Query: history of film textbook--multiple responses

From: *Marc DiPaolo* <[email protected]>

I wouldn't assign these to students, but good reference material can be
found in *Based on a True Story* and *Hollywood's White House*. Also
Leonard Quart's book on American film since 1945 approaches it from the
other angle - film as cultural studies.

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From: *Ed Gallagher* <[email protected]>

 To Robert (and respondents):

You might try our Reel American History site for your course:
http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/trial/reels/. We have about 60 student
projects comparing the "real" to the "reel."  In addition, on the top level
of the site there are bibliographies, a collection of "soundbites," and
more.  And I invite you to have students add to, update, take issue with,
etc., existing projects (we are set up to add material pretty quickly) or
to contribute entirely new projects.
Ed

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From: *Chris Schultz* <[email protected]>

It sounds like you might want something a little more specialized than a
textbook. David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson's *On the History of Film
Style* is a decent intro book, if perhaps a touch outdated now. If you want
something that is specific to film as a historical document, I would
recommend Robert Rosenstone's *History on Film/Film on History*. He spends
a lot of time on Oliver Stone, Peter Watkins, and some other interesting
directors dealing with historical subjects, the theory underpinning
Rosenstone's approach may be broadly applied. It also happens to be a
manageable read for undergrad students.

Ultimately, though, it would depend on what you're trying to say in the
course. There are a number of open debates about whether or not film is
just another type of historical narration, or if it is deliberately
falsifying the record in favour of dramatization. Rosenstone favours the
former approach and is less concerned about dramatization since even that
is revealing of historical concerns.

Hope that helps! If you'd prefer to look at some articles, I'd be happy to
make some suggestions privately if you drop me a line: [email protected] .

Best,
Christopher Schultz
PhD Candidate, Department of History
Western University, Canada

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From: <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Feb 23, 2012 at 7:09 AM
Subject: Re:Query: history of film textbook
To: H-NET List for Scholarly Studies and Uses of Media <[email protected]
>


I can think of a number of texts in this area (although of course their
relevance depends on the films you'll be analysing and the specific
context/focus of that analysis). In addition to those already suggested,
these are some that I'd particularly recommend:

Robert A Rosenstone, *History on Film/Film on History,* Robert A Rosenstone
(ed), *Revisioning History: Film and the Construction of a New
Past,*Marnie Hughes-Warrington,
*History Goes to the Movies, * Marcia Landy (ed), ,  Claire Monk & Amy
Sargeant (eds) *British Historical Cinema,* Pam Cook, *Screening the Past:
Memory and Nostalgia in Cinema*, Tony Shaw, British Cinema and the Cold War.

Whilst these examples also include filmic interpretations of eras beyond
the 20th century, they contain chapters covering theoretical approaches
appropriate to any cinematic depiction of the past.

Best of luck!

Sally Williams