The Historian and Film [Paperback]

Film is increasingly engaging the attention of students of history at all levels.Film is increasingly engaging the attention of students of history at all levels. In its manifold forms from the newsreel to the 'feature', it is a major source of evidence for, and an important influence upon, contemporary history, and a vivid means of bringing the recent past to life.Film is increasingly engaging the attention of students of history at all levels. In its manifold forms from the newsreel to the 'feature', it is a major source of evidence for, and an important influence upon, contemporary history, and a vivid means of bringing the recent past to life.Film is increasingly engaging the attention of students of history at all levels. In its manifold forms from the newsreel to the 'feature', it is a major source of evidence for, and an important influence upon, contemporary history, and a vivid means of bringing the recent past to life. For earlier periods, it provides a medium in which the often widely dispersed visual evidences of the past can be brought together for the student. It offers the historian a new form in which to interpret and present his subject, and, as television has shown, it is by far the most important vehicle for the presentation of history to mass audiences. The analysis of its content and impact and the exploration of its uses are especially fitted to bring history into an interdisciplinary relationship with other fields, from sociology to the visual arts.Part I. The raw material: 1. Film resources Lisa Pontecorvo; 2. Film preservation: the archives Clive Coultas; Part II. Film as historical evidence: 3. The evaluation of film as evidence William Hughes; 4. The fiction film and historical analysis Marc Ferro; Part III. Film as historical factor: 5. The newsreels: the illusion of actuality Nicholas Pronay; Part IV. Film in the interpretation and teaching of history: 6. The historian as film-maker I Rolf Schuursma; 7. The historian as film-maker II Johl³­