The Routledge Companion to Film History William Guynn (Sonoma State University, USA) 9780415776561

The Routledge Companion to Film History is an indispensable guide for anyone studying film history for the first time. The approach taken presents a substantial and readable overview of the field and provides students with a tool of reference that will be valuable throughout their studies.

The volume is divided into two parts. The first is a set of eleven essays that approaches film history around the following themes:

• History of the moving image
• Film as art and popular culture
• Production process
• Evolution of sound
• Alternative modes: experimental, documentary, animation
• Cultural difference
• Film's relationship to history

The second is a critical dictionary that explains concepts, summarizes debates in film studies, defines technical terms, describes major periods and movements, and discusses historical situations and the film industry. The volume as a whole is designed as an active system of cross-references: readers of the essays are referred to dictionary entries (and vice versa) and both provide short bibliographies that encourage readers to investigate topics.

William Guynn is Emeritus Professor of Art (Cinema) at Sonoma State University, California. His previous publications include Writing History in Film (Routledge, 2006)

'This guide provides a stimulating insight into fifty directors working today' - Tanya Jones, The Media Education Association

'The Routledge Companion to Film History has both breadth and enough depth to move beyond a more generalised and popularist approach to the topics within each chapter... An impressive addition to the film history 'library'.' - POV