Cinema in the Digital Age

Digital technologies have transformed cinema into a new art form, with films such as Festen, The Blair Witch Project, Timecode, Russian Ark, and The Ring exploring imperfection and mistakes. This updated edition examines the historical and contemporary state of digital cinema, paying attention to nostalgia for the look and feel of analogue and how recent films have disguised and erased their digital foundations.

Format: Hardback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 19 December 2017
Publisher: Columbia University Press

The impact of digital technologies on cinema has been a subject of much debate and discussion in recent years. While some argue that digital technologies have transformed cinema into a new art form, others contend that they simply replicate and mimic analogue, film-based cinema. In this revised and expanded edition of Cinema in the Digital Age, Nicholas Rombes examines a range of films that have been influenced by the digital revolution, including Festen (1998), The Blair Witch Project (1999), Timecode (2000), Russian Ark (2002), and The Ring (2002).

Rombes argues that these films are haunted by their analogue pasts, and are interested not in digital purity but rather in imperfection and mistakes. Blurry or pixilated images, shaky camera work, and other elements that remind viewers of the human behind the camera are all features of these films that evoke a sense of nostalgia for the look and feel of analogue cinema.

However, Rombes also notes that recent films such as The Social Network (2010) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) have disguised and erased their digital foundations. These films, which were shot digitally, have used digital techniques to create a sense of authenticity and realism that was previously impossible with analogue film.

The book also explores new possibilities for writing about and theorizing film, such as randomization. Rombes argues that randomization can be used to create new forms of narrative and visual expression, and that it can challenge traditional notions of what constitutes a film.

In conclusion, while digital technologies have certainly transformed cinema, they have also created new opportunities for filmmakers to explore new forms of expression and narrative. The debate over whether digital technologies have transformed cinema into a new art form or simply replicated and mimicked analogue, film-based cinema is likely to continue for years to come.

Weight: 504g
Dimension: 160 x 237 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231167543
Edition number: Revised Edition