History and Cultural Identity. The American University in Cairo Press, 1998.

  Ukadike, N. Frank. Black African Cinema. University of California Press, 1993.

  Ukadike, Nwachukwu Frank. Questioning African Cinema: Conversations with Filmmakers. University of Minnesota Press, 2002.

  AMERICA

  Anderson, Lindsay. About John Ford. Plexus Publishing, 1999.

  Biskind, Peter. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. Simon and Schuster, 1998.

  Bogdanovich, Peter. Who the Devil Made it. Knopf, 1997.

  Bogdanovich, Peter and Welles, Orson. This is Orson Welles. HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.

  Carson, Diane. Editor. John Sayles Interviews. University Press of Mississippi, 1991.

  Crowe, Cameron. Conversations with Wilder. Faber and Faber, 1999.

  Eisenschitz, Bernard. Nicholas Ray. Faber and Faber, 1993.

  Harvey, Stephen. Vincente Minnelli. Museum Of Modern Art (Harper & Row), 1989.

  Hillier, Jim and Wollen, Peter (Editors). Howard Hawks: American Artist. BFI Publishing, 1997.

  Jackson, Kevin. Schrader on Schrader. Faber and Faber, 1990.

  Kelly, Mary Pat. Scorsese, A Journey. Pub Group West, 1991.

  Kolker. A Cinema of Loneliness. Oxford University Press NY, 1980.

  McBride, Joseph. Steven Spielberg. Faber and Faber, 1997.

  Naramore, James. The Magic World of Orson Welles. Oxford University Press (NY), 1978.

  Ondaatje, Michael. The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film. Bloomsbury. 2003.

  Phillips, Gene D. Godfather: The Intimate Francis Ford Coppola. University Press of Kentucky, 2004.

  Pye, Michael and Myles, Linda. The Movie Brats: How the Film Generation Took over Hollywood. Smithmark Pub, 1984.

  Rodley, Chris. Lynch on Lynch. Faber and Faber, 1997.

  Sarris, Andrew. The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1967. Octagon, 1982.

  Scorsese, Martin. A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Cinema. Hyperion Books, 1997.

  Truffaut, Francois. Truffaut–Hitchcock. Gallimard.

  Weddle, David. Sam Peckinpah – “If they Move…KiII Em’”. G
rove Press/Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000.

  ASIA

  Berry, Chris (Editor). Perspectives on Chinese Cinema. BFI Publishing, 1991.

  Bock, Audie. Japanese Film Directors. Kodansha Europe, 1995.

  Bordwell, David. Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema. Princetown University Press, 1994.

  Bordwell, David. Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment. Harvard University Press, 2000.

  Burch, Noel. To the Distant Observer: Form and Meaning in Japanese Cinema. Scolar Press, 1979.

  Ghatak, Ritwik Kumar. Rows & Rows of Fences: Ritwik Ghatak on Cinema. Seagull Ghatak Books, 2000.

  Hu, Jubin. Chinese National Cinema Before 1949. Hong Kong University Press, 2002

  Kirihara, Donald. Patterns of Time: Mizoguchi and the 1930’s. University of Wisconsin Press, 1992.

  Lent, John A. The Asian Film Industry. University of Texas Press, 1990.

  Quandt, James. Editor. Shohei Imamura. Cinématheque Ontario. Toronto, 1997.

  Rajadhyaksha, Ashish and Willemen, Paul. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. BFI Publishing, 1995.

  Rayns, Tony. Seoul Stirring: 5 Korean Directors. BFI Publishing, 1995.

  Robinson, Andrew. Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye. University of California Press, 1992.

  Turim, Maureen. The Films of Oshima Nagisa: Images of a Japanese Iconoclast. University of California Press, 1998.

  AUSTRALASIA

  McFarlane, Brian. Australian Cinema, 1970 –85. Secker & Warburg, 1987.

  Rayner, Jonathan. Contemporary Australian Cinema: An Introduction. Manchester University Press, 2000.

  Stratton, David. The Last New Wave. Angus and Robertson, 1981.

  EUROPE

  Bertolucci, Bernardo. Ranvaud, Donald and Ungari, Enzo, eds. Bertolucci on Bertolucci. Plexus Publishing, 1988.

  Bjorkman, Stig. Trier on Von Trier. Faber and Faber, 2004.

  Bondanella, Peter. The Cinema of Federico FelIini. Princeton University Press. 1992

  Bresson. Notes on Cinematography. Urizen Books, NY, 1977.

  Brunette, Peter. The Films of Michelangelo Antonioni (Cambridge Film Classics Series). Cambridge University Press. 1998.

  Durgnat, Raymond. Jean Renoir. Studio Vista, 1975.

  Eisenstein. Film Sense. Harcourt Publishers Ltd., 1969.

  Elsaesser. New German Cinema. BFI Cinema, Palgrave Macmillan, 1989.

  Frayling, Christopher. Sergio Leone: Something To Do With Death. Faber and Faber. 2000.

  Gallagher, Tag. The Adventures of Roberto Rossellini. Da Capo Press, 1998.

  Gomes, Salles. Jean Vigo. Secker and Warburg, 1972.

  Kelly, Richard. The Name of This Book ls Dogme 95. Faber and Faber. 2000.

  Kinder. Blood Cinema. University of California Press, 1993.

  Pasolini, Pier Paolo. A Violent Life. Cape, 1968.

  Polanski, Roman. Roman by Polanski. Ballantine Books. 1985.

  Skoller, Donald. Editor. Dreyer in Double Reflection. Da Capo Press, 1991.

  Sterritt, David (Editor). Jean-Luc Godard: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series). Roundhouse Publishing. 1998.

  Tarkovsky. Sculpting in Time. Random House Inc., 1987.

  Thomsen, Christian Braad. Fassbinder. Faber and Faber, 1999.

  Truffaut, Francois. The Films in My Life. Simon and Schuster, 1978.

  Wajda. Double Vision: My life in Film. Faber and Faber, 1989.

  GENERAL HISTORIES AND FILM GUIDES

  Cook, Pam and Bernink, Mieke, eds. The Cinema Book. Random House USA Inc., 1986.

  Katz, Ephraim. The Macmillan International Film Encyclopaedia. Macmillan, 1998.

  Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey, ed. The Oxford History of World Cinema. Oxford University Press, 1996.

  Thompson and Bordwell, Film History, McGraw-Gill, 2003.

  Thomson, David. A Biographical Dictionary of Film. André Deutsch Ltd, 1994.

  Sadoul, Georges. The Dictionary of Films. University of California Press, 1992.

  Shipman, David. The Story of Cinema. Hodder & Stoughton General, 1982.

  Sklar, Robert. Film: A World History of Film. Abrams Art History, 2001.

  SILENT

  Bitzer, Billy and Brown, Karl. Adventures with D.W. Griffith. Da Capo Press, 1976.

  Brownlow, Kevin. The Parade’s Gone By. Sphere, Abacus Books, 1973.

  Cherchi Usai, Paolo. Silent Cinema: An Introduction. BFI Publishing, 1999.

  Grieveson, Lee and Kramer, Peter. The Silent Cinema Reader. Routledge, 2003.

  Hake, Sabine. Passions and Deceptions: The Early Films of Ernst Lubitsch. Princeton University Press, 1992.

  Jacobs, Lewis. The Rise of the American Film. Teachers College Press, 1991.

  Kerr, Walter. The Silent Clowns. Knopf, 1979.

  Leyda, Jay. Kino: A History of the Russian and Soviet Film, Allen and Unwin, 1960.

  Robinson, David. Chaplin: His Life and Art. Penguin Books, 2001.

  Salt, Barry. Film style and Technology: History and Analysis. Starword, 1983.

  GENRES

  Barnouw, Erik. Documentary: History of the Non-fiction Film. Oxford University Press, 1993.

  Buscombe, Edward. The BFI Companion to the Western. André Deutsch, 1988.

  Cameron, lan, ed. The Movie Book of Film Noir. Cassell Illustrated, 1994.

  Feuer, Jane. The Hollywood Musical (BFI Cinema). Palgrave Macmillan, 1992.

  Hardy, Phil. Science Fiction (Aurum Film Encyclopedia). HarperCollins Publishers, 1984.

  Kanfer, Stefan. Serious Business: The Art and Commerce of Animation in America from Betty Boop to “Toy Story”. Da Capo Press, 2000.

  Lent, John A. (Editor). Animation in Asia and the Pacific. Indiana University Press, 2001.

  Sitney, P. Adams. Visionary Film: The American Avant-Garde, 1943–2000. Oxford University Press, 2002.

  Stephenson, Ralph. The Animated Film. Smithmark, 1973.

  INDEX

  Note: stills are indicated by emboldened page numbers.

  The page numbers in this index have been hyperlinked.

  A

  A Bout de souffle/Breathless (France, 1959) 108, 269, 270, 273, 274, 276, 288, 294, 377, 408, 462

  A Guy Named Joe (USA, 1944) 381

  A la verticale de I’été/The Vertical Ray of the Sun aka At the Height of Summer (France/Vietnam, 2000) 472

  A Nous la Liberté/Freedom is Ours (France, 1931) 122, 125

  A Propos de Nice/About Nice (France, 1930) 151

  Abbas, K.A. (Indian director/screenwriter) 207–208

  Abu Seif, Salah (Egyptian director) 164, 240

  Abuladze, Tengiz (Russian director) 423

  Accattone (Italy, 1961) 282, 282–283, 284, 285, 349

  The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Germany, 1927) 108–109

  African cinema 13, 14, 16, 62, 90, 369, 428–432, 478–480, 484, 488

  The African Queen (USA, 1951) 369

  After Death (Russia, 1913) 49

  L’Age d’Or/The Golden Age (France, 1930) 150, 273

  Aguirre, der Zorn Gotte/Aguirre, Wrath of God (West Germany, 1972) 357, 357

  Akerman, Chantal (Belgian director) 30, 129, 131, 330, 471, 489

  Alam Ara (India, 1931) 123

  Alawiye, Borhan (Lebanese director) 374

  La Aldea maldita/The Accursed Village (Spain, 1929) 89

  Aldrich, Robert (American director) 228

  Alea, Tomás Gutíerrez (Cuban director) 209, 314

  Alexander Nevsky (Soviet Union, 1938) 160

  Alexandrov, Grigori (Russian director) 122

  Algiers (USA, 1938) 163

  Alice in den Stadten/Alice in the Cities (West Germany, 1974) 355, 355

  All That Heaven Allows (USA, 1956) 229, 230, 231–232, 233, 234, 354, 355

  Allen, Woody (American director) 343–344, 471

  Almendros, Nestor (cinematographer) 83, 181, 326, 351–352

  Almodóvar, Pedro (Spanish director) 292, 408–410, 414, 447

  Altman, Robert (American director) 276, 336–337

  Alvarez,
Santiago (Cuban director) 313–314, 376

  Amadeus (USA, 1984) 304

  Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (France, 1991) 463

  American cinema 24, 39, 45, 50, 79, 95, 111, 206

  1930s sound genres 135–150

  1970s 333–352

  1990s to present 447–455, 484

  digital revolution 455–460

  expressionist films 102, 137, 197

  Hays Code 76, 146

  industrial developments 41–57

  New American Cinema 279, 377–387

  New Wave 277–282, 318–327, 337

  populist films 29

  post-war/1950s 193–194, 258–262

  use of sound 118–121, 125

  American Gigolo (USA, 1980) 253, 253, 333, 333, 390, 392, 397, 398

  American Graffiti (USA, 1973) 382

  An American in Paris (USA, 1951) 64, 213, 214, 229, 235, 290

  Amiralay, Omar (Syrian director) 374

  Amores perros/Love’s a Bitch (Mexico, 2000) 438, 481–482, 482

  Les Amours (France, 1919) 39

  Anand, Chetan (Indian director) 88–89

  Anand, Mukul Sudheshwar (Indian director) 400–401

  Anchors Aweigh (USA, 1945) 456, 456

  And Life Goes On (Iran, 1992) 439–440, 439

  Anderson, Lindsay (British director) 151, 173, 257, 258, 264, 298, 326

  Andrei Rublev (USSR, 1971) 306, 306

  An Angel at my Table (New Zealand, 1990) 444–445, 444

  EI Angel exterminador/The Exterminating Angel (Mexico, 1962) 481

  Angelopoulos, Theo (Greek director) 291, 376

  Angst essen Seele auf/Fear Eats the Soul (West Germany, 1974) 354

  L’ Année Dernière à Marienbad/Last Year at Marienbad (France/Italy, 1961) 211, 274, 275, 288, 291, 294, 413

  Annie Hall (USA, 1977) 343–344, 344

  Another Woman (USA, 1988) 471

  Anstey, Edgar (British director) 158

  Antonioni, Michelangelo (Italian director) 272, 290–291, 294, 300, 338, 491

  The Apartment (USA, 1960) 8, 71, 88, 88, 471

  Apocalypse Now (USA, 1979) 94, 333

  EI Apostol (Argentina, 1917) 165

  Applause (USA, 1929) 120–121

  The Apple (Iran, 1998) 315, 443

 

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