Mfm01.qxd 6/9/05 12:49 PM Page i Fifth Edition FLASHBACK A Brief History of Film LOUIS GIANNETTI Case Western Reserve University SCOTT EYMAN Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Mfm01.qxd 6/9/05 12:49 PM Page ii Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Giannetti, Louis D. A brief history of film / Louis Giannetti, Scott Eyman.- 5th ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-13-187457-8 1. Motion pictures History. I. Eyman, Scott II. Title. PN1993.5.A1G54 2006 791.43'09--dc22 2005014349 Executive Editor: Deirdre Anderson Editorial Director: Leah Jewell Editorial Assistant: Christina Walker Marketing Manager: Kate Stewart Marketing Assistant: Kara Pottle Manufacturing Buyer: Brian Mackey Cover Design: Laura Gardner Composition/Full-Service Project Management: Pine Tree Composition Printer/Binder: Bind-Rite Graphics Cover Printer: Phoenix Color Corp. Text Typeface: 10/12 Baskerville Copyright 2006, 2001, 1996, 1991, 1986 by Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department. Pearson Prentice Hall TM is a trademark of Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson is a registered trademark of Pearson plc Prentice Hall is a registered trademark of Pearson Education, Inc. Pearson Education LTD., London Pearson Education Singapore, Pte. Ltd Pearson Education, Canada, Ltd Pearson Education Japan Pearson Education Australia PTY, Limited Pearson Education North Asia Ltd Pearson Educación de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. Pearson Education Malaysia, Pte. Ltd Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 10 987654321 ISBN: 0-13-187457-8
Mfm01.qxd 6/9/05 12:49 PM Page iii This book is in memory of Marilyn Nank Eyman and Vincenza Giannetti, who took us to the movies for the first time, and who loved them, and their sons, very much.
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Mfm01.qxd 6/9/05 12:49 PM Page v Contents Preface Acknowledgments ix ix About the Author xi 1 Beginnings 2 2 Griffith and His Contemporaries: 1908 1920 20 3 American Cinema in the 1920s 44 Major Filmmakers 48 Talkies 69 4 European Cinema in the 1920s 76 Soviet Union 78 Germany 85 France 92 5 The Hollywood Studio System 102 The Box Office 104 The Studio System 107 The Star System 115 The System of Genres 120 v
Mfm01.qxd 6/9/05 12:49 PM Page vi vi Contents 6 American Cinema in the 1930s 128 The Talkie Era 130 New Genres: Gangster Pictures, Musicals, Screwball Comedy 133 Major Filmmakers 141 7 European Cinema in the 1930s 158 Germany 160 Great Britain 164 France 169 8 American Cinema in the 1940s 180 Decline of the Studio System 183 World War II 184 Major Filmmakers 185 Film Noir and Postwar Realism 202 9 European Cinema in the 1940s 206 Germany 209 France 211 Soviet Union 212 Great Britain 214 Italy 220 10 American Cinema in the 1950s 232 New Screens 236 The Red Scare 239 Social Realism 241 Method Acting 243 Major Filmmakers 249 11 International Cinema in the 1950s 260 Japan 262 Ingmar Bergman 277
Mfm01.qxd 6/9/05 12:49 PM Page vii Contents vii Federico Fellini 280 France 284 12 American Cinema in the 1960s 288 The Bloated Era 290 Major Filmmakers 294 New Directions 303 13 International Cinema in the 1960s 316 France 318 Great Britain 331 Italy 341 Eastern Europe 347 14 American Cinema in the 1970s 352 The Vietnam Watergate Era 354 The New Cinema 357 Major Figures 368 15 International Cinema in the 1970s 384 Great Britain 386 France 388 West Germany 391 Italy 399 Eastern Europe 404 Australia 406 The Third World 413 16 American Cinema in the 1980s 418 Technology and the Marketplace 420 The Reagan Era 424 The Mainstream 425 The Mavericks 429
Mfm01.qxd 6/9/05 12:49 PM Page viii viii Contents 17 International Cinema in the 1980s 442 Great Britain 444 Western Europe 455 U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe 461 The Third World 463 Japan 467 18 American Cinema in the 1990s 472 The Hollywood Studios 474 The Bright Side 482 Major Filmmakers 486 The Independent Cinema 491 19 International Cinema in the 1990s 502 Hollywood Über Alles 504 Great Britain 507 Ireland 517 Continental Europe 523 Emerging Cinemas 526 Australia and New Zealand 528 20 Global Cinema Since 2000 532 Europe 534 Islamic Cinema 538 Hong Kong/China 543 United States 549 The Hollywood Studios 551 Technology and the Marketplace 552 Major Figures and Trends 557 Emerging Artists 563 Glossary 571 Index 579
Mfm01.qxd 6/9/05 12:49 PM Page ix Preface WE SET OUT TO WRITE A REALLY BRIEF BOOK. Just the basics, no frills. After considerable deliberation, we finally decided on a mechanical form of organization by decade. We then proceeded to cheat left and right, cramming major figures and film movements into their decade of greatest influence or prestige. Here, then, is a bare-bones history of fiction movies, copiously illustrated with photos, many of them rarely reprinted. Since this book was written primarily with an American audience in mind, we have emphasized the American cinema. Eclectic in our methodology, we have adhered to a broad consensus tradition of film history and criticism; except for a humanist bias, we have had no theoretical axes to grind. Nor have we attempted to dazzle the reader with a fresh array of jargon; the text is in plain English, with essential terms in boldface to indicate that they are defined in the glossary. Our main concern has been with film as art, but when appropriate we also discuss film as industry and as a reflection of popular audience values, social ideologies, and historical epochs. History books are filled with value judgments, and this one is no exception. We have not hesitated to call a bomb a bomb. On the whole, however, our attitude has been similar to that of André Breton, the founder of the surrealist movement, who said, The cinema? Three cheers for darkened rooms. Acknowledgments We gratefully acknowledge the input received from the following reviewers of the mansucript: Douglas F. Rice, California State University of Sacramento; Christopher R. Young, University of Michigan at Flint; Roger Vaccaro, SJRCC; and Robert Hoskins, James Madison University. And also Web Survey respondents, David Allen, Midland College; Terry Bales, Santa Ana/Santiago Canyon Colleges; Bob Baron, Mesa Community College; Sharon Bolman, ix
Mfm01.qxd 6/9/05 12:49 PM Page x x Preface University of Advancing Technology; Doyle Burke, Mesa Community College; Tim Cavale, John Jay College; Peter Condon, Keene State College; Robert Darden, Baylor University; Stefan Hall, Bowling Green State University; John Lee Jellicorse, UNC Greensboro; Bob Jordan, San Diego State University; Kenneth Kaleta, Rowan University; Steve Keeler, Cayuga Community College, Barbara Keyser, Baruch College; Sharon Kleinman, Quinnipiac University; Bobbie Klopp, Kirkwood Community College; Arthur Lizie, Bridgewater State College; Gary Martin, Cosumnes River College; Robin McKell, Columbus College of Art and Design; John Murphy, Youngstown State University; Bruce Nims, USC Lancaster; Elizabeth Nollen, West Chester University; Kenneth Nordin, Benedictine University; Heather Polinsky, Central Michigan University; Rashna W. Richards, University of Florida; Luther Riedel, Mohawk Valley Community College; Randy Roberts, Purdue University; Jack Ryan, Gettysburg College; Susan Scrivner, Bemidji State University; Joseph Sierra, Pasadena City College; Michael Soderlund, Central Lakes College; Fred Svoboda, The University of Michigan-Flint; Paddy Swiney, Tulsa Community College; Ed Thompson, UMass Dartmouth; and Ken White, Diablo Valley College. Others who have helped us include Jonathan Forman of Cleveland Cinemas; Marcie Goodman of the Cleveland Film Society and International Film Festival; and Patty Donovan of Pine Tree Composition. LOUIS GIANNETTI SCOTT EYMAN
Mfm01.qxd 6/9/05 12:49 PM Page xi About the Authors LOUIS GIANNETTI is a Professor Emeritus of English and Film at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He has taught courses in film, literature, writing, drama, and humanities. In addition to being a professional film critic for several years, he has also written about movies for a variety of scholarly journals. His other books include Godard and Others: Essays on Film Form, Masters of the American Cinema, and Understanding Movies, which is currently in its 10th edition. Professor Giannetti is the father of two daughters, Christina and Francesca. He lives in Shaker Heights, where he spends an inordinate amount of time tending his Japanese-style garden, to make sure it keeps that natural look. SCOTT EYMAN S Print the Legend, the authorized life of John Ford, was named one of the Best Books of 1999 by the Los Angeles Times. He won awards for his journalism, criticism, and television writing. His other books include Five American Cinematographers, Mary Pickford: America s Sweetheart, Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise, The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Coming of Talkies, and most recently, Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer. He writes frequently for the New York Observer and lives in West Palm Beach with his wife Lynn, and an assortment of animals who love the movies too. xi
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