具体描述
In Genre, Myth, and Convention in the French Cinema, 1929-1939, Colin Crisp identifies recurrent patterns in the fields of character, narrative, and setting in the French cinema of the early sound period, delineating the myths that these patterns embodied. His analysis of similar patterns in film magazines of the day and of the degree of popularity enjoyed by the stars of the day and of the individual films aims to identify those mythic patterns which best answered the needs of the various audiences of the day. This book is in two parts - the first deals with the 1300 films produced by the French cinema in the 1930s, while the second deals with secondary publications of the period that comment on those films. The first part treats the 1300 films as a single global textual system, which returns obsessively to certain types of story, certain types of character and certain types of setting. These repetitions within the system are regarded as markers of the mythic significance of the material which recurs. In order to isolate them from this vast number of films, many of which no longer exist, all available films were viewed and descriptions or summaries of the others were analysed. The recurrent elements have been divided into a number of recognised categories-nation, class, gender, education, the media and the law-but framed by two crucial sections-the initial chapter on identity (since myths are crucial to the self-understanding of the individuals and societies for whom ! they function), and art (since this allows a reflexive consideration of the self-understanding of the cultural community which constructed and circulated the myths). The second part deals in turn with the extent to which secondary material of the day recognised and discussed film genres, the extent to which film magazines consecrated actors as stars, and the images which they associated with those stars, and finally the extent to which each of the 1300 films was successful with the public of the day. These three chapters support and reinforce many of the hypotheses proposed in the first part of the book, and extend their significance to include the mythic self-understanding of the audiences who received them. Genre, Myth, and Convention in the French Cinema, 1929-1939 is a further stage in Crisp's attempt to explore and analyse, using the particular instance of classic French film, the cinema as an institution and the textual system to which it gave rise, and the light which these can shed on the process of production and reception of specific films. The analysis has been restricted exclusively to films and associated material produced during the decade of the 1930s, and does not attempt to take into account commentary or analysis by later critics. It is accompanied by a catalogue of all films produced during the decade, a bibliography of books on film produced during that decade, and a brief guide to each of the 200 or more films viewed while writing it.
作者简介
目录信息
读后感
用户评价
我必须承认，这本书在对法国电影的“类型化”和“程式化”的讨论上，达到了一个令人惊叹的高度。它没有仅仅满足于列举出“诗意现实主义”或“左岸派”等标签，而是深入挖掘了这些标签背后的深层文化根源和观众心理预期。作者通过对比不同时期电影中重复出现的母题——比如对城市夜晚的迷恋、对注定失败的爱情的赞美——揭示了特定时代集体无意识的运作机制。这本书的结构安排非常巧妙，它像洋葱一样层层剥开，从表面的叙事结构，到中层的视觉风格，最终触及到深层的意识形态内核。对于任何想要理解特定文化产品是如何在特定历史限制下，既遵从又反叛“约定俗成”的读者来说，这本书都是一本不可多得的指南。它教会我，真正的艺术创新，往往不是对既有规则的简单打破，而是对其进行最深刻的理解和最巧妙的重构。
这本书的叙事结构和论证方式，简直是一场智力上的饕餮盛宴，它以一种近乎哲学的思辨态度来解构那个时期的法国银幕景观。它没有满足于简单的类型片分类或明星崇拜，而是着力于探究电影背后的结构性力量——那些无形却强大的规则和期望，它们如何塑造了观众的观看习惯，又如何反过来被创作者巧妙地利用或规避。我特别喜欢它对“惯例”这个概念的拆解，作者似乎在问：哪些是不可动摇的艺术原则？哪些仅仅是昙花一现的市场策略？这种深层次的追问，使得阅读过程充满了思辨的张力。书中对几部经典影片的镜头语言分析，细致到令人发指，它揭示了光影、构图和剪辑点是如何协同作用，共同构建出一种特定的“法国式”的忧郁或浪漫情调。这不仅仅是描述，更是一种对美学本体论的探索。读完之后，我感觉自己对“观看”这件事本身都有了全新的认识，它不再是被动接受，而是一场充满博弈和解读的复杂过程。
我刚读完一本关于法国电影史的书，虽然我手头这本并非你提到的那本，但它给我留下了极其深刻的印象，让我忍不住想聊聊我的阅读体验。这本书深入探讨了1920年代末到1930年代法国电影的演变，聚焦于其在技术革新、艺术表达和社会背景下的复杂互动。作者非常细致地剖析了有声电影的引入如何彻底颠覆了原有的叙事模式和美学标准。我尤其欣赏书中对早期声音设计和配乐如何被用来烘托特定情绪和塑造人物性格的分析。那些早期导演们，在面对全新的媒介时展现出的创造力和挣扎，被描绘得栩栩如生。阅读过程中，我仿佛能听到那个时代电影院里传来的、带着早期杂音的震撼人心的对白和音乐，那不仅仅是技术的进步，更是一种文化心跳的加速。书中对几个关键导演的个案研究也非常到位，展现了他们如何在既定的框架内寻求突破，他们的视觉语言和对社会议题的隐晦表达，在当时的环境下是多么具有挑战性。这本书不仅仅是电影史的梳理，更是一次对特定历史时期文化心理的深刻挖掘。
坦白说，这本书的学术深度让我这个业余爱好者感到既兴奋又有些吃力，但其对时代精神的捕捉能力绝对是顶级的。它没有将1930年代的法国电影仅仅视为战后浪潮的余波，而是将其置于一个充满政治动荡、社会阶级矛盾尖锐化的宏大背景下进行考察。作者没有回避电影中流露出的那种深层的、挥之不去的“宿命感”和对美好事物终将消逝的预感。书中的论述清晰地表明，银幕上的浪漫和悲剧，正是那个时代知识分子集体焦虑的折射。那些在咖啡馆里抽着烟、眼神迷茫的角色，他们所承载的重量，远超出了简单的剧本情节。我印象最深的是关于“前线电影”和社会阶级表达的部分，作者成功地展示了电影如何成为一个隐秘的战场，各方势力都在试图通过光影来争取对主流叙事的解释权。这本书的价值在于，它强迫我们从社会学和政治学的角度，重新评估艺术作品的历史地位。
这本书的行文风格，与其说是在写一部严肃的学术著作，不如说是在进行一场精心策划的、充满隐喻的对话。它采用了一种非常个人化的、近乎散文诗般的笔触来描述那些冰冷的电影分析数据和历史事实，使得阅读过程充满了流畅的愉悦感。尽管涉及了大量的电影理论术语和历史背景知识，但作者总能找到一种优雅的方式来将其融入叙述，让读者在不知不觉中吸收了大量信息。我尤其欣赏它对一些边缘化或被遗忘的电影人的关注，那些在主流叙事中被忽略的声音，在这里得到了应有的尊重和审视。这种对“被遗忘的经典”的抢救性挖掘，体现了作者深厚的学术情怀和敏锐的洞察力。读完之后，我迫不及待地去重温了几部书中着重分析的影片，发现它们在我的眼中焕发出了全新的光彩，许多之前被我视为理所当然的场景，现在看来都充满了精心设计的意图。
