Early Cinema: From Factory Gate to Dream Factory

by Simon Popple, Joe Kember

This book introduces the reader to the study of cinema as a series of aesthetic, technological, cultural, ideological and economic debates while exploring new and challenging approaches to the subject. It explores the period 1895 to 1914 when cinema established itself as the leading form of visual culture among rapidly expanding global media, emerging from a rich tradition of scientific, economic, entertainment and educational practices and quickly developing as a worldwide institution.

Genres: Film

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 3, 2004

Reviews

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Designed as a quick introduction to the start of the film industry, Early Cinema contains a lot of information. I found fascinating the revelation that movies began as with quite mundane subjects and people wanted to watch them to try to see themselves. Films were local and “stars” had yet to be developed. Films had to get long enough to tell a story, even. I always find the early stages of such things fascinating.

This book covers the years 1895–1914, or the first two decades of the art. While the Short Cuts series is aimed at adoption markets, there are some points where the writing is too academic. Perhaps because there are two authors, the writing doesn’t always flow. It’s not too bad, but the framing is academic as well. As an historian I prefer to have things laid out differently, but that’s my problem, not the book’s.

There’s a lot of interesting stuff squeezed in here: how “genres” developed for films, how the purpose of movies changed from teaching to entertainment, some of the early characters involved in what we now recognize as, in the words of the subtitle, a “dream factory.” This is all good. The British focus is a bid odd since the industry really developed primarily in France and the United States, with significant Italian input. Still, as I note elsewhere (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World), there’s a lot to be learned here, even if the writing’s not always the most engaging.

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars

As I've found with a lot of books about this time in history, you do get more stuff on the context than you do the actual works. In all fairness, Popple's recount was a lot more detailed and useful than the other ones I've found and is arranged in a way that makes it very easy to scan the broad advancements of cinema throughout the entire world at the time.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

British textbook on early cinema before 1914 (mostly earlier). Focuses on British. Good introduction