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Masterpieces of Modernist Cinema
Edited by Ted Perry
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Book Presentation:
In Masterpieces of Modernist Cinema, prominent scholars consider well-known films that seem to stand alone in the history of cinema, without obvious precursors, and without progeny: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, L'âge d'or, and Last Year in Marienbad, to name a few. Such films appear to be sui generis and in some ways incomprehensible; but as these essays demonstrate, they are best understood within contexts beyond the world of cinema. Most were heavily influenced by some aspect of Modernism—Symbolism, Dada, Expressionism, Surrealism, Constructivism, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, etc.—but the social and political events of the period have left their mark on these films as well. The essays in this collection address individual films, exploring the place of each in the history of cinema and the history of ideas, ultimately rendering each comprehensible.
Contributors are Dudley Andrew, Tom Gunning, Bruce Jenkins, Brandon W. Joseph, Anton Kaes, T. Jefferson Kline, Carrie Lambert-Beatty, Gilberto Perez, Ted Perry, Tony Pipolo, John Pruitt, P. Adams Sitney, and Yuri Tsivian.
About the Author:
Ted Perry is the Paris Fletcher Professor of the Arts at Middlebury College. He is author of My Reel Story (with Rene Prieto) and Michelangelo Antonioni and editor of Buky Schwartz: The Seeing I.
Press Reviews:
"Perry (Middlebury College) has put together a superb overview of some key modernist films of the 20th century, films that changed the way that people view the motion picture as an art form. . . . All the essays are lucid, meticulously detailed, elegantly argued, and full of fresh insights that will make these frequently seen films come alive for a new generation of viewers. . . . Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers."
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See the publisher website: Indiana University Press
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