Cinema: Year by Year, 1894-2001

by (Dorling Kindersley), Gene Siskel, Joel W. Finler (Editor)

The cinema is indisputably the art form of the modern age. Ever since the Lumiere brothers' first moving pictures were greeted by astonished gasps in 1895, the movies have exerted an extraordinary and wide-reaching influence over us. The history of the cinema is a record of our rapidly changing world and the lively newspaper-style approach of cinema Year by Year brings unprecedented immediacy to this irresistible story. Ready-reference pages list the key events and Oscar winners for each year, and over 3,000 illustrations bring new life to the stars and scenes of over a century of film history. This unique reference work is the most entertaining and detailed illustrated history of cinema ever published. The revolutionary medium of film has reflected and shaped our culture for over a century. In this absorbing, fully up-to-date 2001 edition, Cinema Year by Year takes you on an exhilarating voyage through the world of movies, from their birth in the 1890s to the technical ingenuity of the present day. Crammed with stunning movie stills, studio portraits, "behind-the-screens" photographs, and classic posters. Over 970 authoritative pages are packed with key movie events and facts and figures, while the easy-to-use, ready-reference pages pinpoint the movie highlights of each year. Includes an in-depth look at the complex, demanding, and fascinating work of the movie-makers and the stars. Special features examine different aspects of film history, including The Silent Era, The New Wave, Special Effects, and The Rise of the Independent Film.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, Reference, Media Tie In

988 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[CD · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very large, chronological, and detailed reference book about 'the movies'. As a year-by-year review of the important and award winning developments in the film industry, this book borders on being the movie trivia fan's ultimate go to book. As there are continuing editions, it is not a single volume (unless one only wants coverage of an editions set of years) about all film.

The choices and style of including facts and information are more editorial than referential. They are mostly consistent for each 'year of the cinema' with a few odd choices as to what are each years most important industry events. Some of the people highlighted were/are of momentary notice and others at minimum always require more space than is available. Thus the qualification of it being 'editorial'. This contributes to the book only being marginally a reference work. As a starting point or to highlight topics worth more investigation, it is a very good (4-star!) collection of starting [points.


All pick details aside, any film buff will this year by year history with awards, box office successes and failures, beginnings and ends of careers of favorite(and some not so favorite) stars and actors, producers, directors, and all kinds of other cinema details a good read and probably a worthwhile addition to a film book collection. If one has the room for another 1000 page book!

See you at the movies! Probably not, I sit in the back during matinees . . .

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and very very large. I skimmed my way through it. I ended up with three pages of movies to look for, and that was just barely scratching the surface. I'm not sure how you can write a book like this and leave out The Princess Bride, though.

[Michael Binder · Rating 4 out of 5]

An immense work. Holds the interest throughout.