- Paperback
- Publisher: Harpercollins College Div (Jun 1975)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0061319481
- ISBN-13: 978-0061319488
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13.5 x 0.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,276,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Synopsis
Examines the films of the thirties as they reflect the mood of the nation and served a therapeutic role in American social life.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
This book explores the movies of the 30's in great detail. It covers some of the best movies ever made. If you are a fan of the movies you will be a fan of this too.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Hollywood's American dream and Depression-era realities
4 Mar 2005
Format:Paperback
At a desperate time when Americans had no money for necessities, how did the movie industry turn its own luxury status into a vital part of the country's social and economic recovery? Bergman's look at the themes and ideas expressed in over 100 Depression-era films (gangster movies, comedies, Broadway revues, musicals, serious dramas) is more of a broad overview than an in-depth examination, but he does a good job explaining the industry's role in overcoming the country's deepening crisis. At the same time the industry itself was facing opposition from "moral guardians" to emphasize all-American values, Hollywood's expansive gloss on the American dream reassured uncertain and nervous audiences. The basic values expressed in many 1930s films (hard work overcomes all obsticles for the itinerant and the socialite alike, issues of class aside) reflected a basic trust in the American political and social system, which was being threatened from abroad as well as from within. Although Bergman's slim book is not essential reading, it is entertaining, and good historical background for many lesser-viewed (and lesser-known) films.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
If you like movies you will like this book!
1 April 1999
Format:Paperback
This book explores the movies of the 30's in great detail. It covers some of the best movies ever made. If you are a fan of the movies you will be a fan of this too.
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful
OUT DATED FILM CRITICISM
2 Mar 2003
Format:Paperback
In the days before video, if you could get access to twenty or thirty films and come up with a few insights, you could get a book published. This book, written originally for a thesis or dissertation in American studies, is one of those. Occasionally, he comes up with an accurate observation, but much of what he says is based on a very limited familiarity with films of the era. Indeed, most films fans of today, with access to video and classic film stations, will have seen more than Bergman had when he wrote the book.
He follows the traditional line: Mae West was the most incendiary thing on the thirties screen (hardly); the Marx Brothers' DUCK SOUP was daringly political and that's why it was unpopular (not true.) If he'd seen other films about sex besides Mae West's -- or had seen enough films to realize just how political movies could be in the early thirties (when Duck Soup was made), he'd not have jumped to those conclusions. But you can't be an expert by leaping to lofty generalizations based on limited knowledge.
His analysis of the film FAITHLESS, for example, proceeds from a complete misunderstanding of its context. He talks about a daring, feminist film as though it were a throwback because he has no idea of what he's seeing.
Thirty years later, Bergman probably knows better, but the idea of anybody reading this book and thinking they're getting some kind of real knowledge about the subject is saddening. I'd be willing to bet that ninety percent of the people who read this know more about the subject than Bergman did when he wrote about it.
He follows the traditional line: Mae West was the most incendiary thing on the thirties screen (hardly); the Marx Brothers' DUCK SOUP was daringly political and that's why it was unpopular (not true.) If he'd seen other films about sex besides Mae West's -- or had seen enough films to realize just how political movies could be in the early thirties (when Duck Soup was made), he'd not have jumped to those conclusions. But you can't be an expert by leaping to lofty generalizations based on limited knowledge.
His analysis of the film FAITHLESS, for example, proceeds from a complete misunderstanding of its context. He talks about a daring, feminist film as though it were a throwback because he has no idea of what he's seeing.
Thirty years later, Bergman probably knows better, but the idea of anybody reading this book and thinking they're getting some kind of real knowledge about the subject is saddening. I'd be willing to bet that ninety percent of the people who read this know more about the subject than Bergman did when he wrote about it.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
