A Modernist Cinema: Film Art from 1914 to 1941

Sixteen scholars examine the interrelationships between modernism, cinema, and modernity in A Modernist Cinema, focusing on culturally influential films from 1914 to 1941. The essays explore how cinema represented and altered our notions and practices of modern life, and how the crises of modernity shaped the evolution of filmmaking. The authors investigate topics such as the representation of political and social struggles, the relationship between cinema and other modernist arts, the interconnection between technology and filmmaking, the representation of the mobile human body, the gendered history of modernity, and the transformative effects of cinema on conceptions of temporality, spatial relations, and political geography.

Format: Hardback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 02 February 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

In the realm of New Modernist Studies, sixteen esteemed scholars delve into the intricate connections between modernism, cinema, and modernity. Their focus lies in examining a selection of culturally significant films from Europe, America, and Asia, crafted between 1914 and 1941. Through their comprehensive collection of essays, these scholars argue that cinema has always been a modernist endeavor. By exploring the dialectical relationship between a modernist cinema and modernity itself, these essays unveil how the movies have portrayed and transformed our understanding and practices of modern life, as well as how the so-called crises of modernity have shaped the evolution of filmmaking.

Attention is given to the technical achievements and formal qualities of the works of several prominent directors, including Giovanni Pastrone, D. W. Griffith, Sergei Eisenstein, Fritz Lang, Alfred Hitchcock, F. W. Murnau, Carl Theodore Dreyer, Dziga Vertov, Luis Buñuel, Yasujiro Ozu, John Ford, Jean Renoir, Charlie Chaplin, Leni Riefenstahl, and Orson Welles. These essays delve into various interrelated topics, such as how a modernist cinema represented and intervened in the political and social struggles of the era; the complex interplay between cinema and other modernist arts; the contentious relationship between modern technology and the emerging art of filmmaking; the importance of capturing the dynamic human body in a new medium; the gendered history of modernity; and the profound impact of cinema on modern conceptions of temporality, spatial relations, and political geography.

Through their meticulous analysis, these scholars shed light on the intricate ways in which modernism, cinema, and modernity have intertwined, shaping the cultural landscape of the 20th century. Their insights provide a valuable contribution to our understanding of the complex relationship between these three dynamic forces and their enduring influence on the world of visual storytelling.

Weight: 640g
Dimension: 242 x 163 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780199379453