A New History of Documentary Film

by Jack C. Ellis, Betsy A. Mclane

A thorough and definitive survey/history of documentary films. Concentrating mainly on the output of the US, the UK, and Canada, the authors outline the origins of the form and then show its development over the next several decades. The book is completely up-to-date in discussing films like Fahrenheit 9/11 and Life and Death of a Serial Killer

Written in a simple, chronological format, the text is straightforward and full of content, information, and historical perspective. Each chapter concludes with a list of the key documentaries in that particular time period or genre, and there are helpful appendices listing all the winners of the Academy Award for Best Documentary, as well as the winners of the Grierson Award.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2005

Reviews

[Amirhossein · Rating 4 out of 5]

من ترجمه فارسیش رو به سرپرستی مازیار اسلامی خوندم، که ترجمه خوبی بود اما غلط املایی فراوان داشت.
تمرکز کتاب روی تاریخ سینمای مستند در آمریکا،کانادا و اروپاست و به کشورهای دیگه اصلا توجه‌ای نکرده. نکته مثبت کتاب بنظرم به روز بودنشه و حتی تا سال های بعد از ۲۰۱۰ رو هم بررسی میکنه، چیزی که من در کتاب های دیگه ندیدم.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm trying to learn more about documentary film history and theory and this was a nice starting point about English-language documentary. A little textbook-ish at times but still gave me a ton of information and a massive watchlist.

[Alex Gruenenfelder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though at times it drones on in an attempt to be more academic, this is a great summary of the art of documentary. Strongly recommend for film scholars, across all genres.

[Michael Houghton · Rating 5 out of 5]

2023 No12
I learned so much from this book. It was super engaging to read, presented chronologically from when film was first invented in 1988 in Leeds up until the present day. The analysis of docs is even handed and open minded with a variety of filmmakers discussed from across the globe and from right to left on the political spectrum. Though, there is a focus on English language docs. Not only did this give me plenty of information, it also gave me resources and pointed me in useful directions for further reading. Worth every penny.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the title, it's not really a "new" history of documentary film. The authors rely primarily on the work done by Robert Flaherty and John Grierson as two poles, against which other English-language documentaries can be measured.

[Adam Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Read as far as I needed to for class. Will truly finish later.

Aside from a jumbo chapter that came out of nowhere, McLane paces a lot of information extremely well to create an interesting, engaging, and digestible history of documentary pictures. Recommended for casual film aficionados and those engaging the subject more seriously.

[Péter Horányi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 2023-ban megjelent harmadik kiadást olvastam el.

Gördülékeny és jó stílusban megírt dokumentumfilmtörténeti könyv. Szórakoztató, de közben rendkívül mély és sok adatot hoz fel. Tetszik, hogy sokat ír külön rendezőkről. Hiányossága, hogy a 21. századi dokumentumfilmről nem ír annyira bátran és kiforrottan, mint a korábbi évtizedekről, itt egyértelműen nem mer radikális állításokat tenni.

[RoxchelKnightly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as one of my textbooks for a Film Studies class. It's a great book and I regret not keeping it. It is a great resource for any film student or history/pop culture scholar.

[Fredrik Johansson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it is a good book to use as a library of movies/film , I have find a lot of intressting films, wich I have look at youtube.