A call for help from a babe in the woods...

[Hollis]

Good morning...

By now, I'm sure that everyone has seen the TCM feature "The Story of Movies" which details how movies are made and is designed for middle school students. Can someone recommend a book(s) in a similar vein but written with an adult reader in mind? As much as I love movies, I'm really as much in the dark about how they're actually produced as the students the TCM program is designed for. What I'm hoping to find is a text that follows a chronological path from early film making through to modern times. Any help provided would be most appreciated! Have a great weekend! I'm going to for no other reason than that my beloved hometown NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles, is actually going to make it to the airwaves all the way down here near the Gulf of Mexico! Thanks to the Saints for playing on Thursday night (and for putting on such a splendid performance to boot!) I hope that the football fans amongst us have good reason to cheer come tomorrow (except for any Packer fans that might be out there, Mr Klondike if you please!)

As always,

Hollis

[moira finnie]

Hey Hollis,

What I'm hoping to find is a text that follows a chronological path from early film making through to modern times~ Hollis

Though I'm guessing that you're probably enjoying a football or baseball game along with about half the world's population this Sunday afternoon, I've been hoping that some more technically adept soul would post a list of technical books for the general reader about "reading" classic movies.

Since no one's come up with anything just yet, here's some ideas to start, for what they're worth. Maybe this will kick off a discussion of film that will be conducted by individuals who know alot more than I ever will.

First thing I'd probably do is find out if your local library has free or inexpensive interlibrary loans and perhaps calling any local colleges or universities to see if they have any borrowing rights extended to non-registered students in their area. A surprising number of schools do have some generous programs. I'd also make friends with any used bookstore in your area. Most of the books mentioned below are available in paperback and in used form too, so they should be readily available eventually.

Conversations with the Great Moviemakers of Hollywood's Golden Age: At the American Film Institute edited by by George Stevens Jr.
This collection of interviews conducted at the AFI over a period of years with directors, writers, editors and cinematographers really shows the odd creative tension that sometimes yield good and occasionally great movies. It's an informative and fun read, too. Here's a link to read more about it.

The Parade's Gone By by Kevin Brownlow. If I had to pick one book that first got me interested and excited about movies, it would be this one. Even films that I've never seen jump off the page in Brownlow's book. If you can find his video series Hollywood (1980) and Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood (1996) at a library or to purchase, these two are among the best I've ever seen, in part because he interviewed many primary sources.

American Silent Film by William K. Everson. Anything Everson wrote about movies is probably worth reading, but this is one of the best I've come across.

The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era by Thomas Schatz is probably one of the most comprehensive books about films during the period most of us love the best. Schatz can be scholarly but also very interesting about behind-the-scenes details.

I've been wracking my brain trying to remember the title of a book that I read years ago that took A Place in the Sun and discussed how the director George Stevens and crew told this story frame by frame in some instances. It sounds dry as dust, I'm sure, but the author made it fascinating. Maybe someone else knows what book I'm referring to, 'cause my noggin can't find that info today.

I hope that this helps a bit. Also, some Hollywood biographies that aren't about actors are often more detailed about what and how films are constructed. Of course, just like the star bios, it usually needs to be taken with a grain of salt, whether it's about the "little people" of Hollywood or the giant egos who were the guys pulling the strings off-camera.

Can anyone else please recommend some sources?

[klondike]

> "I hope that the football fans amongst us have good reason to cheer come tomorrow (except for any Packer fans that might be out there, Mr Klondike if you please!)

As always,

Hollis[/quote]" <

Sorry, o thou relocated Son of the Keystone State, but this winning thing seems to be habit-forming for Brett and the Boys; counting the pre-season, they're 6 + 0.
As for Eli & the Metropolitan Gimpers, they have been duly served!
Congratulatory notes may be delivered to me at 55 Cheddar Lane, West Bend of the Yukon, Tundraville, Vermont.

[SSO Admins]

Football has me trapped in the house tonight (literally -- I live four blocks from Ravens Stadium, and couldn't drive anywhere if I wanted to) so I'll throw out a couple.

I'm really not sure of a general overview, but here's a few books that I really like.

The Silent Clowns by Walter Kerr is an excellent book that's extremely valuable. It's a layman's crash course on the language and technique of silent film, with an emphasis, of course, on comedies.

Moira already mentioned The Parade's Gone By and American Silent Film. I fully agree that those two books are indispensable.

The Speed of Sound by Scott Eyman deals with a very narrow time in film history, but he does the best job of anyone of combining technical, social and personal history.

[Moraldo Rubini]

By now, I'm sure that everyone has seen the TCM feature "The Story of Movies" which details how movies are made and is designed for middle school students. Can someone recommend a book(s) in a similar vein but written with an adult reader in mind? As much as I love movies, I'm really as much in the dark about how they're actually produced as the students the TCM program is designed for. What I'm hoping to find is a text that follows a chronological path from early film making through to modern times.

I must have skimmed through the original post in a daze, because I remember thinking I'd have no idea what books would be of help. Somehow I thought you were looking for a technical book regarding the more formal aspects of filmmaking. But today I read some responses, noted that you're looking for a "text that follows a chronological path from early film making through modern times" and I heard a bell.

Ding!

How about Understanding Movies by Louis D. Giannetti? I own the second edition, but I know it's up to -- at least -- the tenth edition in bookstores (and on-line). Generous with cinematic stills for examples of the context, each chapter covers a different aspect of filmmaking (movement, editing, sound, literature, theory, etc.). Many universities use this for "film 101"...

Ding!

Another resource on my bookshelf is Gerald Mast's A Short History of the Movies. Once again, I have the second edition, but I believe this one is now in its ninth edition with Mr. Mast now sharing the bill with Bruce Kawin. This comprehensive story of film begins with the theories of Peter Mark Roget (of thesaurus fame), who in 1820's wrote about the "persistence of vision" that led to the Thaumatrope images of Dr. John Aryton Paris in 1825 which led to the Zoetrope and eventually to Nickelodeans and projected films. You'll be introduced to Griffith, Mack Sennett, Soviet montage, American Studio work, the Neorealists and French New Wave.

So there's my two cents (a penny each). Hope it helps!

[Hollis]

Thanks to all!

I don't know why it is, but even though I'm not entirely devoid of gray matter, I sometimes need a push in the right direction to get me started on the road to knowledge. Thanks to you folks for doing just that. I now have, at the very least, a stepping off point from which to begin my journey. I sometimes think I have an undiagnosed case of ADD! When I was a boy, I was interested in a multitude of subjects but rarely seemed to follow any one of them through to their ultimate conclusion. I did exceedingly well in school but didn't become interested in a college education until 3 or 4 years after I had left the service. Even then, I had trouble in opting for any particular field of study and took lots of liberal arts classes just because they sparked something within me. Trust me, a B.A. in business with a minor in biology means little in today's world. I sometimes wonder if I had been born somewhere closer to Hollywood and the movie industry would I have found my niche in the world of entertainment. Another question that will never be answered! All I know is that I find films and film making a fascinating subject. Had I stayed in the Navy and found classic films then rather than now, I might have become the next John Ford! Rather than making "Pearl Harbor", I might have made "Hue" or "Saigon!" Perchance to dream...

Thanks again to all...

As always,

Hollis

[Lzcutter]

Hollis,

Another good one is the companion book to Richard Schickel's series Men Who Made the Movies. This book includes interviews with William Wellman, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Vincente Minnelli, Frank Capra and John Ford.

It is out of print but I found a copy a few years back from Abebooks. com.

As others have recommended, let me add my support to Kevin Brownlow's wonderful "Parade".