On Wed, 6 Apr 1994 14:41:09 CST Ralph Drexler, BHC F/S said:
>I've been looking for a replacement. I've looked at Cook's A HISTORY
>OF NARRATIVE FILM (Norton, 1990, 2nd ed.) and at Thompson &
>Bordwell's FILM HISTORY: AN INTRODUCTION (McGraw-Hill, 1994, 1st
>ed.). Does anyone have a recommendation beyond the aforementioned?
>Other comments? As is perhaps obvious, I would like to maintain a
>historical approach. My text choice is due April 15th. -- Ralph
Cook's and Bordwell/Thompson's are the most thorough, I think, Ralph.
I haven't used B/T (since it just came out last month), but I have
taught Cook a few times. My only problem with it was getting through
it all in a single semester. When I first started using it in an Intro
course my students' test scores plummeted. I've come to expect this
when I first incorporate a new text and I usually ascribe it to
the lack of test files on that book in the fraternity and sorority
houses. But when the scores remained low in subsequent semesters
I came to the conclusion that the text contained too much material
for students to absorb in a single semester--or at least it seemed so
for students that were just starting out in film studies (most of
whom were not film majors).
I've switched over now to Douglas Gomery's MOVIE HISTORY: A SURVEY
(Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1991). I'm not entirely satisfied with it.
I worry that it might contain *too little* info. Still, you might
want to check into it. Gomery is a good historian and that comes
through, I think, in the text.
It really depends on the level of student you're dealing with. For
film majors who are sophomores or above, I'd go with B/T. For
freshmen (or even high school students) and non-film majors,
Gomery might be a better selection.
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