The Mysteries of Cinema: Movies and Imagination

by Peter Conrad

Ranging from the late nineteenth century to the present day, this exhilarating survey by cultural critic Peter Conrad explores the ways film has changed how we see the world. This is a thematic roller-coaster ride through cinema history, with film expert Peter Conrad in the seat beside you. Thoroughly international, this book ranges from Fay Wray to Satyajit Ray, from Buster Keaton to Kurosawa, from westerns to nouvelle vague. Conrad explores the medium’s relationship to speed, technology, fantasy, horror, dream, color, sound, light, and shadow with reference to scores of films, from the earliest nineteenth-century silent experiments to the latest multisensory Hollywood blockbusters. The author’s insights are amplified by voices from inside and outside the directors and critics are included alongside artists, writers, philosophers, and historians ranging from Leo Tolstoy to Salvador Dalí, Theodor Adorno to Philip Roth.

Arranged by topics, such as “Meta-Movie” and “The Physics of Film,” rather than chronological events, The Mysteries of Cinema focuses on film’s otherworldly, hypnotic, and magical qualities. Perfect for both movie fans who will discover new films and directors, and for students of film who will see familiar classics in a new light, this volume is full of unique insights into the genre. Combining his vast knowledge with a forensic eye for a director’s every quirk and mannerism, Conrad offers a fascinating and thrilling exploration of film. 60 color illustrations

Genres: Nonfiction, Film

312 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2021

About the author

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Reviews

[Dave Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conrad uses a religious and Biblical framework to outline the evolution of the cinematic imagination. And for good reason. Cinema as religious expression is an apt allegory to begin with, but Conrad also demonsrates how uniquely tied cinema is to the religious experience itself. Moving from creation to the godlike presence of the Director, it is the illusionary nature of the artform that reaches for some sense of the sacred by bringing together image and reality in ways that make us open to seeing something more, something transcendent. We find in film the anticipation of hope, apocalyptic fears, both the human and the divine, material and immaterial, fairy tale and reality. And we find this in ways that are unique to cinema as an artform. And further as a "social" artform. It's a reminder that cinema is born from and within a sense of community, something that is gradually being undercut by its formulation into content, individual curation and isolated viewing trends. The true power of film, as it is with religion, is found in the collective where our relationship with the transcendent contines to push us from our self centered ways into relationship with the Other.

[Michael Samerdyke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought-provoking book that covers great movie moments in an idiosyncratic way.

It took me a while to read this book, because it was thought-provoking. I didn't want to plow through it but stop and think about what I had read.

"The Mysteries of Cinema" isn't for everyone. You probably need to be a movie-obsessive person to get the most out of this book, but if you are, there is something to make you nod in agreement, snort in disbelief, or stop and remember something.

[Jeroen Lemmens · Rating 2 out of 5]

nope