Histoire du cinéma

Histoire du cinéma #1-2

by Maurice Bardèche, Robert Brasillach

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Genres: Film

419 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1935

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written in 1935 by two French critics, Maurice Bardeche and Robert Brasillach, forty years after the invention of the motion picture, and as such it is a history primarily of silent film and less than a decade of talking pictures. For this reason alone it is quite interesting because of the degree of detail it goes into. Because the authors are European they focus a great deal on international films of the time in question, which is useful for creating checklists of must-see films. The book was translated into English in 1938 and it is quite clear that the editor and translator disagreed with their commentary and criticism of films, and in particular their view that silent films were superior to talking pictures and that the introduction of sound was a huge setback for the art of film. The editor is also quick to point out any factual errors they make in the footnotes. I enjoyed the book, although it is a bit dry, you will learn a lot about early film.