Masterpieces of Modernist Cinema

Ted Perry (Edited by)

9780253218582

Paperback / softback, published 9 November 2006

352 pages, 26 b&w illus.
23.5 x 15.6 x 2.2 cm, 0.54 kg

"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."—Choice

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.

Contents
IntroductionTed Perry
1. The Birth of Film Out of the Spirit of ModernityTom Gunning
2. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: Expressionism and CinemaAnton Kaes
3. Entr'acte: Dada as Real IllusionTed Perry
4. Man with a Movie Camera—Lines of Resistance: Dziga Vertov and the TwentiesYuri Tsivian
5. L'âge d'or and the Eroticism of the SpiritDudley Andrew
6. Meshes of the Afternoon: A Model of Visual ThinkingJohn Pruitt
7. Brakhage and ModernismP. Adams Sitney
8. Andy Warhol's Sleep: The Play of RepetitionBranden W. Joseph
9. Last Year at Marienbad: High Modern and PostmodernT. Jefferson Kline
10. Bruce Conner's Report: Contesting CamelotBruce Jenkins
11. Au hasard, Balthazar: The Body in the SoulTony Pipolo
12. Gehr's StillGilberto Perez
13. Lives of Performers and the Trouble with EmpathyCarrie Lambert-Beatty
List of Contributors
Index