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After the Silents: Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926-1934
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After the Silents: Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926-1934 Paperback - 2014

by Michael Slowik


From the publisher

Many believe Max Steiner's score for King Kong (1933) was the first important attempt at integrating background music into sound film, but a closer look at the industry's early sound era (1926-1934) reveals a more extended and fascinating story. Viewing more than two hundred films from the period, Michael Slowik launches the first comprehensive study of a long-neglected phase in Hollywood's initial development, recasting the history of film sound and its relationship to the "Golden Age" of film music (1935-1950). Slowik follows filmmakers' shifting combinations of sound and image, recapturing the volatility of this era and the variety of film music strategies that were tested, abandoned, and kept. He explores early film music experiments and accompaniment practices in opera, melodrama, musicals, radio, and silent films and discusses the impact of the advent of synchronized dialogue. He concludes with a reassessment of King Kong and its groundbreaking approach to film music, challenging the film's place and importance in the timeline of sound achievement.

Details

  • Title After the Silents: Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926-1934
  • Author Michael Slowik
  • Binding Paperback
  • Pages 400
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Columbia University Press
  • Date 2014-10-21
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Background Music, Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780231165839 / 0231165838
  • Weight 1.2 lbs (0.54 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 in (22.61 x 15.24 x 2.03 cm)
  • Themes
    • Aspects (Academic): Film
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
  • Library of Congress subjects Motion picture music - United States -
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2014009771
  • Dewey Decimal Code 791.430

Media reviews

Citations

  • Choice, 05/01/2015, Page 1509

About the author

Michael Slowik is assistant professor of television, film, and new media at San Diego State University. His work appears in Cinema Journal; American Music; The Journal of American Culture; Journal of Popular Film and Television; Music, Sound, and the Moving Image; Nineteenth-Century Theatre and Film; and Quarterly Review of Film and Video.
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After the Silents : Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926-1934
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After the Silents : Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926-1934

by Slowik, Michael

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After the Silents: Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926-1934 (Film and Culture Series)
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After the Silents: Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926-1934 (Film and Culture Series)

by Slowik, Michael

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After the Silents: Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926-1934 (Film and Culture Series)
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After the Silents: Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926-1934 (Film and Culture Series)

by Michael Slowik

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NY: Columbia University Press, 2014. First edition. Trade softcover. Published NY: Columbia University Press, 2014, first printing. 8vo. wrappers, xi+384pp., illustrated. Slowik follows filmmakers' shifting combinations of sound and image, recapturing the volatility of this era and the variety of film music strategies that were tested, abandoned, and kept. He explores early film music experiments and accompaniment practices in opera, melodrama, musicals, radio, and silent films and discusses the impact of the advent of synchronized dialogue. He concludes with a reassessment of King Kong and its groundbreaking approach to film music, challenging the film's place and importance in the timeline of sound achievement. As new. . 1st. Soft Cover. As New. 8vo.
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After the Silents – Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926–1934
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After the Silents – Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926–1934

by Slowik, Michael

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780231165839 / 0231165838
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