Letterboxed: The Evolution of Widescreen Cinema

304 Pages·2010·23.736 MB·English

by  Harper Cossar

LETTERBOXED

LETTERBOXED
The Evolution of Widescreen Cinema
Harper Cossar
The University Press of Kentucky
Copyright © 2011 by The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,
serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre
College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University,
The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College,
Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University,
Morehead State University, Murray State University,
Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University,
University of Kentucky, University of Louisville,
and Western Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offi ces: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
15 14 13 12 11 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cossar, Harper.
Letterboxed : the evolution of widescreen cinema / Harper Cossar.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8131-2651-7 (alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8131-2659-3 (ebook)
1. Wide-screen processes (Cinematography)—History. I. Title.
TR855.C67 2011
778.5’3—dc22
2010044908
This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting
the requirements of the American National Standard
for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Member of the Association of
American University Presses
For Heather.
Vous et nul autre.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: “Snakes and Funerals” 1
Chapter 1. D. W. Griffi th, Buster Keaton, Abel Gance, and the
Precursors of Widescreen Aesthetics 27
Chapter 2. The Big Trail, The Bat Whispers, and the “Invention”
of Widescreen Style in 1930 61
Chapter 3. Emerging Stylistic Norms in CinemaScope: Genre
and Authorship in the Films of Otto Preminger, Nicholas Ray,
Frank Tashlin, and Douglas Sirk 95
Chapter 4. Experiments, 1968, and the Fractured Screen 185
Chapter 5. New Media, Digitextuality, and Widescreen 225
Conclusion 256
Notes 267
Works Cited 279
Index 287

Acknowledgments
Someone once noted that writing a book is actually rewriting a book—
several times. That maxim is quite true in the case of Letterboxed:
The Evolution of Widescreen Cinema. The earliest germination of
this project goes back to my days in the PhD program in moving
image studies at Georgia State University. My graduate adviser, Dr.
Greg M. Smith, realized I had a passion for widescreen cinema and
pushed me to ask (and answer) the “hard questions.” Over several
years, many meetings, and more than a few taut impasses, my
doctoral dissertation emerged, which generated many of the ideas I
explore herein. This project would not have been possible without
Dr. Smith’s attentive eye, thoughtful suggestions, and often blunt
challenges. Many thanks are also due to Drs. Kathy Fuller-Seely,
Angelo Restivo, and Jack Boozer for their important comments and
suggestions during the dissertation phase. A special thanks goes to
Dr. Matthew Bernstein, who graciously served as my outside reader
for this project. Dr. Bernstein enhanced the fi nal product as much
as anyone with his valuable criticism and challenging suggestions to
expand portions of my arguments. Dr. Bernstein also introduced me
to Dr. David Bordwell, who not only supported this book project
but also suggested the University Press of Kentucky as its publisher.
Dr. Bordwell’s brilliant scholarship and caring demeanor are also a
taproot for what became Letterboxed.
After the dissertation was complete, the next phase of metamor-
phosis began with great help from the staff of the University Press