Cinema Canada (Aug 1979)

ISOOIK<SIFELF The World of Cinema James Monaco’s sober-minded and well documented analysis of the structure of Hollywood’s motion picture industry, American Film Now, is exhaustive in its approach and _ revolutionary in its conclusions. The current politics of scarcity, diversification and packaging are persuasively viewed as lethal to the health of filmmaking and in need of re-thinking in the light of society’s needs (Oxford U. Press $19.95). A revised and updated edition of Arthur Knight’s classical survey of movie history, The Liveliest Art, is now available in paperback. This consistently judicious and perceptive appraisal of the medium’s evolution continues to receive deserved acceptance by all students of cinema (NAL/ Mentor $2.50). In Hitchcock: The First 44 Films, French directors Eric Rohmer and Claude Chabrol analyze the career of the British master through “The Wrong Man” (1957), emphasizing his recurrent visual and_ story-telling motifs and the unity of his work (Ungar $10.95/4.95). Forsyth Hardy’s Grierson On Documentary assembles basic writings by the pioneer of factual film in a most welcome paperback edition. Grierson’s articulate advocacy and visionary zeal contributed an essential element in establishing the documentary genre as both a reflection and a stimulant of social change (Faber $5.95). An informative French study of Chinese film from 1905 to 1949 (when the People’s Republic of China was established), Le cinéma chinois by Régis Bergeron covers its progress with a wealth of details concerning films and personalities and a perceptive understanding of its ideological evolution. This is an illuminating book, rich in human values and _ scholarly research (Le Phénix, Paris, F36). In Film in Sweden: Ingmar Bergman and Society, Maria BergomLarsson provides a penetrating analysis of the relationship between Bergman’s films and his family background, his straight-laced Lutheran upbringing and his patriarchal attitude toward Academy Award winning George L. George is a film director who does film book reviews in Canada, France and the Us. women (Barnes $7.95). Noel Burch, a leading French film theoretician of the constructivist/semiotic school, contributes a stimulatingly erudite study of form and meaning in the Japanese cinema, To the Distant Observer. His correlation of the country’s culture and history to its films, particularly of the 191745 period, emphasizes the uniqueness and originality of their concepts (U. of California Press $19.50). Well researched and extensively documented, Mel Schuster’s The Contemporary Greek Cinema surveys Greece’s movie establishment, its films and leading personalities. Political and economic upheavals that rocked the industry are knowledgeably discussed, bringing much original information on a little known area of European cinema (Scarecrow $15). Reference and Research In the revised and updated edition of Visionary Film, P. Adams Sitney brings his classical study of American avant-garde cinema up to 1978. Sitney’s familiarity with and understanding of the many aspects of experimental film provide a guideline for an exciting journey among filmmakers with a gift for highly individual forms of cinematic expression (Oxford U. Press $17.95/5.95). Eastman Kodak’s sturdy and _ serviceable pocket-size booklet, Cinematographer’s Field Guide, contains concise and specific information on film and filters, usage hints, film packaging, and ordering. Each section. carries technical and practical information described in brief but comprehensive terms, complete with tables of specifications and other relevant data (Booklet H-2, $3.95). In Lighting for Location Motion Pictures, Alan J. Ritsko examines in substantial detail the indoor location shooting requirements of director of photography, lighting director, cameraman and gaffer. This is a highly useful volume, well illustrated, covering all types of production in expert descriptions of the jobs (Van Nostrand Reinhold $16.95). Some 8,000 English-language feature films and feature-length TV movies are included in Halliwell’s Film Guide. Dealing with a 50-year period, this massive volume compiled by Leslie Halliwell provides production data for each film, plus a brief synopsis, occa by george Il. george sional critical reviews and an equitable rating system (Scribners $24.95), In Film News Omnibus (Vol. 2). editor/publisher Rohama Lee has assembled reviews of more than 400 16 mm. films originally published in her magazine over the last 3 years. Documentary features and shorts are expertly reviewed by a group of professional critics, providing data on distribution and offering exceptional reference source material for the classroom and the community (Film News, 250 W. 57 St., NYC 10019: $17.50 or $15 if remittance is enclosed with order). Compiled and edited by James L. Limbacher, the 6th edition of Feature Films lists over 20,000 movies and 200 serials in 8 and 16mm. with some 1500 on videotape. This is a well established and reliable resource directory, offering a wide selection of films suitable for a variety of audiences (Bowker $24). Prof. Jack C. Ellis, in History of Film, combines factual information with a stimulating personal interpretation of the movies’ evolution. The result is a scholarly yet highly readable text, with sharp insights into an_historic process (Prentice-Hall $11.95). Over 5,000 publications (books. monographs, dissertations) have been gathered, categorized, cross-indexed in many cases, annotated by Jack C. Ellis, Charles Derry and Sharon Kern in Film Book Bibliography 19401975. This is a dependable research tool on the literature of film (Scarecrow $28.50). An historic survey of some 400 sci-fi movies, Future Tense by John Brosnan discusses the genre’s technique and contents in a knowledgeable assessment of the trends and _ influences that shaped their evolution. Brosnan’s authoritative study ranks among the top books on the subject (St. Martin’s $15). Writer-producer Syd Field provides in Screenplay an approach based on his Own experience, discussing the basics of the craft in terms simple enough to enable beginners to develop an idea into a submittable script (Delta $4.95). In Film Art: An _ Introduction, David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson consider, in a sensitive and discerning way, the esthetics of cinema creativity in their total impact on the audience (Addison-Wesley $10.95). oO Cinema Canada/37