Charles Urban: Pioneering the Non-Fiction Film in Britain and America, 1897 - 19 [Paperback]

 

Charles Urbanexamines the career and legacy of the eponymous Anglo-American film producer. Urban is a well-known and crucial figure in early film history for his development of Kinemacolor, the world’s first successful natural color moving picture system. But Urban’s influence was even more far-reaching, according to Luke McKernan. As McKernan reveals, Urban’s deep belief in film as an educational tool led him to become an innovator of wartime propaganda. Drawing on material found in Urban’s own papers and a deep knowledge of early film, Luke McKernan has put together an accessible, exciting, and informative biography .  

 Luke McKernanis a film historian and Lead Curator of Moving Image at the British Library.

It has taken Urbans champion the better part of a century to arrive. The wait would seem to have been worth it. . . . McKernan shows himself to be a diligent and impartial scholar. . . . [Urbans ] accomplishments and his philosophy have found an excellent channel in McKernan.

"This is a fine and much needed book, and deserves to have a wide readership. It tells the story of Charles Urban, an important pioneer of both non-fiction and colour films, and also has much to say about the silent cinema and documentary film in general. . . . McKernan steers us through with a sure hand, writing concisely l£J