Film Culture Reader

by P. Adams Sitney (Editor), Hans Richter (Contributor), Jonas Mekas (Contributor)

This compilation from Film Culture magazine—the pioneering periodical in avant-garde film commentary—includes contributors like Charles Boultenhouse, Erich von Stroheim, Michael McClure, Stan Brakhage, Annette Michelson, Arthur Miller, Dylan Thomas, Andrew Sarris, Rudolph Arnheim, Jonas Mekas, and Parker Tyler. This collection covers a range of topics in twentieth century cinema, from the Auteur Theory to the commercial cinema, from Orson Welles to Kenneth Anger.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

P. Adams Sitney was a historian of American avant-garde cinema. He was known as the author of Visionary Film, one of the first books on the history of experimental film in the United States.

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonas Mekas' superb journal Film Culture was one of the great journals to come out of the 60's. Kenneth Anger, Bruce Conner, Stan Brakhage, ETC. It is sort of like MOJO for the underground film-set.

Even the design work is something. I have a good collection of the old issues, but nevertheless one should have "Film Culture Reader" in their library. If they don't, it just means that they really don't care for the art of cinema.

Also dealt with the pioneers of film as well. Welles, Louise Brooks (who wrote a couple of articles for the publication), Eisenstein, Griffith, and so forth. Essential really.

[David Sterritt]

Uneven but contains some valuable items.

[Brandon Sylvester · Rating 3 out of 5]

maybe not the bible of structural/ essay film, but if you are looking for a way to loosely connect the true development of the U.S. avant-garde to classic cinema or earlier European movements, this will help.