American Silent Film

American Silent Film
by William K. Everson

American Silent Film
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Book Summary Information

Author: William K. Everson
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-08-22
ISBN: 0306808765
Number of pages: 472
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Product features:
  • ISBN13: 9780306808760
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of American Silent Film

Book Review: Everson's Research and Enthusiasm Make This Book Essential Reading
Summary: 5 Stars

All William K. Everson's books make fine reading, but "American Silent Film" I find especially valuable now that so many great silent classics are surfacing on DVD. Everson's research is thorough, his comments are usually most apt, and his enthusiasm unmistakable. It's great to see him drawing attention to brilliant film-makers like William K. Howard and Rex Ingram who are not usually highly regarded by the critical fraternity. All the same, Everson does have his idiosyncrasies. William S. Hart's superb achievement, "Tumbleweeds", rates but a single sentence, and the film's gifted co-director, King Baggot, is not mentioned at all, even though Baggot then went on to direct a marvelous film called "The Notorious Lady" with the star of Hart's western epic, Barbara Bedford. This film is available on DVD in a beautiful print as noted in my book, Silent Films & Early Talkies on DVD: A Classic Movie Fan's Guide. Everson's other most notable omissions include Edwin Carewe's "Evangeline", Ernst Lubitsch's "Lady Windermere's Fan", Robert G. Vignola's "When Knighthood Was in Flower" (in its day, the most expensive movie ever made), Charles Ray's "Sweet Adeline" and Henry King's "The White Sister". Of course, many movies that are now available on DVD, were not in circulation when Everson wrote this book. All the same, neither Carewe nor Vignola are listed at all, while some other extremely talented directors like Donald Crisp rate an unjust dismissal as "undistinguished". Everson is always at his best, however, when discussing the virtues and defects of mystery thrillers like "Sherlock Holmes" and "The Cat and the Canary".

Summary of American Silent Film

Praised as the "best modern survey of the silent period" (New Republic), this indispensable history tells you everything you need to know about American silent film, from the nickelodeons in the early 1900s to the birth of the first "talkies" in the late 1920s. The author provides vivid descriptions of classic pictures such as The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, Sunrise, The Covered Wagon, and Greed, and lucidly discusses their technical and artistic merits and weaknesses. He pays tribute to acknowledged masters like D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and Lillian and Dorothy Gish, but he also gives ample attention to previously neglected yet equally gifted actors and directors. In addition, the book covers individual genres, such as the comedy, western gangster, and spectacle, and explores such essential but little-understood subjects as art direction, production design, lighting and camera techniques, and the art of the subtitle. Intended for all scholars, students, and lovers of film, this fascinating book, which features over 150 film stills, provides a rich and comprehensive overview of this unforgettable era in film history.

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