A Short History of the Movies

by Gerald Mast, Bruce F. Kawin

The ninth edition of A Short History of the Movies continues the tradition-scrupulously accurate in its details, up-to-date, free of jargon-that has made it the most widely adopted textbook for college courses in film history, and now includes a fresh look at "Persistence of Vision" and a new chapter on digital cinema. This volume offers students a panoramic overview of the worldwide development of film, from the first movements captured on celluloid, to the early Mack Sennett and Charlie Chaplin shorts, through the studio heyday of the 1930s and 1940s and the "Hollywood Renaissance" of the 1960s and 1970s, to the pictures and their technology appearing in the multiplexes and living rooms of today. This new edition, which has been revised and rewritten to reflect current scholarship, recent industry developments, and new films and filmmakers, represents an accurate, scrupulous updating of a classic.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, History, Media Tie In, Textbooks, Reference, School

784 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Professor of English and Humanities at the University of Chicago

Reviews

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the best textbooks I've read. The fascinating subject matter helps, of couse, but Mast and Kawin offer a superb overview of the entire history of cinema, from its very beginnings to the present day. Aside from wishing that asian cinema were more thoroughly explored, I have no complaints. I recommend this book to any film enthusiasts; I'm not a film student myself, and I loved the read (it introduced me to a lot of great movies, too).

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best single-volume history of film I have ever come across. I re-read it regularly. The sections on the birth and early years of cinema are essential reading for any film buff, and the in-depth analyses of key films are full of original insights. I have the 4th Edition, published in 1986 and written by Gerald Mast. Later editions (the 11th came out in 2011) were authored by Bruce Kawin, after Mast died of AIDS in 1988, at age 48.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for me in a film appreciation class at university, this is a nice benchmark for anyone interested in studying film.

[Hogfather]

History books can and should be easily readable. Unless it's dealing with a very particular subject in a very particular book written exclusively for experts, the people looking for these books are probably not very familiar with this subject and are trying to educate themselves on it. I tend to think that that's a very noble endeavor, and as a result, I look down upon poorly written history books as being more than failures of literature, but as being pathetic in a deeper way.

All of this is an overwrought way of saying that A Short History of the Movies is a dull and often difficult to read tome that does a rather poor job of introducing film students or the general public to film history. The first few chapters go extremely in-depth into the technological history of film, which taught me a lot that I didn't know, but that level of detail is only repeated in the final two chapters about digital cinema; as a result, the book feels unbalanced, and much of its length felt to me like fluff. Partisan editorializing towards certain movies and the unexpectedly large number of factual inaccuracies didn't endear me to the book either.

I've read better general film history books and I will likely read more in the future. Until then, I can only warn you to avoid the reanimated corpse of Gerald Mast's book, saved from blissful obsolescence and kept in print by that pedagogical Doctor Frankenstein, Bruce F. Kawin.

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chapters on film history and the technical advances that the medium has enjoyed over the last century were easily the most fascinating for me. It almost read like a narrative. However, a lot of these middle chapters end up being gauntlets of plot summaries, complete with SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS. So if you see a title on your watchlist mentioned, feel free to start liberally skimming. Overall, an excellent and invaluable text for film buffs.

[B.J. Ellison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative, if technically out of date, book from 2015. It is written in a dry, encyclopedia like format and it's a bit long-winded, but, if you can put up with that, it is an informative read.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to take a point off because 608 pages and not one mention of Charlotte Greenwood. Just doesn't seem right.

[Jim Manis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in 1981, and that edition is not listed in Goodreads' data base.

[RetroHound · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very opinionated, but good history of global film.

[river · Rating 4 out of 5]

don’t know if i’d consider this as part of my reading goal, but i read the entire thing for my film class. so, therefore, im documenting this accomplishment.

[Michael Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good place to start for anyone interested in film history.

[Kylos · Rating 4 out of 5]

you'll feel full for sure if you finish this meal.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

So informative. Read it for a class and learned a lot!

[Yvette Bustamante · Rating 4 out of 5]

dense with info on u.s and foreign film history. though the book can read a bit dry at times it has taught me most of what i know about the great and the good films out there :)

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and understandable. I still find myself referring to this book often.

[Derek Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of interesting trivia plus some more erudite analytical stuff.

[Ke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many History books, the authors may have emphasized some events/films more than others. But, overall, they were quite concise.

[Nick Livanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my only book on cinema history, so I like it.

[Darrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is okay. The author has really done his homework. The reader is directed to many interesting points.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short history of the movies by Gerald Mast (1986)