History on Film/ Film on History
Books / Paperback
Books › Performing Arts › General
ISBN: 0582505844 / Publisher: Prentice Hall, March 2006
Rosenstone (California Institute of Technology) compares similarities between the familiar, solid world of history on the page and the equally familiar but more ephemeral world history portrayed on the screen. He analyzes both mainstream and innovative dramas, documentaries, biography pictures, and the filmmaker as historian, drawing examples from Glory, October, Reds, The Good Fight, and Oliver Stone. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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History films have often been criticized by academics and journalists as inaccurate depictions of the past. Yet there is no escaping the fact that blockbuster history films, documentaries and docudramas are increasingly influential in shaping our understanding of historical people and events. The very controversies that erupt over so many historical films are testament to the central role that films play in making history accessible.Robert A. Rosenstone argues that to leave history films out of the discussion of the meaning of the past is to ignore a major factor in our understanding of past events. He champions the dramatic feature as a legitimate way of doing history, even though it is largely fictional. He examines what history films convey about the past and how they convey it, demonstrating the need to learn how to read and understand this new visual world. Rosenstone integrates detailed analysis of individual history films, including Glory, Reds, October, and Schindler's List.
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