Hollywood Cinema

by Richard Maltby

This extensively revised second edition offers a comprehensive introduction to Hollywood cinema, providing a fascinating account of the cultural and aesthetic significance of the world’s most powerful film industry.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In

718 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1995

Reviews

[Morgan McGuire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maltby's description of the history, economic, and politics of Hollywood from the turn of the century to the 1970s is gripping. It paints new new style of American history that shows the primacy of visual media.

He also clearly shows how production constraints and funding practices shaped cinematic (and then later television) aesthetic conventions. He has a convincing argument for the significance of process over invention. I consider this aspect a must-read for any intellectual.

The last third of the book is less essential. The chapter-essay on "time" is compelling but off center from the main theme. Method acting and other filler chapters left little impression on me.

I hope that he produces a new edition covering the 1980s and 1990s with more perspective. Also important for an update is discussion of the huge impact of CGI and digital technology for production and distribution in the past 16 years. As virtual reality emerges and TV, film, and Internet streaming battle for market share, looking back on how technologies and media franchises succeed or fail is ever more essential.

[Alisha Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Hollywood Cinema
Series: -
Author: Richard Maltby
Genre: Informational
Rating: 2.5 stars

The easiest way to describe this textbook is to describe a scholar: someone who knows so much information that they can provide a whole conversation.

The same with this textbook - it's huge! It contains an enormous amount of text, not all of which will be of use to you. I suppose a lot of textbooks are like that.

I found this textbook tedious. There wasn't much effort into making it interesting, it was just a book for facts. But when I learn, I like it to also be fun.

I used this book very minimally compared to other textbooks of the same genre simply because I didn't like how it was formatted. It really didn't interest me. I only used it when the others didn't have the information available.

[Belinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that I felt very apprehensive opening this massive and very heavy tome. However, it's very readable and great reference for film studies. It covers almost every aspect of film theory, from basics like shots and narrative forms through the history of film production, exhibition and distribution. There's also a really comprehensive bibliography and further reading lists in all areas of research. An invaluable resource that I will certainly be getting a lot of use from.

[Paula R San Millán · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! Enjoyed every bit of it!