A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, 1930-1980

by Robert B. Ray

Book Overview

Robert B. Ray examines the ideology of the most enduringly popular cinema in the world--the Hollywood movie. Aided by 364 frame enlargements, he describes the development of that historically overdetermined form, giving close readings of five typical instances: Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Godfather, and Taxi Driver. Like the heroes of these movies, American filmmaking...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691101744
• ISBN13: 9780691101743
• Release Date: May 1985
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 424 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Mandatory reading for Classic Hollywood enthusiasts

The book's title alludes to the 1954 essay by Francois Truffaut, "A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema," in which Truffaut describes the "current" trends in French cinema and calls for a change. He, along with Godard, Rivette, Varda, Rohmer et. al, proceeded to enact a French cinema revolution -- the nouvelle vague. It is in this spirit that Ray outlines a certain "tendency" of classic Hollywood cinema: a formal and narrative paradigm. Ray's book is a brilliant tour-de-force analysis of the persistant ideological and formal registers that have come to define the "classic" Hollywood style. He begins with the 30s, with the codification of the studio system style, and moves to the present of the book's publication. Ray provocatively moves from an analysis of narrative conventions -- the frontier/western story, such as the much-adapted Huck Finn, as a persistent theme in American cinema -- to a shot-by-shot breakdown of the conventional Hollywood scene. Implicitly, the book, like its forebear, asks for some sort of shift in the seemingly intransigent formula that has become the Hollywood movie. How does the "same" Hollywood movie bespeak the same American ideology? The book has proved invaluable to me as a lover of movies as well as someone who wants to speak/think astutely about film. Each time I dip into the book, I am rewarded by a new insight. And, after reading a number of scholarly film books, I can say that this is one of the best written. Hey, the guy is a beautiful writer! For those of you who don't want to "think" about movies, this is not a film-for-fun book; it's for those who take movies seriously as an aesthetic/ideological form. And, as its been in print for twenty-years, it clearly is one of the most important books in American film scholarship.

a good read

While I have always enjoyed going to the movies. I know little about them on an academic level. Reading Ray's book gave me a new understanding and higher appreciation for movies. After reading this book I was able to enjoy watching a movie more because I understood the art better. He has keen insight and I truly enjoyed reading his book. At times however the text was complex and caused a small amount of difficulty for me. But the extra work put in reading this book is well worth it. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys the movies and is interested in learning more.

Ray is a genius

A Certain Tendancy of the Hollywood Cinema is without doubt one of the finest books that I have ever read. Ray enlightens and entertains like a true master. Ray's crisp prose opens up a new world of understanding and thought about Hollywood. He makes old ideas seem new while providing new ones. Anyone who has ever seen a movie should read this book. After reading this book, you will never view the silver screen the same way again. Movies will become infinitly more enjoyable as you understand them on the deepest levels of their creators. A Certain Tendancy of the Hollywood Cinema is a true tour de force.