The Complete History of American Film Criticism

Jerry Roberts

• Publisher: Santa Monica Press
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9781595800497
• eBook ISBN: 9781595809223
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film History & Criticism

The Complete History of American Film Criticism is a chronicle of the lives and work of the most influential film critics of the past 100 years. From the first movie review in the New York Times in 1896 through the Silent Era, the pre- and postwar years, the Film Generation of the 1960s, the Golden Age of the 1970s, and into the 21st century, critics have educated generations of discriminating moviegoers on the differences between good films and bad. They call attention to great directors, cinematographers, production designers, screenwriters, and actors, and shed light on their artistic visions and storytelling sensibilities.People interested in what the great film critics had to say have usually been shortchanged as to their backgrounds, and just why they are qualified to sit in judgment. Using mini-biographies, placed within a chronological framework, The Complete History of American Film Criticism is the biography of a profession whose cultural impact has left an indelible mark on the 20th century's most significant art form.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Dedication
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• 1 - THE BEGINNINGS: THE SILENT ERA
• 2 - THE SOUND ERA
• 3 - THE POSTWAR ERA
• 4 - THE FILM GENERATION: THE 1960s
• 5 - THE GOLDEN AGE: THE 1970s
• 6 - THE TELEVISION AGE
• 7 - THE MALAISE: THE 1980s and 1990s
• 8 - THE GREAT WAKE: THE 21ST CENTURY
• BIBLIOGRAPHY