I want to become more knowledgeable about film and it's history. What should I read? What should I watch?
Odyssey. Can't remember the last episode I watched.
>>71816460
>What should I read?
Books about films
>What should I watch?
films
>>71816460
>What should I read?
Books about films
>What should I watch?
films
>>71816595
>>71816622
No shit. What books, what films?
>>71816685
>What books
books about film
>what films?
films about film
I don't know much about the actual history of the film industry and people involved and how business side has changed. I really need to do some reading and watch Odyssey and plenty of other docs and shows.
But if you want to learn about how film itself has changed, if you want to be able to easily identify and understand the evolution of movies as an art and be able to pick up on trends as they develop and evolve, you just have to watch movies.
Like for instance I love horror movies, so I made a list of all the horror movies I found either essential or interesting from every year starting in the silent era. Then I watched them in order and I got to see the genre grow and change and become completely different things dozens of times over. I've done similar things with most genres but not as intensely as horror.
You can even do it with "genreless" films. Or watch all the major films in order from a certain country, etc.
It's a great way to learn a lot and also develop your own critical thinking abilities
>>71816706
B R A V O
R
A
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>>71816765
The Odyssey documentary is unwatchable garbage, also that fucking narrator.
>>71816875
Oh really? I saw a part of it on TCM years ago, thought it seemed really interesting
Start with the greeks
>>71817205
The Poetics of Aristotle are really embarrassing.
Brief summary: buncha jews got together and decided to jew some goys, shit got big
>>71816460
shitpost
Start with The Greatest Story Never Told to get a good background on historical film making.
Quick history:
1895-1910:
Edison's company invents video photography, short documentaries become big in America. French aristis like the Lumiere brothers and Melies pick it up and begin making skits out of it.
1910-1920:
The birth of the American Style. America see's Europe's film skits and begins the production of actual major motion pictures, this is the era of D.W. Griffith. Ultimatelys films are too expensive and production slows for a decade
1920-1930:
Europe Redux, Germany brings back filmmaking with German Expressionism, producing some of the most visually distinctive films ever made. Russia invents something that will distinguish films forever, editing.
1930-1940:
Film comes roaring back to America with the rise of comic performances of Chaplin, adventure films of Fairbanks and the emigree of European directors. German filmmakers adapt expressionism for American urban settings and create the noir genre. In France and Italy there are some filmmakers, but heavy censorship prior to WW2 essentially quashes their popularity.
1945-1975:
The end of WW2 ushers in a wave of creativity, Cinema Verite, Italian Neorealism all rise up and bring about film as an art medium, critics such as Truffaut popularise artistic interpretation and allow for experimentation. In America, films boom in the 50s and 60s, but appear to slump in the buildup to the 70s. Europeans never truly expand on film beyond esoteric art movements, thus blockbuster productions never take off. We also see the baby steps of Australian, Asian and South American style.
1975-1995
A film called Jaws is released that will change everything. Prior to its release, films were slowly released across America, and would stay in cinemas indefinitely. Films like Gone With The Wind had simply been passed from town to town for 30 years. But Jaws captivated the American public, to capitalise on its release, it was coordinated to open simultaneously.
Part 1/2
>>71819595
Part 2/2
Jaws massive popularity changed cinema practices, instead of towns having a single theatre that showed films in indefinite orders, chain cinemas began to build cineplex's and coordinate film releases based on 'summer' and 'oscar' seasons. Film production and industry revitalization returned, this was dubbed the American New Wave and created filmmakers such as Spielberg, Lucas, DePalma, Scorsese.
1995-?
We don't know how to define modern cinema because we don't know the demarcations of the time period. What we can tell though, this is the most financially successful period of film in history, and digital production methods are profoundly impacting both the industry, and the look of film. Rising markets of Asia will shape the future while we may see a divergence in artistic and blockbuster styles
Check out Thompson and Bordwell's Film History, THE book for entry-level college film studies students.
