The silent cinema was America's first modern entertainment industry, a complex social, cultural, and technological phenomenon that swept the country in the early years of the twentieth century. Richard Koszarski examines the underlying structures that made the silent-movie era work, from the operations of eastern bankers to the problems of neighborhood theater musicians. He offers a new perspective on the development of this major new industry and art form and the public's response to it.
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"[Koszarski] brings to the period not only a secure awareness of its motion pictures and major players, but also a joy in the appreciation of movies. His book is alive with the flavor of the great silent film era, its people, its products, even its advertisements."--Jeanine Basinger, "New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Richard Koszarski is Head of Collections and Exhibitions at the American Museum of the Moving Image. He is author of The Man You Loved to Hate: Erich von Stroheim and Hollywood (1983) and editor of Film History.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
There are some books that are a must read, this is one of them. Mr. Koszarski's tome captures the essence of silent film as an industry. One of the few books to capture facets such as how films were presented, how financing came about, and other inner workings of the industry. A fantastic read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5 reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Incredibly Thorough Look at the Silent Film
4 Aug 2002
By Michael Samerdyke
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Don't be fooled by the slimness of this book. It is packed with information and is extremely useful in giving the reader a view of the American film industry in the heyday of the silent era.
One can read not only about popular genres and movie stars, but about how the studios came into existance (and Koszarski presents this in a clear, understandable way), and how movies were shown to the public, including the legendary "dream palace" movie theaters.
I am left breathless by this book. Was there an aspect of movies in the 1920s that Koszarski overlooked? If so, it must be unimportant. He mastered an incredible amount of information and presented it very clearly and concisely here. Highly recommended to all interested in the American film industry.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Manages to be thorough without being dry
29 Jun 2008
By calvinnme
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This is the second entry in this series that I have read, the first being The Talkies: American Cinema's Transition to Sound, 1926-1931 (History of the American Cinema, 4). That one is still my favorite, more because that is one of the most interesting times in the history of cinema than because that is a better book than this one. Basically reading cinema history in reverse, this book tells you everything you'd want to know about the evolution of the film industry from the time the feature film came into being until the end of the silent era. It manages to be thorough and insightful without being dry, and lets you see things from the moviegoer's point of view as well as giving a complete overview of the film industry itself. It even talks about the founding of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and how it coincided with the end of the silent era. This produced some strange early Academy Award results, and this book discusses that. It also discusses all of the different state censorship boards that made it impossible to make one film that was viewable in all of the states. It was this commercial consideration that made the motion picture industry decide to police itself, although those police largely had little power until 1934. Highly recommended for the reader that really wants a complete history of film during the silent era. Having read this one second, I would recommend that if you want to read the book on talkies in the series that you read this book first to get an idea of the perspective of both the industry insiders and moviegoers as the dawn of sound approached.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the greatest books on the silent age
28 Nov 2006
By M
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This is a must have for any film buff . This volume is endlessly fascinating as it covers all areas of the silent film age from the studios to the theatres and everything in between. The author speaks in a factual style without being dry and the photo's all serve to illustrate the text. I have seen and read an endless amount of books on film being a dye-in-the -wool film fanatic all my life and this book stands amongst the most informative, fascinating well researched volumes I have ever seen. You know you love a book when you can't put the darn thing down, which was the case with this one.
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