The Speed of Sound – Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution , 1926–1930: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution, 1926-30 - Softcover

Eyman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801861926 ISBN 13: 9780801861925

Publisher: John Hopkins University Press, 1999

Synopsis

Although motion pictures had existed since the turn of the century, it was D. W. Griffith's controversial but wildly successful The Birth of the Nation, released in 1915, that transformed what had been a flickering novelty into an art form. In the following years, such masters of the silent film as F. W. Murnau, King Vidor, and Erich von Stroheim built on Griffith's legacy to create sumptuous visual feasts that remain unmatched in the history of film. And then, in 1926, came sound. For many, it marked the end of the cinema's most creative era. Certainly sound marked the end of movie-making as its creators had envisioned it. The careers of some of the silent era's biggest stars and most respected craftspeople were ruined by the new technology. Still others readily adapted to the new conditions and prospered. It was a turbulent, colorful, and altogether remarkable period -- four years during which Hollywood reinvented itself.

In The Speed of Sound, Scott Eyman chronicles for the first time the epic story of the transition from silent films to talkies. Debunking the myth that Hollywood was transformed overnight in the wake of the popularity of The Jazz Singer in 1927, Eyman shows how the industry at first resisted and then only reluctantly accepted the arrival of sound. For a long time after The Jazz Singer, in fact, there were still some directors, actors, and even filmgoers who refused to embrace the new technology. But the sense of wonder which sound inspired in audiences, causing them to abandon the visual dynamism of silent film in favor of the crudely recorded and stiffly filmed movies of sound's first wave, meant that change was irrevocable. At once scholarly and vastly entertaining, The Speed of Sound explores the technology and politics behind the introduction of sound, how this innovation affected Hollywood creatively and economically, and how the talkie revolution led inexorably to the modern movie industry.

About this title

Review:

"Without doubt among the half dozen or so indispensable film books written in the past 40 years." -- Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

"Fascinating... colorful and richly researched." -- Gavin Lambert, Los Angeles Times

"Anyone with an interest in accurate film history or a desire to know what really happened in the era of the transition to sound would enjoy this book. You ain't read nothing like it yet." -- Jeanine Basinger, Washington Post

"An indispensable and long overdue piece of film history. The Speed of Sound is also a page-turner of a story." -- Joan Mellen, Baltimore Sun

"Eyman combines a historian's zeal for detail and context with a storyteller's talent for the perfect illustrative anecdote. The author deftly juggles a number of stories, including film-by-film accounts of key transition directors King Vidor and F. W. Murnau... A remarkable book." -- Library Journal

"An astute look at the most significant upheaval in Hollywood's history... Tells his story with wit and skill." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Eyman's history of the four-year transition from silent to sound film reads at times like two books expertly cut and fitted together: a solidly researched, always interesting narrative of the decline of the silent era intercut with the crazy, entertaining story of the rise of talkies." -- Publishers Weekly

Synopsis:

A chronicle of the epic story of the transition from silent films to talkies. Debunking the myth that Hollywood was transformed overnight in the wake of the popularity of "The Jazz Singer" in 1927, Eyman shows how the industry at first resisted and then only reluctantly accepted the arrival of sound. For a long time after "The Jazz Singer", in fact, there were still some actors, directors, and even filmgoers who refused to embrace the new technology. But the sense of wonder which sound inspired in audiences, causing them to abandon the visual dynamism of silent film in favour of the crudely recorded and stiffly filmed movies of sound's first wave, meant that change was irrevocable. This text explores the technology and politics behind the introduction of sound, how this innovation affected Hollywood, and how the talkie revolution led inexorably to the modern movie industry.

About this edition

• Publisher: John Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0801861926
• ISBN 13: 9780801861925
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432