Close Up (Jul-Dec 1928)

Page scan 000165 from Close Up

Record Details:

Title:
Close Up
Date:
Jul-Dec 1928
Publisher:
[London, etc., Pool]
Volume:
Close up ... devoted to the art of films
Leaf #:
000165
Language:
English
Subjects:
motion pictures, Motion pictures -- Periodicals
Collection:
Switzerland, Early Cinema, and Global 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:
July 25, 2024
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CLOSE UP experience and many stupid films might blunt their discrimination. But, as one should be constructive, not destructive, what films should be chosen to show children aged say, between eight and fourteen ? First of all, if I were arranging a programme for children, I should be careful to see that the films were not too long* They do not, as a rule, enjoy sitting still for longer than an hour and a half. Then I should suggest the following nine pictures, which shown, one a week, would roughlv cover a school term. I should show one film only at each performance, with the addition of the current news gazette, or any one reel documentaire. 1. Moana of the South Seas. — This has proved, from personal experience, the favorite picture of a great number of children. If the programme is strictly educational, it can be linked up with the geography of the Pacific Islands. If possible, the fuller French version should be shown, as the more interesting portions for children were largely omitted from the English copy. 2. Chang. — This will add Siam and Asia to their map of the world. If possible, some of the interesting articles on how the picture was filmed ^vhich have appeared in Asia and National Geographic Magazine) should be given them to read afterwards. 3. The King of Kings. — This film will give them more than hours of dogmatic religious instruction. It would be well to point out that the colored prologue and preposterous banquet are not in accordance with the verity of the rest of the picture. 4. Tier gang in Ahyssinien. — This is a wonderful record of the expedition sent to Abyssinia to collect African animals for the Berlin Zoo, and has some very beautiful pictures of wild birds. But it is more than a mere documentaire and contains many scenes of Abyssinian life, one of the oldest cultures of Africa. 5. Voyage An Congo. — Not so many animals, but very valuable to show children the beauty and interest of negro life in West Africa. Every country has its negro problem, and it will be well for all concerned if