The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960

by David Bordwell, Janet Staiger, Kristin Thompson

'A dense, challenging and important book.' Philip French Observer 'At the very least, this blockbuster is probably the best single volume history of Hollywood we're likely to get for a very long time.' Paul Kerr City Limits 'Persuasively argued, the book is also packed with facts, figures and photographs.' Nigel Andrews Financial Times Acclaimed for their breakthrough approach, Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson analyze the basic conditions of American film-making as a historical institution and consider to what extent Hollywood film production constitutes a systematic enterprise, in both its style and its business operations. Despite differences of director, genre or studio, most Hollywood films operate within a set of shared assumptions about how a film should look and sound. Such assumptions are neither natural nor inevitable; but because classical-style films have been the type most widely seen, they have come to be accepted as the 'norm' of film-making and viewing. The authors show how these classical conventions were formulated and standardized, and how they responded to the arrival of sound, colour, widescreen ratios and stereophonic sound. They argue that each new technological development has served a function within an existing narrational system. The authors also examine how the Hollywood cinema standardized the film-making process itself. They describe how, over the course of its history, Hollywood developed distinct modes of production in a constant search for maximum efficiency, predictability and novelty. Set apart by its combination of theoretical analysis and empirical evidence, this book is the standard work on the classical Hollywood cinema style of film-making from the silent era to the 1960s. Now available in paperback, it is a 'must' for film students, lecturers and all those seriously interested in the development of the film industry.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Art, Media Tie In, Academic, Collections, History

652 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 1985

About the author

David Bordwell, Jacques Ledoux Professor at the University of Wisconsin, is arguably the most influential scholar of film in the United States. The author, with his wife Kristin Thompson, of the standard textbook Film Art and a series of influential studies of directors (Eisenstein, Ozu, Dreyer) as well as periods and styles (Hong Kong cinema, Classical Hollywood cinema, among others), he has also trained a generation of professors of cinema studies, extending his influence throughout the world. His books have been translated into fifteen languages.

Reviews

[Nikola Theodore Lindenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly dry and factual in essence. The authors shy away from any opportunity to analyze the style and the techniques of classic Hollywood filmmaking, choosing instead to argue that nearly everything in the way Hollywood films before the 60s were made was influenced by technological developments and changes.
I see this book as a historical encyclopedia where the authors act as mere chroniclers. This is still a commendable effort on a larger scale, but reductive and uninspiring one for those who try to dissect and unpack the plethora of different stylistic ways in which films convey meaning to the spectator.

[Graeme · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful survey of Hollywood film production up to 1960, considering style, organizational modes of production, and technology, including the effects of technology on style. Occasionally, the writing on style can be pompous and pseudo-intellectual, finding academic-sounding words when simple words would do.

Hollywood has also exploited our search for temporal meaning by shaping the felt duration of our experience. Narrative 'rhythm' can be thought of as a way in which narration focuses and controls successive hypotheses.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book gives lots of great information about this classical period in Hollywood but does it in a confusing way. Many of the paragraphs are long and encompass many ideas, therefore it switches thought and many times without further explanation. I recommend it for the information you can wheedle out of it.

[Madelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I generally disagree with the theory Bordwell and Thompson put forward (it's so reductive and a bit ridiculously simplistic), the book does a fantastic job of disseminating this theory; it's very convincing, and a very useful book for historical purposes, and learning how to see the narrative processes of the film.

[Viv · Rating 1 out of 5]

bordwell and thompson haunted me through my undergrad and made it absolutely miserable
i cannot express how much these readings made me want to switch out of my film degree
the fact that some of these chapters were mandatory readings for almost all my film classes is so sick and twisted

[Sabino Ibargüengoitia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb work of great scholarship.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

embarrassing awful arguments made at times

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting, very thorough look at classical Hollywood cinema - although it's much more focused on the technical aspects than on the lives of the main players. If you're interested in Hollywood figures, I would recommend Richard Dyer's Stars for an unconventional look at their lives and impact.

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed study of how a Hollywood film is constructed, much on camera set up, shots, editing, and narrative structure. Essential.

[Kellista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wordy, but a great resource for anyone who loves or is studying film.

[Chuck Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whaddya want me to say? If you're an aspiring film scholar and haven't read this (or at least the first section), you're doing everything wrong.

[Sara Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Qué más se puede decir de este clásico? Imprescindible.