The history of film

Associated media

Cinema: The Whole Story

Edited by Philip Kemp

Cinema the Whole Story starts with the birth of film in the 1900s and continues through to present day. The editor, Philip Kemp, could have presented this book as a chronology of key films in order of cinematic release date; or he could have identified several key themes/genres/film movements and presented a chapter on each.  In fact he does both; the book tells the story of cinema in a chrono-thematic style.  Each chapter is devoted to 10 or 20 years of cinema history. In addition several films are identified that reflect a particular genre popular within each period, for example in the 1930s it was ‘Gangster Movies’ such as Little Caesar (1931). 

A particular theme or genre is covered over four or five pages; it is explored in further detail by using one or more films as examples.  Films by a particular studio, such as MGM musical or rival studios (who might release a film to exploit the success of another studio’s release), or as a result of a significant historical occurrence/event such as the Second World War, Vietnam or 9/11, may be explored.  Technological improvements such as CGI and computer-generated animation also merit being covered.  Interestingly, the current popularity for 3D films is not mentioned.  Time will tell if this trend is worth inclusion in future editions of this publication and others covering the history of cinema.

The drawback of telling the whole story of cinema from the beginning to the present day is that the book will become out of date in a few years.  Perhaps in the future electronic editions of this book will include an option to download the whole publication, when revised, or update it with additional new chapters.

Readers may interpret the films mentioned within the book as a list of the films one must see.  In fact, other books already on the market include 1001 Movies 2011: You Must See Before You Die edited by Steven Jay Schneider (Cassell Illustrated, 2011).  If you already own this book or In Glorious Technicolor: A Century of Film and How it Has Shaped Us by Francine Stock (Clatto & Windus, 2011), or The Story of Film by Mark Cousins (Panthea Books, 2011), which accompanied a British TV series, you may find some repetition in Cinema: The Whole Story.

Text that covers several genres and a long period of history could be confusing.  At the start of each chapter, therefore, a double-page illustrated timeline clearly defines the period of history being covered, the main themes/genres and the particular films that will be explored.  A short article on a genre follows, which includes another timeline listing relevant key events at the foot of the page.  This helpfully separates film movements that overlap each other, such as the Hollywood blockbusters of Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1976) and the political paranoia of The Conversation (1974) and All the President’s Men (1976).

Two or three films are chosen and explored in detail to develop concepts of genre further, key scenes are identified and a director profile is included.  Five or six film stills and the original theatrical release poster generously illustrate each article.

The types or genres of film identified range from the well-known Film Noir, Hollywood Western and Bollywood; to the less familiar, such as Iranian New Wave Cinema of 1990s.  In addition, film movements that are repeated or continue over a long period of time can be covered in more than one chapter.  For example, British cinema is explored in the chapter covering 1970–90 with films such as Chariots of Fire (1981) and Withnail & I (1987), and again in the next chapter on British and Irish cinema covering the period from 1990 to present.

Genres that create sub-genres, or film movements that are different but related, are more difficult to link.  If the reader requires a publication that makes a link between MGM musicals of the depression era in the 1930s covered in chapter 2 and musicals of the 1970s and 1980s such as Cabaret, Grease, Flashdance, Footloose and Dirty Dancing, a specialized book dedicated to this subject would be required.  On the other hand, if you are looking for a good all-round history of cinema then this book may well appeal. 

Cinema the Whole Story edited by Philip Kemp is published by Thames and Hudson, 2011. 576 pp., 1,100 colour illus. ISBN 9780500289471