Classic Cinema In Print
WHY READ ABOUT CLASSIC FILMS?
Watching a movie can be very entertaining, but what about knowing more about the films you love and how they came to be?
Where do classic films originate? Why is one film a classic and not another? When was the classic age of cinema? Who are the people behind the making of classic films? What makes a classic a classic, and how do classic films affect the movies of today?
Walk into any bookstore and there are many, many books addressing these questions and much more.
There are hundreds of biographies of the people behind and in front of the lens. There are histories of all the defunct and lasting studios alike, and their varied impact upon the development of the medium. And there are countless overviews of the people, places, and things that have contributed to the advancement of the unique twentieth century art form known most commonly as the movies.
There are arguably as many books on classic cinema as there are classic movies. The books listed to the right are a few of ClassicFilmSchool.com’s favorites and represent only a sampling of the many books available covering the studios, the history, acclaimed filmmakers, and the most honored films of all time.
These books (and others like them) will contribute significantly to a greater knowledge and understanding of classic cinema, and nurture a true appreciation.
OTHER RECOMMENDED BOOKS
You Must Remember This
The Warner Bros. Story.
Obsessed with Hollywood
Trivia aided by a small computer that can be used as a game or a tutorial.
The Taschen Series of Books
Each book is an overview on a theme: Genre, Actor, Director, Decade, etc.
80 Years of the Oscar
The Official History of the Academy Awards by TCM host Robert Osborne.
The Film 100
A ranking of the Most Influential People in the History of the Movies.
The Great Moviemakers
Conversations at the American Film
Institute with The Next Generation.
FEATURED BOOK:
The Story of Film: An Odyssey
Mark Cousins
The latest recommendation is a rather
ambitious undertaking well met. The
Story of FIlm: An Odyssey lives up to
its title and then some. Beginning at the
beginning and following through to the
present the author explores where film
has come from, been, and is going, all
within the confines of a single book. And he succeeds in a manner that is comprehensive yet easy to understand even for the uninitiated.
Since being published the book has been adapted into a film. That’s right, a film which is a bit intimidating in length (at fifteen hours), but considered highly successful in its goal of giving the viewer a complete and satisfying overview of the history of the great American art form: the cinema.
I recommend tackling the book first. It will serve as a type of primer, let a lone stand as a resource you can turn to time and time again for reference. Then you can watch the film (in stages, of course) and viscerally fill in the bits and pieces in between the lines.
No one source can provide everything there is to know about any subject. However, The Story of Film comes just about as close as any book on any subject ever has. Truly, it’s one for the dedicated cinephile, but I believe the casual fan will find it immensely enjoyable as well. Not all in one sitting, but in time and eventually. I think I like it like that.
