I must say that I am becoming more than a little frustrated by this
discussion of 'Early Film'. So many responses to the initial query have
conflated "Early Film" with the whole of silent cinema. We should be
more specific about what we mean by 'Early Film', a category that,
following Tom Gunning and others can be located in the period before
1906/7 when longer and more complex narrative structures began to
dominate the film industry. 'Early Film' proper has its own specific
aesthetic and structural logic, which Gunning theorises as the 'cinema
of attractions'. Therefore, a film like 'Singin' in the Rain' can't
really teach us anything about 'Early Film'. I'd suggest showing some
Melies, Lumiere, Edison, Skladinowski films. They're short and sweet
and watchable for students.
Dr Michelle Langford
Associate Lecturer
School of Media, Film & Theatre
The University of New South Wales
Sydney 2052 Australia
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