Happy Face 29 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 The Story of Film by Mark Cousins. He's the bloke that used to present Scene by Scene and Moviedrome. Cracking read like. The Story of Film is the most accessible and compelling history of the medium yet published. Film critic, producer and presenter, Mark Cousins shows how film-makers are influenced both by the historical events of their times, and by each other. He demonstrates, for example, how Douglas Sirk's Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s influenced Rainer Werner Fassbinder's despairing visions of 1970s Germany; and how George Lucas' Star Wars epics grew out of Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress. The Story of Film is divided into three main epochs: Silent (1885-1928), Sound (1928-1990) and Digitial (1990-Present), and within this structure films are discussed within chapters reflecting both the stylistic concerns of the film-makers and the political and social themes of the time. Film is an international medium, so as well as covering the great American films and film-makers, the book explores cinema in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australasia and South America, and shows how cinematic ideas and techniques cross national boundaries. Avoiding jargon and obscure critical theory, the author constantly places himself in the role of the moviegoer watching a film, and asks: 'How does a scene or a story affect us, and why?' In so doing he gets to the heart of cinematic technique, explaining how film-makers use lighting, framing, focal length and editing to create their effects. Clearly written, and illustrated with over 400 stills, including numerous sequences explaining how scenes work, The Story of Film is essential reading for both film students and the general moviegoer. Book's been made into a 12 part series. Starts Saturday on more4. Cannit wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Mmm. Just how exactly did we get from the Lumiere brothers to Michael Bay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Face 29 Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 It was lush btw. Episode 1 available on 4OD now... http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-sto...film-an-odyssey It's being accompanied by classics going back over a century... Orphans Of The Storm Ordet Battleship Potemkin La Regle Du Jeu Pantha Panchali etc. All on freeview on Film4 http://www.film4.com/features/article/the-...lm-the-schedule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1 Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Is the streaming on 4OD any good? I seem to remember it being very laggy, could just be my crappy internet though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Face 29 Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 Never had a problem with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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