3 thoughts on “Turning Points in Film History”

  1. Not bad, but a bit disappointing. At its core, it’s an overview of key moments in the history of film, with major milestones covered in 4- to 10-page chapters. It reads briskly and it structured well.

    Because of all that, it SHOULD be a good read. But it’s … well, just okay. The author relies too much on the words of others, brings none of his own flair to the writing. Plenty of quotes and opinions from others in the field, little in the way of new insights or viewpoints. I have read webpages with better assessments of various eras in film.

    This makes this a non-essential for folks who already known their film, but that doesn’t mean this doesn’t have value for a film student or someone new to film. The book does offer a nice look at various periods in film history, and the chapters on key film movements were well done, inspiring me to watch some stuff I may not have otherwise seen.

    Can’t give it the highest recommendation possible, but you won’t hate yourself for owning this.

  2. rausch’s, “turning points in film history” is a rare example of a highly entertaining textbook. i wish we had books like this is film school. you know a book has some serious style when joe bob briggs does an intro. it just doesn’t get any more cool than that.

    film schools across the country and aspiring filmmakers take note. this one’s a must read!

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