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Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies Paperback - 1994
by Sklar, Robert
- Used
- Good
- Paperback
Hailed as the definitive work upon its original publication in 1975 and now extensively revised and updated by the author, this vastly absorbing and richly illustrated book examines film as an art form, technological innovation, big business, and shaper of American values. 80 black-and-white photos.
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Details
- Title Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies
- Author Sklar, Robert
- Binding Paperback
- Edition [ Edition: Repri
- Condition Used - Good
- Pages 432
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Vintage, New York, New York, U.s.a.
- Date 1994-12-05
- Illustrated Yes
- Features Bibliography, Illustrated, Index
- Bookseller's Inventory # 0679755497dvdbx
- ISBN 9780679755494 / 0679755497
- Weight 1.36 lbs (0.62 kg)
- Dimensions 9.14 x 6.12 x 1.14 in (23.22 x 15.54 x 2.90 cm)
- Library of Congress subjects Motion pictures - United States - History
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 95130897
- Dewey Decimal Code 791.430
Summary
Here is a lively, highly informative history of American movies that, as Professor Frank Freidel of Harvard writes, combines "social history, economics and a precise and effective sense of film criticism."
Movies were the first twentieth-century mass medium, and largely by chance, the first big American movie audiences and moviemakers came from the immigrant, working-class segments of the population. Movies therefore became a challenge to American big business and American culture, both of which had been controlled by the Establishment. This, Sklar suggests, is one reason why, from their very beginning, movies have been hounded by censorship.
This book does three things: it traces the influence movies had on American society during the years when innumerable Americans young and old modeled themselves and their behavior on their favorite movie stars and movies; it shows the effect of the movie industry on the American economy; and it offers fresh and provocative interpretations of such movie milestones as D. W. Griffith's early epics, silent comedy (Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd), the two golden ages of 1930s movies, Walt Disney cartoons and Frank Capra's social comedies. It explains the movies' downfall in the 1950s, which, Sklar contends, was not due solely to television, and it suggests the movies' possible future. Exploring simultaneously Hollywood aesthetics, economics and culture, it offers a fascinating, comprehensive picture of the role that movies have played in American life.
From the rear cover
This vastly readable and richly illustrated volume examines film as art form, technological innovation, big business, and cultural bellwether. It takes in stars from Douglas Fairbanks to Sly Stallone; auteurs from D. W. Griffith to Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee; and genres from the screwball comedy of the 1930s to the "hard body" movies of the 1980s to the independent films of the 1990s. Combining panoramic sweep with detailed commentaries on hundreds of individual films, Movie-Made America is a must for any motion picture enthusiast.
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Citations
- Library Journal, 03/01/1995, Page 0
- Publishers Weekly, 11/07/1994, Page 0