Reviews"The book is homage to documentary pioneer John Grierson who coined the term documentary in 1926. Each of the 18 chapters offers a concise and useful historical overview of a particular time period, topic, or filmmaker and adds a list of relevant film titles and publications. As a carefully crafted and reader-friendly volume, this book takes its place alongside Erik Barnouw's classic Documentary ( 1974)" -Humanities-Performing Arts-Film 2006, This book expands Ellis's The Documentary Idea (1989), a classic history of English-language social documentary film and video. Here Ellis (Northwestern Univ.) partners with Betsy McLane (past president, University Film and Video Association) to bring the subject of documentary film forward into the global sphere of digital image-capture technologies, satellite and Internet distribution and exhibition, and the "frenzy of TV reality shows." Like the earlier edition, the book is homage to documentary pioneer John Grierson, who coined the term "documentary" in 1926, and largely limits itself to the English-language "social documentary," i.e., "the mainline of the documentary tradition Grierson set in motion." Within those parameters, each of the 18 chapters offers a concise and useful historical overview of a particular time period, topic, or filmmaker and adds a list of relevant film titles and publications. Soviet propaganda and European avant-garde experimentation are discussed, though less comprehensively. As a carefully considered and reader-friendly volume, this book takes its place alongside Erik Barnouw's classic Documentary (1974). Specialists and advanced scholars may prefer Michael Renov's The Subject of Documentary (CH, Feb'05, 42-3312), which reconsiders the Griersonian "objective" ideal in the light of the subjective practices of the autobiographical vernacular." Summing Up : Recommended. Lower-/upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, general readers., The timing couldn't be better for a knowledgeable survey of documentary films that acknowledges (and appreciates) the work of Robert Flaherty but continues through the era of cable TV, digital video, Michael Moore and Born Into Brothels. This thoughtful appraisal will be useful to students as well as moviegoers who want to learn more about the history of nonfiction filmmaking. Leonard Maltin, "It's an excellent introduction for any student wishing to understand the major trends in documentary production in the UK and North America and the major films of various eras...Overall, A New History of Documentary Film is a worthy and ambitious book. The text would be a great resource for a library or for a documentary studies class" �L. Clare Bratten, Journal of Film and Video 60.1, Spring 2008
Dewey Edition22
SynopsisMajor new history of a film genre that has recently been breaking box office records. This is a thorough and definitive survey/history of documentary films. Concentrating mainly on the output of the US, the UK, and Canada, the authors outline the origins of the form and then show its development over the next several decades. The book is completely up-to-date in discussing films like Fahrenheit 9/11 and Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer, and in its coverage of IMAX movies and the development of cable and satellite television outlets. Written in a simple, chronological format, the text is straightforward and full of content, information, and historical perspective. (There is hardly any academic jargon or high-level theory.) Each chapter concludes with a list of the key documentaries in that particular time period or genre, and there are helpful appendices listing all the winners of the Academy Award for Best Documentary, A thorough and definitive survey/history of documentary films. Concentrating mainly on the output of the US, the UK, and Canada, the authors outline the origins of the form and then show its development over the next several decades. The book is completely up-to-date in discussing films like Fahrenheit 9/11 and Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer.Written in a simple, chronological format, the text is straightforward and full of content, information, and historical perspective. Each chapter concludes with a list of the key documentaries in that particular time period or genre, and there are helpful appendices listing all the winners of the Academy Award for Best Documentary, as well as the winners of the Grierson Award. >
LC Classification NumberPN1995.9.D6E46 2005