Contents:
In , The Jazz Singer heralded a revolution in the moviemaking industry with the advent of synchronized sound in full-length motion pictures. While movie studios adapted their production facilities to accommodate the new technology and movie theatres converted to sound, filmmakers continued to produce silents, albeit in dwindling numbers. And though talkies would overtake the industry and the public's demand soon enough, the silent motion picture did not disappear immediately. The Last Silent Picture Show: Silent Films on American Screens in the s looks at this cultural shift.
Drawing primarily on contemporary records, this book details the fate of an entire art form—the silent cinema—in the United States during the s and how it managed to survive the onslaught of sound. Through the most diverse venues, from tent shows to universities, political meetings to picture palaces, ghetto theaters to art houses, the silent film continued to play an important role in American culture in the Depression years, culminating in the first efforts to chronicle and preserve cinema history. Through the voices of the audiences, critics, editors, and artists, Drew relates the impact of various silent films, whether new releases, reissues, or foreign imports, on the public and culture of the 30s—how they affected both the popular and intellectual environment and how they were promoted for their audiences.
Providing an in-depth examination of the transitional period, which led to the birth of modern film studies, The Last Silent Picture Show is aimed not only at academics but also the large number of film devotees who will discover new information on a relatively neglected chapter of film history. Read more Read less. Sponsored products related to this item What's this? Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Leave behind one-size-fits-all story theories and discover a new approach to story structure that changes the way we can develop Film and TV projects.
Film buffs will enjoy exploring the archives of cinema before sound. A synopsis for every feature-length silent movie ever made five reels or more. When was the last time you colored?
Thanks for telling us about the problem. Steve Joyce added it Jul 18, Luckily, there were others like John Hampton of the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles that kept presenting silent films to the public for a long time. Sherri Kent-Roberts marked it as to-read Feb 28, To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
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One person found this helpful. Talking films were immediately popular, and by the end of , Hollywood had pretty much abandoned silent films. Hollywood didn't just stop making silent films, but they actually mocked silent films and allegedly audiences were never interested in silent films again.
While that may be the conventional wisdom, author William Drew has explored silent films in the s, and this book is a fascinating read for film buffs. Drew starts the story of silent film revivals in the s, where theaters presented "old time movie shows" that presented early nickelodeon films in contrast to slick Hollywood productions. Sometimes they were presented as examples of how far movies had come from their "primitive" beginnings. Other times audiences were actually nostalgic for these early films.
Author Drew has written on D. Griffith's films and foreign films before, and these two topics directly relate to this book. The sound revolution did not come so quickly in other parts of the world. Russia continued to produce silent features, and they were screened in America. However, film societies, college groups or labor groups usually sponsored these screenings.
Japan and China continued producing silent films until about , and these were screened in theaters in ethnic neighborhoods. Drew tells an interesting story in that the first one was wildly popular, but mocked as a stereotypical silent film. One complaint I have with the book is that the author skims over the Van Beuren reissues of the twelve Charlie Chaplin Mutual two-reel comedies. These were also very popular with audiences and were released to theaters over and over. He also ignored a couple dozen silent B-westerns that were filmed in the early s for rural theaters that had not converted to sound yet.
Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Mar 22, Greta rated it liked it. Interesting research into silent films in the U. Includes late American silents like City Lights, Modern Times, The Silent Enemy and Tabu; revivals of older silents, Soviet silents that were running in both the burgeoning art houses as well as in labor and political venues, and ethnic cinemas which were still importing late silents from their home countries like China and Japan.
Most Interesting research into silent films in the U. Those who have had personal dealings with the author will be gratified that in this book he sticks to the reporting about Birth of a Nation and does not personally vilify its critics for a change.
bahana-line.com: The Last Silent Picture Show: Silent Films on American Screens in the s (): William M. Drew: Books. The Last Silent Picture Show: Silent Films on American Screens in the s, The afterlife of silent films has lasted much longer than anyone would have.
Jan 03, Bruce rated it it was amazing. Talking films were immediately popular, and by the end of , Hollywood had pretty much abandoned silent films. Hollywood didn't just stop making silent films, but they actually mocked silent films and allegedly audiences were never interested in silent films again. While that may be the conventional wisdom, author William Drew has explored silent films in the s, and this book is a fascinating read for film buffs. Drew starts the story of silent film revivals in the s, where theaters presented "old time movie shows" that presented early nickelodeon films in contrast to slick Hollywood productions.
Sometimes they were presented as examples of how far movies had come from their "primitive" beginnings. Other times audiences were actually nostalgic for these early films. Author Drew has written on D. Griffith's films and foreign films before, and these two topics directly relate to this book.
The sound revolution did not come so quickly in other parts of the world. Russia continued to produce silent features, and they were screened in America. However, film societies, college groups or labor groups usually sponsored these screenings. Japan and China continued producing silent films until about , and these were screened in theaters in ethnic neighborhoods.
Drew tells an interesting story in that the first one was wildly popular, but mocked as a stereotypical silent film. One complaint I have with the book is that the author skims over the Van Beuren reissues of the twelve Charlie Chaplin Mutual two-reel comedies. These were also very popular with audiences and were released to theaters over and over.
He also ignored a couple dozen silent B-westerns that were filmed in the early s for rural theaters that had not converted to sound yet. These are minor quibbles though, as I found the entire book fascinating. The archive was important, because it did rescue many, many important silent films.
However, the original director Iris Barry, was a snob, so she only saved films that she felt were important. She was instrumental in the establishment of the "pantheon" of great films and directors in the critical world.
So for decades film history was all about Griffith and Von Stroheim. Average works like cartoons, newsreels, serials, and westerns were overlooked by the MOMA because they did not fit in with her view of film history. Luckily, there were others like John Hampton of the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles that kept presenting silent films to the public for a long time. This book is a must-read for anyone interest in silent films or the early sound-film era. This books covers film history topics that have been neglected for a long time.
Bob Cat rated it it was amazing Sep 10, Bill C rated it really liked it Aug 16,