Between 1908 and 1913, D.W. Griffith played a key role in the reformulation of film's narrative techniques, thus contributing to the creation of what we now think of as the classical Hollywood cinema. This book explores a critical period in the history of film acting: the emergence of the realistic "verisimilar" style in Griffith's biograph films. Roberta Pearson demonstrates how Griffith gradually abandoned the deliberately affected "histrionic" acting style derived from the 19th-century stage. No longer did actors mime distress by raising their arms to heaven or clutching their heads - a subtle facial expression, a slight change in posture would convey a character's extreme emotions instead. Pearson makes detailed comparisons of certain biograph films and closely examines contemporary journalistic writing, acting manuals and the recollections of actors of the time.
- ISBN10 0585299404
- ISBN13 9780585299402
- Publish Date December 1992 (first published 2 November 1992)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of California Press
- Format eBook
- Language English