Bridge of Light: Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds

J. Hoberman, film critic at "The Village Voice" since 1978, is the author of "Vulgar Modernism" (Temple), which was nominated for the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award, and co-author (with Jonathan Rosenbaum) of "Midnight Movies". He has written for numerous national publications, including "Artforum", "The New York Times", "The Nation", "The New Republic", and "Premiere".

The era of Yiddish films extends from about 1881 to 1948 and includes both World Wars, a period Hoberman ( Vulgar Modernism , LJ 10/15/91) calls the most cataclysmic in Jewish history. Moving chronologically and then back and forth between Eastern Europe and the United States, Hoberman does an excellent job retelling the history of each film and recounting the political, economic, and artistic circumstances of the Jewish communities of the era. He offers limited artistic evaluation, and instead stresses the historical or cultural importance of the movie. This scholarly work is essential for Jewish or Yiddish culture collections, and it is also a good choice for academic libraries with an extensive interest in film.
- Marianne Cawley, Kingwood Branch Lib., Tex.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.