Hugo Münsterberg on film : the photoplay : a psychological study and other writings / edited by Allan Langdale.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Langdale, Allan.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motion pictures.

Physical Description:

v, 210 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2002.

Summary:

Hugo Mü nsterberg's "The Photoplay" (1916) is regarded as the first serious work of film theory. In this new edition, Allan Langdale provides a critical introduction and collects numerous hard-to-find writings on film by Mü nsterberg. Mü nsterberg argues that film is a unique medium because it speaks the language of the mind. For example, he equates the close-up with the act of attention and the flashback with the act of memory. His writings are fascinating accounts of the psychological elements of film and provide valuable insight into the reception of film as art at the beginning of the century. "Hugo Mü nsterberg on Film" will be of great interest not only to film theorists and historians, but also those interested in the history of psychology.

Contents:

Editor's Introduction: S(t)imulation of Mind: The Film Theory of Hugo Munsterberg / Allan Langdale 1

1 The Outer Development of the Moving Pictures 45

2 The Inner Development of the Moving Pictures 54

Part I The Psychology of the Photoplay

3 Depth and Movement 64

4 Attention 79

5 Memory and Imagination 89

6 Emotions 99

Part II The Aesthetics of the Photoplay

7 The Purpose of Art 109

8 The Means of the Various Arts 120

9 The Means of the Photoplay 128

10 The Demands of the Photoplay 139

11 The Function of the Photoplay 151

Additional Writings and Texts

Margaret Munsterberg on The Photoplay 165

Why We Go to the Movies / Hugo Munsterberg 171

Peril to Childhood in the Movies / Hugo Munsterberg 191

Interview with Hugo Munsterberg 201

Speech on the Paramount Pictographs 204.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

041593706X

0415937078

OCLC:

46590060