A New History of Documentary Film: Second Edition

456 Pages·2012·6.38 MB·english

by  Betsy A. McLane

A New History of
Documentary Film

A New History of
Documentary Film
Second Edition
by
Betsy A. McLane
Continuum International Publishing Group
80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038
The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX
www.continuumbooks.com
© Betsy A. McLane, 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-1-4411-5450-7
Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN
For Jack C. Ellis
Friend and Mentor

Table of Contents
Preface xiii
1 Some Ways to Think About Documentary 1
Description 1
Definition 4
Intellectual Contexts 7
Pre-Documentary Origins 9
Books on Documentary Theory and General Histories of
Documentary 18
2 The Work of Robert and Frances Flaherty 21
The Flaherty Way 34
The Flaherty Legacy 36
Chapter Related Films 39
Chapter Related Books 39
3 The Soviets and Political Indoctrination, 1922–1929 41
Reportage/Newsreel 42
Compilation 48
Epic 51
Fiction and Documentary 51
The Fiction Films 52
Chapter Related Films 55
Chapter Related Books 56
viii Table of Contents
4 The European Avant-Garde Experimentation, 1922–1929 57
Aesthetic Predispositions 57
Avant-Garde and Documentary 59
Three City Symphonies 63
Changes in the Avant-Garde 68
Chapter Related Films 70
Chapter Related Books 70
5 Institutionalization: Great Britain, 1929–1939 73
Background and Underpinnings 73
The System 75
The Films 79
Grierson and Flaherty 87
Grierson’s Contribution 89
Chapter Related Films 91
Chapter Related Books 91
6 Institutionalization USA, 1930–1941 93
The March of Time 96
Government Documentaries 99
Non-Government Documentaries 107
Conclusions 110
Dénouement 112
An Aside to Conclude 113
Chapter Related Films 114
Chapter Related Books 115
7 WWII 117
Part A: Great Britain 117
Early Days 118
Indoctrination 120
Social Documentary 124
Records of Battle 126
Table of Contents ix
Part B: Canada 130
Founding of National Film Board 131
Theatrical Series 132
Nontheatrical Films 135
Summary 136
Part C: United States 137
Training 138
Indoctrination – Why We Fight 139
Records of Battle 143
Social Documentary 146
Comparisons: Great Britain, Canada, United States 149
Chapter Related Films 153
Chapter Related Books 153
8 Post-war Documentary, 1945–1961 159
Personnel and Leadership 162
Sponsorship 167
USIA Films 167
Canada 171
Subjects 172
Internationalism 173
Approaches and Techniques 176
Observations 176
Chapter Related Films 181
Chapter Related Books 182
9 Documentary for Television, The ‘Golden Years,’ 1951–1971 185
Historical Background 186
Documentary Series 188
Special Characteristics of Television Documentary 196
Chapter Related Films 200
Chapter Related Books 201