In Glorious Technicolor: A Century of Film and How it has Shaped Us - Hardcover

Stock, Francine

3.61

23 ratings by Goodreads

9780701183950: In Glorious Technicolor: A Century of Film and How it has Shaped Us

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0701183950 ISBN 13: 9780701183950

Publisher: Chatto & Windus, 2011

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

At the end of the nineteenth century, audiences were enthralled by the flickering image of an oncoming train in a Lumi�re Brothers' short film; more than a hundred years later the immersive fantasy of Avatar enveloped audiences around the globe.

Film is a communal dream in which our fears and fantasies are revealed, often to startling effect. It has influenced our behaviour in small but significant ways, from the widespread abandonment of vests after Clark Gable's example in It Happened One Night to gangsters holding their weapons at movie-cool angles, improving their image but not their aim. It has intertwined with politics, helping to forge national identity, galvanise against a wartime enemy or warn of social upheaval via horror or science fiction. It has burrowed deep into our psyche, changing perceptions of history and memory - one study showed soldiers' recall may sometimes owe more to war films than actual experience. It has even raised romantic expectations that for us, too, 'the one' will arrive for that big clinch in the final reel.

Despite decades of rapid change, we are still hypnotised and seduced by the power of cinema; it remains our most persuasive mass entertainment. In this fascinating, entertaining and illuminating book Francine Stock takes us on a personal journey through a glorious century of cinema, showing in vivid detail how film both reflects and makes our world.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

"Stock's prose vaults gracefully between reference points... Her analyses here are impressively fluent and insightful" (Hannah McGill Scotsman)

"As a guide to one hundred years of cinema, Francine Stock certainly has the credentials... An informative, easy read" (Jeff Dawson Sunday Times)

"There is much to enjoy in this book" (Philip French Observer)

"It's smoothly written and Stock clearly knows her onions" (David Jenkins Time Out)

Book Description:

A personal journey through a glorious century of cinema - from film lover and critic Francine Stock

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.