Silent Film

A Very Short Introduction

By: Donna Kornhaber

Narrated by: Emily Beresford

Encompassing the 35 year span between the initial development of film technology in the mid-1890s and the adoption of synchronized sound in the late 1920s, the cinema's silent era is both one of the most important epochs of film history and one of the most misunderstood within the popular imagination. In this brief, engaging account, these formative decades come vividly to life.

Covering the full scope of the silent era - from the invention of motion pictures to the rise of the Hollywood studios - and touching on films and filmmakers from every corner of the globe, Silent Film: A Very Short Introduction offers a window into film's first years as a worldwide entertainment phenomenon. From groundbreaking early shorts to the masterpieces of the cinema's classical era, from street-corner nickelodeons to grand movie palaces, from slapstick to the avant-garde, the silent era's artistic abundance and global variety are here put on full display. In the story of silent film, we see not just the origins of a new culture industry but also a legacy of imagination and innovation that continues to profoundly influence the cinema even to this day.

©2020 Oxford University Press (P)2020 Tantor

Great Overview

As someone who is interested in the history of film but didn’t have a thorough grasp of it, this was incredibly helpful. I really appreciated the author’s thorough overview that covered the topic from many different angles. I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially given the condensed format, but I came away very impressed.

I personally didn’t mind the narrator.

Awful Voice

An excellent brief overview and history of silent film. Very useful resource, Sadly, the performer has a grating, annoying voice that made the audio almost intolerable.