Synopses & Reviews
André Bazin's What Is Cinema? (volumes I and II) have been classics of film studies for as long as they've been available and are considered the gold standard in the field of film criticism. Although Bazin made no films, his name has been one of the most important in French cinema since World War II. He was co-founder of the influential Cahiers du Cinéma, which under his leadership became one of the world's most distinguished publications. Championing the films of Jean Renoir (who contributed a short foreword to Volume I), Orson Welles, and Roberto Rossellini, he became the protégé of François Truffaut, who honors him touchingly in his forword to Volume II. This new edition includes graceful forewords to each volume by Bazin scholar and biographer Dudley Andrew, who reconsiders Bazin and his place in contemporary film study. The essays themselves are erudite but always accessible, intellectual, and stimulating. As Renoir puts it, the essays of Bazin "will survive even if the cinema does not."
Synopsis
Andrand#233; Bazinand#8217;s writings on cinema are among the most influential reflections on the medium ever written. Even so, his critical interests ranged widely and encompassed the and#147;new mediaand#8221; of the 1950s, including television, 3D film, Cinerama, and CinemaScope. Fifty-seven of his reviews and essays addressing these new technologiesand#151;their artistic potential, social influence, and relationship to existing art formsand#151;have been translated here for the first time in English with notes and an introduction by leading Bazin authority Dudley Andrew. These essays show Bazinand#8217;s astute approach to a range of visual media and the relevance of his critical thought to our own era of new media. An exciting companion to the essential What Is Cinema? volumes, Andrand#233; Bazinand#8217;s New Media is excellent for classroom use and vital for anyone interested in the history of media.
Synopsis
and#147;[Andrand#233; Bazinand#8217;s New Media] will have great importance for the fields of cinema study and media study alike. The individual essays will be a revelation (to use a Bazinian term) to many readers, and this will become a must-have volume for film scholars, media historians, and scholars on French cinema.and#8221; and#151;Dana Polan, Cinema Studies, New York University
Synopsis
"Although André Bazin died shortly before the onset of what we now regard as the modern cinema, our understanding of this cinema wouldn't be the same without him. He's also one of the most scrupulous humanists and polemicists we've had, on a par with George Orwell, and these essays map out the busy highways we're all still navigating."Jonathan Rosenbaum, film critic for the
Chicago Reader "What Is Cinema? remains an invaluableand beautifullandmark in film and media studies. In both my research and my classrooms I return to these essays again and againnot only for the richness of their arguments but also for their passionate belief that the cinema is a form of revelation vital to our lives."Vivian Sobchack, Professor, Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media, University of California, Los Angeles
About the Author
Andrand#233; Bazin (1918and#150;1958) was the premier film theorist of the first century of cinema. Primarily associated with the journal
Cahiers du cinand#233;ma, which he cofounded in 1951, he wrote for many other journals as well.
Editor and translator Dudley Andrew is R. Selden Rose Professor of Film and Comparative Literature at Yale University. His books include The Major Film Theories, Concepts in Film Theory, Andrand#233; Bazin, Film in the Aura of Art, Sansho Dayu, Mists of Regret: Culture and Sensibility in Classic French Film, and Popular Front Paris and the Poetics of Culture.
Table of Contents
Editorand#8217;s Note: About This Collectionand#160;
Introduction: Andrand#233; Bazin Meets the New Media of the 1950sand#160;
PART ONE. THE ONTOLOGY AND LANGUAGE OF TELEVISION
1. The Aesthetic Future of Televisionand#160;
2. In Quest of Tand#233;land#233;genieand#160;
3. Television Is Unbeatable for Live Coverageand#160;
4. Was It Live? Preserve Our Illusionsand#160;
5. The Talking Head: Must the Commissaire Stand on His Head for TV?and#160;
6. Television Is Neither Theater nor Cinemaand#160;
7. At the Venice Festival, TV Shares the Screenand#160;
8. Voice-Overs on TV: Let the Animals Talkand#160;
9. Looking at Televisionand#160;
PART TWO. TELEVISION AMONG THE ARTS
10. Long Live Radio! Down with the 8th Art!and#160;
11. A Seat at the Theaterand#160;
12. False Improvisation and and#147;Memory Lapsesand#8221; on TVand#160;
13. To Serve Theater, Let Television Adopt Some Modestyand#160;
14. Respect the Spirit of Theater First and Foremost!and#160;
15. TV and the Disenchantment of Theaterand#160;
16. Art on Television: A Program That Loses on All Countsand#160;
17. Reporting on Eternity: TV Visits the Musand#233;e Rodinand#160;
PART THREE. TELEVISION AND SOCIETY
18. A Contribution to an Erotology of Televisionand#160;
19. Censors, Learn to Censorand#160;
20. You Can Now and#147;Descend into Yourselfand#8221;and#160;
21. Television, Sincerity, Libertyand#160;
22. Information or Necrophagyand#160;
23. Television as Cultural Medium and The Sociology of Televisionand#160;
24. Do We Really Need Those Serials?and#160;
25. A Superb Clown Made Incoherent by TVand#160;
26. TV Can Popularize without Boredom or Betrayaland#160;
PART FOUR. TELEVISION AND CINEMA
27. Television and the Revival of Cinemaand#160;
28. Television and Cinemaand#160;
29. Is Television a Degradation for Filmmakers?and#160;
30. Some Films Are Better on the Small Screen Than the Largeand#160;
31. Should Television Be Allowed to Chop Films to Pieces?and#160;
32. From Small Screen to Widescreenand#160;
33. Sacha Guitry Is Confident about TV, Just as He Was about Cinema in 1914and#160;
34. Jean Gabin Gets TVand#8217;s and#147;Sour Lemonand#8221; Prizeand#160;
35. and#147;The Glass Eyeand#8221; Will Reveal a New Hitchcockand#160;
36. Hitchcock on TVand#160;
37. Renoir and Rossellini: Two Top Recruits for Televisionand#160;
38. Renoir and Rossellini Debut on TVand#160;
39. Cinema and Television: An Interview with Jean Renoir and Roberto Rosselliniand#160;
40. About Television: A Discussion with Marcel Moussy and Andrand#233; Bazinand#160;
PART FIVE. CINERAMA AND 3D
41. New Screen Technologiesand#160;
42. Cinerama: A Bit Lateand#160;
43. Cinerama, a Disappointmentand#160;
44. Cinema in 3D and Color: Amazing!and#160;
45. A New Stage in the Process: Math Equations for 3Dand#160;
46. Will a War in Three Dimensions Take Place?and#160;
47. The Return of Metroscopixand#160;
48. The House of Wax: Scare Me . . . in Depth!and#160;
49. The Real Crime on La Rue Morgue: They Assassinated a Dimension!and#160;
50. The 3D Revolution Did Not Take Placeand#160;
PART SIX. CINEMASCOPE
51. Will CinemaScope Save the Cinema?and#160;
52. CinemaScope and Neorealismand#160;
53. CinemaScope: The End of Montageand#160;
54. The Trial of CinemaScope: It Didnand#8217;t Kill the Close-Upand#160;
55. Massacre in CinemaScopeand#160;
56. Will CinemaScope Bring about a Television Style in Cinema?and#160;
PART SEVEN. FINALE
57. Is Cinema Mortal?and#160;
Appendix: A Selective Reference Guide to 1950s French Televisionand#160;
Index