A Companion to D. W. Griffith (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Film Directors) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1118341252 ISBN 13: 9781118341254

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2018

Synopsis

The most comprehensive volume on one of the most controversial directors in American film history 

A Companion to D.W. Griffith offers an exhaustive look at the first acknowledged auteur of the cinema and provides an authoritative account of the director’s life, work, and lasting filmic legacy.

The text explores how Griffith’s style and status advanced along with cinema’s own development during the years when narrative became the dominant mode, when the short gave way to the feature, and when film became the pre-eminent form of mass entertainment. Griffith was at the centre of each of these changes: though a contested figure, he remains vital to any understanding of how cinema moved from nickelodeon fixture to a national pastime, playing a significant role in the cultural ethos of America.

With the renewed interest in Griffith’s contributions to the film industry, A Companion to D.W. Griffith offers a scholarly look at a career that spanned more than 25 years. The editor, a leading scholar on D.W. Griffith, and the expert contributors collectively offer a unique account of one of the monumental figures in film studies.

• Presents the most authoritative, complete account of the director’s life, work, and lasting legacy
• Builds on the recent resurgence in the director’s scholarly and popular reputation
• Edited by a leading authority on D.W. Griffith, who has published extensively on this controversial director 
• Offers the most up-to-date, singularly comprehensive volume on one of the monumental figures in film studies

About this title

About the Author

Charlie Keil is the Principal of Innis College, and is also a Professor at the Cinema Studies Institute and History Department at the University of Toronto. He has published six books, many focusing on aspects of silent cinema. He is an editorial board member of Cinema Journal, Canadian Journal of Film Studies, and Film Quarterly.

From the Back Cover

Once regarded as irrelevant by the Hollywood he helped to establish, D.W. Griffith is now considered one of the most important directors in film history. Griffith was instrumental in the emergence of cinema's transitional period of the early 20th Century, when the nickelodeon-era short gave way to the multi-reel feature, and when motion pictures became both a national pastime and a form of artistic expression. His crucial role in the development of filmic style and narrative conventions made him one of the first auteurs of the American cinema and a key figure in its aesthetic history.

A Companion to D.W. Griffith offers a collection of 21 original essays that analyze Griffith's work from a variety of perspectives, collectively providing an exhaustive examination of the filmmaker's life, work, and lasting filmic legacy. Leading scholars from North America and Europe investigate Griffith's use of allegory and symbolism, his role in establishing popular editing techniques such as crosscutting and scene analysis, and his attention to aspects of mise-en-scène, from performance to lighting. Contributors also study the role of gender and race in both Griffith's Biograph films and his features, and discuss his relationship to the Progressive movement. Others extend our knowledge of the reception and critical reputation of rarely considered mid-period features, in addition to key masterworks such as The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), and Broken Blossoms (1919).

With the recent revival of scholarly interest in Griffith's career and contributions to cinema, A Companion to D.W. Griffith is a timely and comprehensive exploration of this influential yet controversial pioneering figure, and a valuable resource for students of film history, silent cinema, and film directing.

From the Inside Flap

Once regarded as irrelevant by the Hollywood he helped to establish, D.W. Griffith is now considered one of the most important directors in film history. Griffith was instrumental in the emergence of cinema's transitional period of the early 20th Century, when the nickelodeon-era short gave way to the multi-reel feature, and when motion pictures became both a national pastime and a form of artistic expression. His crucial role in the development of filmic style and narrative conventions made him one of the first auteurs of the American cinema and a key figure in its aesthetic history.

A Companion to D.W. Griffith offers a collection of 21 original essays that analyze Griffith's work from a variety of perspectives, collectively providing an exhaustive examination of the filmmaker's life, work, and lasting filmic legacy. Leading scholars from North America and Europe investigate Griffith's use of allegory and symbolism, his role in establishing popular editing techniques such as crosscutting and scene analysis, and his attention to aspects of mise-en-scène, from performance to lighting. Contributors also study the role of gender and race in both Griffith's Biograph films and his features, and discuss his relationship to the Progressive movement. Others extend our knowledge of the reception and critical reputation of rarely considered mid-period features, in addition to key masterworks such as The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), and Broken Blossoms (1919).

With the recent revival of scholarly interest in Griffith's career and contributions to cinema, A Companion to D.W. Griffith is a timely and comprehensive exploration of this influential yet controversial pioneering figure, and a valuable resource for students of film history, silent cinema, and film directing.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1118341252
• ISBN 13: 9781118341254
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 624
• Editor: Keil Charles