Close Up (Jan-Jun 1930)

Page scan 00023 from Close Up

Record Details:

Title:
Close Up
Date:
Jan-Jun 1930
Publisher:
[London, etc., Pool]
Volume:
Close up ... devoted to the art of films
Leaf #:
00023
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:
June 20, 2024
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 allowed, the promoters would have been embarrassed by a list running into volumes. Time did not allow. A speciallv favourable moment for presentation had been indicated bv a parliamentary sympathiser. It was therefore decided to call a halt and go hopefully into print with the signatures already to hand, amongst which were those of a number of members of the liberal professions sufficiently representative to indicate to any unprejudced mind that trained intelligence is asking for intelligent handling of this important international concern. With three exceptions these solicited signatures came tumbling in by return of post. One only was withheld, that of a famous playwright, who, declaring that on no account would he sign, further advised the promoters not to waste their valuable time upon a demand for a censorship that would be worse than the one already in existence in proportion as its members were better. This response was ruefullv accepted as hopelessly incorrigible naughtiness. Another, arriving late, was accompanied by the writer's confession, given lack of time to study the appeal in detail, of willingness to sign blindfold any document presented by Close Up. The third, that of a greatly gifted Briton, a man honoured all over the world, was at first refused on the ground of complete ignorance of the cinema and its doings, but since the writer went on to admit that he and his fraternitv had been for some time, and quite in vain, practically on their knees to the authorities for permission to secure a showing in London of a valuable scientific German film, he was ultimatelv persuaded to sign for the honour of science. By the time the petition was ready for presentation the favourable moment already alluded to was rendered un 9