The Encyclopedia of European Cinema

Identifies important European actors, actresses, directors, and films

Produced under the auspices of the British Film Institute and comprised essentially of brief biographies of stars and directors, along with three- to six-page subjective historical essays on 26 national cinemas, EEC offers librarians an inexpensive overview of Continental film. Although there is no discussion of individual films, the genre entries?Italian spaghetti Westerns, Norwegian occupation dramas, etc.?are useful. This work is marred primarily by some entries lacking basic information (e.g., Riefenstahl's post-Nazi career) or simply stopping circa 1993. Readers seeking broad coverage of European cinema should place this alongside Richard Roud's excellent, thought-provoking Cinema: A Critical Dictionary (LJ 5/1/80) and the multivolume International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (St. James, 1990. 2d ed.). Recommended for all film collections.?Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M University Lib., Tex.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.