Flashback: Brief History of Film - Couverture souple

LOUIS GIANNETTI is a Professor of English and Film at Case Western Reserve University inn Cleveland. In addition to being a professional movie reviewer for several years, he has written many scholarly articles for such journals as Literature Film Quarterly, The Western Humanities Review, and Film Criticism. Dr. Giannetti is also the author of the popular textbook, UNDERTANDING MOVIES, EIGHTH EDITION (Prentice Hall, 1999). Other books include a collection of theoretical essays, GODARD AND OTHERS: ESSAY ON FILM FORM (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press and Tantivy Press, 1975), and MASTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA (Prentice Hall, 1981), a history of American fiction films from the perspective of eighteen major figures.

SCOTT EYMAN is the Books Editor for The Palm Beach Post. He has won awards for his journalism, criticism, and television writing. His other books include FIVE AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHERS (Scarcrow Press, 1987); MARY PICKFORD: AMERICA'S SWEETHEART (Donald I. Fine, 1990); ERNST LUBITSCH: LAUGHTER IN PARADISE (Simon & Schuster, 1993); THE SPEED OF SOUND: HOLLYWOOD AND THE TALKIE REVOLUTION 1926-1930 (Simon & Schuster, 1997); and PRINT THE LEGEND: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN FORD (Simon & Schuster, 1999).

Consolidating major figures and film movements into their decade of greatest influence or prestige, this “no-nonsense” book offers a generously illustrated, concise, and very readable history of fiction movies with an emphasis on American cinema. Eclectic in methodology and written in a plain English style that students can relate to, it examines the full scope of traditional film history and criticism, viewing film as both an art and an industry―as it mirrors popular audience values, social ideologies, and historical epochs.