The History of Cinema

I’ve read quite a few of these ‘A Very Short Introduction…’ books and though I’ve found them informative and useful, I’ve never found them that engaging or particularly enjoyable.

This one though I’ve shot through, not just because it is a small book but Geoffrey Nowell-Smith has made the subject enjoyable and, to a certain extent, exciting.

Taking us on a tour through cinema he initially sets out to come to a definition of the terms cinema and history in the context of each other and explains how both terms are quite fluid and we will look at that fluidity at the same time as the various aspects of cinema.

We then get taken on a tour of various aspects of what makes cinema cinema, and exploring various aspects of its development including, technology, cinema as art, and cinema as business plus more.

Each of these short sections gives enough information to stand alone in explaining the nub of these aspects of cinema history, but also gives a great launchpad and basis for further exploration.

This was a great read though a bit short…