Close Up (Jul-Nov 1927)

Record Details:

Title:
Close Up
Date:
Jul-Nov 1927
Publisher:
[London, etc., Pool]
Volume:
Close up ... devoted to the art of films
Leaf #:
000525
Language:
English
Subjects:
motion pictures, Motion pictures -- Periodicals
Collection:
Global Cinema, Switzerland, and Early Cinema
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
Library of Congress, MBRS, Moving Image Section
Sponsor:
Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
As an active film magazine, CLOSE UP lasted only a short time, from 1927 to 1933. Yet the legacy of this English-language periodical, which was published in Switzerland, continues to matter. Edited by Bryher and her husband Kenneth Macpherson, CLOSE UP became THE magazine for energetic debates about the nature of cinema and manifestos imagining new forms of filmmaking and spectatorship. The magazine published articles by filmmakers, such as Sergei Eisenstein, and female literary modernists, such as H.D. and Gertrude Stein. As film scholar Anne Friedberg explains in the anthology CLOSE-UP, 1927-1933: CINEMA & MODERNISM, 'CLOSE UP became the model for a certain type of writing about film -- writing that was theoretically astute, politically incisive, critical of films that were simply 'entertainment.' For six and a half years, CLOSE UP maintained a forum for a broad variety of ideas about the cinema; it never advocated a single direction of development, but rather posed alternatives to existing modes of production, consumption, and film style.' Like Friedberg's own writing, CLOSE UP continues to be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of film and media theory. -- Eric Hoyt, 2014
Date Added:
August 29, 2022
Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

CLOSE UP A reply to Miss Marion Fitz-Simonds Dear Sir, Are we giving films a chance ? We seem to be very anxious nowadays to rush about and dogmatise. So it is little wonder when some of us apply our pre-conceived ideas and half-baked theories to the comparitively new Films. All Films can be placed into two classes : Motional Design and Narrative Cinematography. The latter will eventually supercede the Stage as the leading form of Drama. It is technically superior, but artistically it will never exceed the best examples of the Stage. For if it did, it would trespass into the former division of Films : — Dynamic Art. Only one purpose can be superior at one time — either the Emotional force or the Abstract idea. The Abstract film, the Absolute film. What vast possibilities, what incomprehensible achievements may be attained with this new medium of expression. But we have few or no chances of seeing examples of Abstract films. The Film Society help a little, but as we only see each example once or twice, we cannot fairly form an opinion from such meagre experience. That is my view of the Film : to you who are devoting to it a life's study, my opinions may seem a series of platitudes. However, allow me to reply to certain criticisms of a former letter. The Film may unify the Muses, and the result may be like Dr. Johnson's w^alking dog. The greatest works of mankind are those created solely by the individual. Consequently, the greatest film — which will unify music, art and the Drama, as well as Literature if sub-titles will still be tolerated — the greatest film will be made by a director combining the geniuses of Beethoven, Van Gogh and Shakespeare — pardon ! — Mozart, Rembrandt and Tchekov. And b}^ a mathmatical deduction, it would seem that we may have to wait 1:0,000 years before this super-producer is born. And then, probably, an audience of Supermen and — women will be prepared to acclaim this genius, being able to appreciate all three muses simullaneously. Wonderful ! 83