Reconstructing American Historical Cinema

From Cimarron to Citizen Kane

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Film, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Reconstructing American Historical Cinema by J.E. Smyth, The University Press of Kentucky
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: J.E. Smyth ISBN: 9780813137285
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky Publication: October 27, 2006
Imprint: The University Press of Kentucky Language: English
Author: J.E. Smyth
ISBN: 9780813137285
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
Publication: October 27, 2006
Imprint: The University Press of Kentucky
Language: English

In Reconstructing American Historical Cinema: From Cimarron to Citizen Kane, J. E. Smyth dramatically departs from the traditional understanding of the relationship between film and history. By looking at production records, scripts, and contemporary reviews, Smyth argues that certain classical Hollywood filmmakers were actively engaged in a self-conscious and often critical filmic writing of national history. Her volume is a major reassessment of American historiography and cinematic historians from the advent of sound to the beginning of wartime film production in 1942. Focusing on key films such as Cimarron (1931), The Public Enemy (1931), Scarface (1932), Ramona (1936), A Star Is Born (1937), Jezebel (1938), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939), Stagecoach (1939), and Citizen Kane (1941), Smyth explores historical cinema's connections to popular and academic historigraphy, historical fiction, and journalism, providing a rich context for the industry's commitment to American history. Rather than emphasizing the divide between American historical cinema and historical writing, Smyth explores the continuities between Hollywood films and history written during the first four decades of the twentieth century, from Carl Becker's famous "Everyman His Own Historian" to Howard Hughes's Scarface to Margaret Mitchell and David O. Selznick's Gone with the Wind. Hollywood's popular and often controversial cycle of historical films from 1931 to 1942 confronted issues as diverse as frontier racism and women's experiences in the nineteenth-century South, the decline of American society following the First World War, the rise of Al Capone, and the tragic history of Hollywood's silent era. Looking at rarely discussed archival material, Smyth focuses on classical Hollywood filmmakers' adaptation and scripting of traditional historical discourse and their critical revision of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American history. Reconstructing American Historical Cinema uncovers Hollywood's diverse and conflicted attitudes toward American history. This text is a fundamental challenge the prevailing scholarship in film, history, and cultural studies.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In Reconstructing American Historical Cinema: From Cimarron to Citizen Kane, J. E. Smyth dramatically departs from the traditional understanding of the relationship between film and history. By looking at production records, scripts, and contemporary reviews, Smyth argues that certain classical Hollywood filmmakers were actively engaged in a self-conscious and often critical filmic writing of national history. Her volume is a major reassessment of American historiography and cinematic historians from the advent of sound to the beginning of wartime film production in 1942. Focusing on key films such as Cimarron (1931), The Public Enemy (1931), Scarface (1932), Ramona (1936), A Star Is Born (1937), Jezebel (1938), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939), Stagecoach (1939), and Citizen Kane (1941), Smyth explores historical cinema's connections to popular and academic historigraphy, historical fiction, and journalism, providing a rich context for the industry's commitment to American history. Rather than emphasizing the divide between American historical cinema and historical writing, Smyth explores the continuities between Hollywood films and history written during the first four decades of the twentieth century, from Carl Becker's famous "Everyman His Own Historian" to Howard Hughes's Scarface to Margaret Mitchell and David O. Selznick's Gone with the Wind. Hollywood's popular and often controversial cycle of historical films from 1931 to 1942 confronted issues as diverse as frontier racism and women's experiences in the nineteenth-century South, the decline of American society following the First World War, the rise of Al Capone, and the tragic history of Hollywood's silent era. Looking at rarely discussed archival material, Smyth focuses on classical Hollywood filmmakers' adaptation and scripting of traditional historical discourse and their critical revision of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American history. Reconstructing American Historical Cinema uncovers Hollywood's diverse and conflicted attitudes toward American history. This text is a fundamental challenge the prevailing scholarship in film, history, and cultural studies.

More books from The University Press of Kentucky

Cover of the book Hitchhiker by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book The Way of Duty, Honor, Country by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book The Art of Command by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book Fighter Pilot by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book True Faith And Allegiance by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book A Political Companion to Flannery O'Connor by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book The Enemy in Our Hands by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book De Bow's Review by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book The Philosophy of David Cronenberg by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book Virginia at War, 1862 by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book Contemporary Public Health by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book Becoming King by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book Ghosts of the Bluegrass by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall by J.E. Smyth
Cover of the book Japan in the 21st Century by J.E. Smyth
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy