Abel Gance and the End of Silent Cinema: Sounding out Utopia PDF
Preview Abel Gance and the End of Silent Cinema: Sounding out Utopia
paul cuff ABEL GANCE AND THE END OF SILENT CINEMA sounding out utopia Abel Gance and the End of Silent Cinema Paul Cuff Abel Gance and the End of Silent Cinema Sounding out Utopia Paul Cuff Warwick University Coventry, UK ISBN 978-3-319-38817-5 ISBN 978-3-319-38818-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-38818-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016958116 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2 016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub- lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: © Adrien Barrère, ‘Abel Gance: Cinéaste a explosion’, illustration in Fantasio (December 1930) (Author’s collection) Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland N F OTE ON ORMATTING REFERENCES I have used the Harvard system for citations within the text (author | year: volume/page). Square parentheses [ ] within a citation indicate a fi rst publication date. Please see the Bibliography and Filmography for a detailed explanation of source material. EMPHASES All italicized emphases within quoted material appear in the original sources. NAMES For the sake of agreement with original material, my text retains the native spelling of French names and titles. TITLES To distinguish them from works of literature, titles of fi lm projects are formatted in small caps. v vi NOTE ON FORMATTING TRANSLATIONS Unless otherwise noted, all translations of French-language material are my own. For other foreign-language material, I have tried (wherever pos- sible) to use the most modern and reliable English editions available. C ONTENTS List of Figures x i Acknowledgements x iii Preface: The Sublime and the Ridiculous x v Part I Overcoming the Past 1 Introduction 3 1 In the Shadow of War 5 Medium and Message 5 Accusations 8 Fate 15 Reclaiming History 1 7 Notes 20 2 Towards Utopia 21 Art as Religion 2 1 Utopian Narratives 3 0 Notes 39 vii viii CONTENTS 3 Prophets of the Future 4 1 Cinematic Messiahs 4 1 Embodying Revolution 4 5 Taking Action 5 3 Note 55 4 Cinema and the Life of Space 5 7 Citizens of Space 5 7 The Psychic Universe 6 1 Art and Metaphysics 6 7 Magic, Music, Light 7 2 Note 77 Summary 79 Part II Impossible Dreams 81 Introduction 8 3 5 Artistic Integrity and Industrial Change 85 Author and Industry 8 5 World Cinema 9 1 The Coming of Sound 9 8 Notes 104 6 A History of Incompletion 1 05 Leadership and Recruitment 1 05 S acred Labour 1 10 Crises 115 Distribution 1 21 Reverberations 1 25 Notes 129 Summary 133 Note 135 CONTENTS ix Part III The Marvel of Ruins 137 Introduction 1 39 7 Passion and Performance 143 Premonitions 1 43 Projecting the Voice 1 51 Rivals 1 54 Film as Testament 1 60 Notes 165 8 Fighting to be Heard 167 The Speed of Exchange 1 67 Voices of Authority 1 69 Resolutions 1 72 Note 1 76 9 The World on Fire 1 77 Absence and Excess 1 77 Orgies 182 The End 1 90 Epilogue 1 97 Note 1 98 Summary 1 99 Notes 204 Conclusion: ‘Why have I been only what I am?’ 205 The Burden of Reality 2 05 Alternative Histories 2 10 Looking to the Future 2 14 Filmography and Bibliography 217 Index 2 37
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