A Chronology of Film presents a fresh perspective on the medium by tracing the complex links between technical innovations, social changes, and artistic interventions in the order that they occurred.
Organized around a central timeline that charts the development of film from the earliest moving images to present-day blockbusters, this volume features key films, film commentaries, and contextual information about the period in which they were produced. By revealing the social, political, and cultural environments in which these films were created, this book reveals new insights into great directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Federico Fellini, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Jane Campion, Barry Jenkins, Pedro Almodo´var, and Bong Joon-ho and films such as Bonnie and Clyde, The Godfather, Moonlight, and Parasite.
The book features lavish film stills, commentaries, and lively “In Focus” features with information about the social, stylistic, technical, political, and cultural events of each period.
Reviews
Haydn Smith's nuanced chronology blends discussions of groundbreaking films, filmmaking innovations, and noteworthy historical and cultural events… Scholars will especially appreciate the depth of thought, and the images make this work an enjoyable browse for casual film buffs.
— Library Journal
Contributors
Ian Haydn Smith
Author
Ian Haydn Smith is the author of Selling the Movie and Cult Filmmakers and the update editor on 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. Haydn Smith is also the editor of BFI Filmmaker Magazine and Curzon Magazine.