Bibliograph

Silent cinema, before the pictures got small, Lawrence Napper

Type

Label

Silent cinema, before the pictures got small, Lawrence Napper

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Silent cinema

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Responsibility statement

Lawrence Napper

Series statement

Short cuts

Sub title

before the pictures got small

Summary

Since the spectacular success of The Artist (2011) there has been a resurgence of interest in silent cinema, and particularly in the lush and passionate screen dramas of the 1920s. This book offers an introduction to the cinema of this extraordinary period, outlining the development of the form between the end of the First World War and the introduction of synchronized sound at the end of the 1920s. It addresses the relationship between film aesthetics and the industrial and political contexts of film production through a series of case studies of 'national' cinemas. It also focuses on film-going as the most popular leisure activity of the age. Areas such as the star system, cinema buildings, musical accompaniments, film fashions, and fan cultures are addressed - all the elements that ensured that the experience of the pictures was 'big'. The international dominance of Hollywood is outlined, as are the different responses to that dominance in Britain, Germany, and the USSR. Case studies seek to move beyond the familiar silent canon, and include The Oyster Princess (1919), It (1927), Shooting Stars (1927), and The Girl with the Hatbox (1927)

Target audience

adult

Classification