A New History of Documentary Film, Second Edition offers a much-needed resource, considering the very rapid changes taking place within documentary media. Building upon the best-selling 2005 edition, Betsy McLane keeps the same chronological examination, factual reliability, ease of use and accessible prose style as before, while also weaving three new threads - Experimental Documentary, Visual Anthropology and Environmental/Nature Films - into the discussion. She provides emphasis on archival and preservation history, present practices, and future needs for documentaries. Along with preservation information, specific problems of copyright and fair use, as they relate to documentary, are considered.
Finally, A History of Documentary Film retains and updates the recommended readings and important films and the end of each chapter from the first edition, including the bibliography and appendices. Impossible to talk learnedly about documentary film without an audio-visual component, a companion website will increase its depth of information and overall usefulness to students, teachers and film enthusiasts.
Preface
Chapter One: Some Ways To Think About Documentary
Description
Definition
Intellectual Contexts
Pre-Documentary Origins
Books On Documentary Theory And General Histories of Documentary
Chapter Two: Beginnings: The Americans And Popular Anthropology, 1922-1929
The Work Of Robert and Frances Flaherty
The Flaherty Way
The Flaherty Legacy
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Three Beginnings: The Soviets And Political Indoctrination, 1922- 1929
Reportage/Newsreel
Compilation
Epic
Fiction and Documentary
The Fiction Films
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Four Beginnings: The European Avant-Garde Experimentation, 1922-1929
Aesthetic Predispositions
Avant-Garde And Documentary
Changes In The Avant-Garde
Three City Symphonies
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Five Institutionalization: Great Britain, 1929-1939
Background And Underpinnings
The System
The Films
Grierson And Flaherty
Grierson's Contribution
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Six Institutionalization United States, 1930-1941
The March Of Time
Government Documentaries
Nongovernment Documentaries
Conclusions
Denouement
An Aside To Conclude
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Seven WW II
Part A: Great Britain
Early Days
Indoctrination
Social Documentary
Records Of Battle
Part B: Canada
Founding Of National Film Board
Theatrical Series
Nontheatrical Films
Summary
Part C: United States
Training
Indoctrination Why We Fight
Records of Battle
Social Documentary
Comparisons: Great Britain, Canada, United States
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Eight Postwar Documentary, 1945-1961
Personnel And Leadership
Sponsorship
USIA Films
Canada
Subjects
Internationalism
Approaches And Techniques
Observations
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Nine Documentary For Television, The "Golden Years," 1951-1971
Historical Background
Documentary Series
The Special Characteristics Of Early Television Documentary
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Ten British Free Cinema And New American Cinema, 1953-1960
Critical Background
Free Cinema Films
The United States
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Eleven Cinéma Vérité, Direct Cinema, 1958-1970
Historical Background
New Technology And First CV/Direct
Direct Cinema Vs. Cinéma Vérité
Effects On Documentary Subjects And Styles
Frederick Wiseman
Conclusion
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Twelve Power Of The People, The 1970s
Some Established Filmmakers
New Directions In Vérité
Political Emphases and Vietnam
Newsreel Collectives
Feminist Resurgence
Challenge for Change
Public Access Television
Other Emerging Organization
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Thirteen Video Arrives, 1980 - 1990s
Cable and Satellite Technology
Personal Essay Film
Compilation
Strictly Political
Social and Ethnic Minorities
Representing Gay and Lesbian Culture
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Fourteen Reality Bytes
Business and Technology: The Bad and The Good
American Public Television
Archival Documentary
The Ken Burns Phenomenon
Canada Soldiers On
Development in the U.K.
American Independents
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Fifteen Documentary Traditions in the Twenty First Century
Werner Herzog
Steve James and others
Erroll Morris
Women Documentarians
Experimental Documentary
Theaters and Festivals
Films Of The Period
Books On The Period
Chapter Sixteen Now and When
Aesthetics And Content
Finance
Documentary Un-Reality
Intimate Doings Of Reality
Academic Approaches
Emergent Technologies
Social Media
Commitment to History
Conclusion
Films Of The Period
Appendices
TOP 25 Theatrical Grossing Documentaries
TOP 10 Theatrical Grossing Sports Documentaries
Index
