The Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film, Four Volume Set

Comprising over 90 essays and richly illustrated with over 200 images, the Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film provides a chronological portrait of American film history from its origins to the present day. Unabashedly ambitious, deeply historical, and unprecedented in its multi-faceted examina [...]
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Comprising over 90 essays and richly illustrated with over 200 images, the Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film provides a chronological portrait of American film history from its origins to the present day. Unabashedly ambitious, deeply historical, and unprecedented in its multi-faceted examination of film history, this is the most authoritative collection of fresh investigations available in one state-of-the-art resource. * Comprises over 90 essays of approximately 10,000 words each written by an international cast of film scholars * Explores the industrial and institutional component of film history, including multiple modes of production, distribution, and marketing * Investigates the political, social, and economic factors that informed industry change and framed the reception of films * Features in-depth analysis and engaging close readings of canonical and non-canonical films * Profiles essential industry figures--major directors, stars, and producers--along with important figures outside the industrial mainstream * Traces the contours of the avant-garde and documentary, as well as films that fall under the broad heading of "independent" cinema * Explores the history of film criticism and culture, and central issues in American film historiography Volume I: Origins to 1928 Traces American cinema from its early years to a stabilized commercial industry that would go on to dominate world screens, with essays on early cinema pioneers like Griffith, Porter, and Chaplin, the rise of the star system, and the role of women in the emerging industry. Volume II: 1929 to 1945 Examines the "golden age" of the studio era when Hollywood responded to tumultuous events such as the Great Depression and WW II. This volume also looks beyond the Hollywood studios to the work of the early American avant-garde and documentary filmmakers. Volume III: 1946 to 1975 Covers the turbulent years from the decline of the studios to the emergence of the New Hollywood, including such crucial topics as the blacklist, the rise of television, the flowering of underground film, and the mainstreaming of adult cinema. Volume IV: 1976 to the Present Examines the period from 1976--when black independent, avant-garde, and feminist filmmakers were producing challenging and unconventional works--to the present, when high-concept blockbusters dominate mainstream screens and digital imaging is redefining the very concept of cinema.