The Young Oxford Book of Cinema

December 1995 saw the centenary of the Lumières' film show at the Grand Cafe - an event regarded as the dawn of the Cinema Age. The anniversary has been marked by a number of publications including this excellent Young Oxford Book. As well as summarising historical development, the book covers an analysis of genres, the life cycle of a movie and a factfile (most useful for its commendable glossary). Hugely informative, the text explores the evolution of an art form. Films are shown as both a product of, and influence on, culture and society with examples from both Hollywood and Europe. Attempts to control the cinema are examined from the British quota act of the 1930s setting a 20% minimum quota for British films shown in our cinemas to the 1949 Italian act banning Neo-realism! Discussion of the films themselves is inevitably more subjective - I can't agree that 'Top Hat is without doubt the best of the Ginger and Fred musicals' and to say that Night Mail has a 'poetic style' seems something of an understatement. Overall, though, it's a superb effort at distilling a huge subject. The author warns that in order to provide 'the fullest possible account of film history and contemporary cinema' some 'adult' films are included.