Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American MoviesHailed as the definitive work upon its original publication in 1975 and now extensively revised and updated by the author, this vastly absorbing and richly illustrated book examines film as an art form, technological innovation, big business, and shaper of American values. Ever since Edison's peep shows first captivated urban audiences, film has had a revolutionary impact on American society, transforming culture from the bottom up, radically revising attitudes toward pleasure and sexuality, and at the same time, cementing the myth of the American dream. No book has measured film's impact more clearly or comprehensively than Movie-Made America. This vastly readable and richly illustrated volume examines film as art form, technological innovation, big business, and cultural bellwether. It takes in stars from Douglas Fairbanks to Sly Stallone; auteurs from D. W. Griffith to Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee; and genres from the screwball comedy of the 1930s to the "hard body" movies of the 1980s to the independents films of the 1990s. Combining panoramic sweep with detailed commentaries on hundreds of individual films, Movie-Made America is a must for any motion picture enthusiast. |
Contents
Edisons Trust and How It Got Busted | 33 |
Hollywood and the Dawning of the Aquarian | 67 |
The Silent Film and the Passionate Life | 86 |
Copyright | |
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Academy Award actor Adolph Zukor American Film American movies ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE artist audience avant-garde became began Biograph box-office British camera Capra censorship Chaplin Charlie Chaplin cinema comedy comic commercial Communist companies critics cultural D. W. Griffith Darryl F decade DeMille directed director Disney distribution distributors documentary dreams early Edison entertainment European exhibitors fantasy feature film's filmmakers genre girl Hollywood IATSE images independent later major studios Malcolm X medium melodrama middle-class MODERN ART/FILM STILLS moguls moral motion pictures movie industry moviegoers moviemakers MUSEUM OF MODERN myths nickelodeons Paramount percent play players political popular postwar producers profits release role scenes Schindler's Schindler's List Scorsese screen Selznick Sennett sexual shots silent social sound Spike Lee stars story struggle style television theaters theatrical tion traditional trance films United vaudeville Vietnam viewers visual Warner Bros woman women writers York young Zanuck