Shop HuggleHounds

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

  1. Cahiers du Cinéma: The 1950s: Neo-Realism, Hollywood, New Wave (Harvard Film Studies)
    Cahiers du Cinéma: The 1950s: Neo-Realism, Hollywood, New Wave (Harvard Film Studies)
    4.820
    $40.30
  2. The Phantom Empire: Movies in the Mind of the 20th Century
    The Phantom Empire: Movies in the Mind of the 20th Century
    4.611
    $23.99
  3. American Movie Critics: An Anthology from the Silents Until Now: A Library of America Special Publication
    American Movie Critics: An Anthology from the Silents Until Now: A Library of America Special Publication
    4.422
    $22.44
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows.
Buy New
$22.94
FREE delivery Sunday, October 4 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$22.94
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery Sunday, October 4 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Friday, October 2. Order within 1 hr 43 mins. Join Prime
In Stock
$$22.94 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$22.94
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Shipper / Seller
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Shipper / Seller
Amazon.com
Returns
FREE 30-day refund/replacement
FREE 30-day refund/replacement
Quick refund
Usually issued within 24 hours. See exceptions
FREE return
At least one free return option available.
Convenient dropoff
At any of our 50,000 US locations.
See return policy
Gift options
Available at checkout
Available at checkout This item is a gift. Change
At checkout, you can add a custom message, a gift receipt for easy returns and have the item gift-wrapped
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$19.68
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Sold and shipped from Amazon. 100% satisfaction guaranteed Sold and shipped from Amazon. 100% satisfaction guaranteed See less
FREE delivery Monday, October 5 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Thursday, October 1. Order within 1 hr 43 mins. Join Prime
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$22.94 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$22.94
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Sponsored
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

  • The Rhapsodes: How 1940s Critics Changed American Film Culture

Follow the author

Follow authors for new release and deal updates, plus improved recommendations. See updates from all followed authors in Your Books.
David Bordwell
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Rhapsodes: How 1940s Critics Changed American Film Culture

by David Bordwell (Author) Format: Paperback
4.2 out of 5 stars (12)
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$22.94","priceAmount":22.94,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"22","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"94","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ina%2FH6abTAGG8ruYjVWaaKpnNa8MVgHDbUUOaDM%2FJnqpHpVbugk%2BuFmbaGT9wTxb6CaQYkanzmcaSd3NYUgQMWxV3QcXOQQlUpUjG2j9bKLc17rFy7mdGTBSjiYpB%2B7zAJK%2FBQ8TVtbNURFQB64LRA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$19.68","priceAmount":19.68,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"19","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"68","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ina%2FH6abTAGG8ruYjVWaaKpnNa8MVgHDeq701UrFgY2scaf0RLS5%2FP9yw6S2qdbCfIq0GjWxjNy5itwtLvJhqY7Eedr0IvHcivfjFaNPz1k4Em03WgoS7HVto1bwXS4f0AqmdDZaT5gizMCkaDbiq6%2BXnyYXkZuJb%2Ftfg%2Bh0sf5NgdtI1QEDvQ%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Pauline Kael, Andrew Sarris, and Roger Ebert were three of America’s most revered and widely read film critics, more famous than many of the movies they wrote about. But their remarkable contributions to the burgeoning American film criticism of the 1960s and beyond were deeply influenced by four earlier critics: Otis Ferguson, James Agee, Manny Farber, and Parker Tyler. Throughout the 1930s and ’40s, Ferguson, Agee, Farber, and Tyler scrutinized what was on the screen with an intensity not previously seen in popular reviewing. Although largely ignored by the arts media of the day, they honed the sort of serious discussion of films that would be made popular decades later by Kael, Sarris, Ebert and their contemporaries.
           
With The Rhapsodes, renowned film scholar and critic David Bordwell—an heir to both those legacies—restores to a wider audience the work of Ferguson, Agee, Farber, and Tyler, critics he calls the “Rhapsodes” for the passionate and deliberately offbeat nature of their vernacular prose. Each broke with prevailing currents in criticism in order to find new ways to talk about the popular films that contemporaries often saw at best as trivial, at worst as a betrayal of art. Ferguson saw in Hollywood an engaging, adroit mode of popular storytelling. Agee sought in cinema the lyrical epiphanies found in romantic poetry. Farber, trained as a painter, brought a pictorial intelligence to bear on film. A surrealist, Tyler treated classic Hollywood as a collective hallucination that invited both audience and critic to find moments of subversive pleasure. With his customary clarity and brio, Bordwell takes readers through the relevant cultural and critical landscape and considers the critics’ writing styles, their conceptions of films, and their quarrels. He concludes by examining the profound impact of Ferguson, Agee, Farber, and Tyler on later generations of film writers.

The Rhapsodes allows readers to rediscover these remarkable critics who broke with convention to capture what they found moving, artful, or disappointing in classic Hollywood cinema and explores their robust—and continuing—influence.
Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    176 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University of Chicago Press
  4. Publication date
    April 4, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.46 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    022635220X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0226352206
Next slide of product details
"Layla" by Colleen Hoover for $7.19
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover comes a novel that explores life after tragedy and the enduring spirit of love. | Learn more

Frequently bought together

Image
This item: The Rhapsodes: How 1940s Critics Changed American Film Culture
$22.94
Get it as soon as Sunday, Oct 4
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
The Phantom Empire: Movies in the Mind of the 20th Century
$23.99
Get it as soon as Sunday, Oct 4
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Customers also bought or read

Page 1 of 1Start over
Previous page
  2. Book cover The Phantom Empire: Movies in the Mind of the 20th Century
    The Phantom Empire: Movies in the Mind of the 20th Century
    Paperback
    $23.99
    Delivery Sun, Oct 4
  4. Book cover Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies
    Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies
    Paperback
    $12.99
    Delivery Sun, Oct 4
  5. Book cover Darwin: A Very Short Introduction
    Darwin: A Very Short Introduction
    Paperback
    $12.30
    Delivery Sun, Oct 4
Next page
Loading...

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Bordwell pinpoints a time in movie history when a whole new dialogue was opened up between viewers and filmmakers, and he does it with a deep love of not just pictures, but, especially, of words. The writing floats and bounces, there’s jaunt and inspiration here, as good as the best work of the critics he writes about.” -- David Koepp, screenwriter, Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds; director, Ghost Town and Premium Rush

“In this wonderfully engaging history, Bordwell looks at the DNA of American film criticism to show how four film-lovers-turned-movie-critics helped lead a revolution in contemporary thought. Going wide and deep, with expressive detail and unforced historical sweep, Bordwell shows how the four men he calls the Rhapsodes—Otis Ferguson, James Agee, Manny Farber and Parker Tyler— by taking movies seriously (if rarely themselves), made an argument for the movies that demolished old high-low snobberies and ushered in a new age of cinephilia. Bordwell, one of our greatest film historians and theorists, proves yet again that he’s also one of our greatest critics.” -- Manohla Dargis, co-chief film critic, New York Times

"This marvelously readable, refreshing book is both enlightening and hugely entertaining. Bordwell, our preeminent bridge between scrupulous film scholarship and lively, accessible prose style, has outdone himself with this much-needed study of four pioneering film critics. Most impressive is the generous spirit with which he appreciates the characteristics and virtues of each writer, who are very different one from another (and from himself), while simultaneously setting their accomplishments in a broader context of the history of American criticism and popular taste. In doing so, he shows he is their peer as well as their grateful inheritor." -- Phillip Lopate

Bordwell pays homage to a generation of critics lost to time and reintroduces them to a modern audience—those who read this book will be grateful.” ― Library Journal Published On: 2016-04-25

“Illuminating. . . . Bordwell probes each critic’s work and shows how they took mainstream Hollywood film, and writing about it, seriously.” ― Publishers Weekly Published On: 2016-04-25

“The Rhapsodes is imminently readable, a slim volume that slips in your backpack just as easily as it slips into serious film discourse.” ― Isthmus Published On: 2016-04-25

“If you have a driving or even just a drive-by interest in arts criticism, film writing and the love we share for all kinds of movies, The Rhapsodes is a swift, terrific read.” -- Michael Phillips ― Chicago Tribune Published On: 2016-04-26

“The primary pleasure of this book comes from Bordwell’s appreciation of the originality of these writers, the way each of them constructed a distinctive prose whose mixing of unlike elements calls to mind that homemade world that the critic Hugh Kenner discerned in the poetry of William Carlos Williams and Wallace Stevens. There is real enthusiasm, and valuable guidance, in Bordwell’s tour, as he plucks out particularly lively or audacious passages. He walks us through the literature with an admirably light step, pointing out highlights and connecting dots, and, as he goes, filling in some of the background of the 1940s intellectual milieu in which these men worked. . . . The Rhapsodes elicits an awareness of just how much expressive energy was pouring out on the movie screens of America in pictures that many continued to regard as disposable time killers.” -- Geoffrey O'Brien ― Artforum Published On: 2016-05-02

“While each of the subjects of The Rhapsodes has come in for their appreciation in turn at one time or another, Bordwell’s unique accomplishment is to situate them within the larger context of American arts journalism. . . . As one reasonably well-acquainted with all of Bordwell’s Rhapsodes, much information here was new to me. . . . There are also Bordwell’s typically lucid close reads of each writer’s idiosyncratic style. . . . This slim volume is worth an even dozen critic memoirs—and in recounting Ferguson’s call to arms for a film criticism worthy of its subject, it sounds a reveille of its own.” -- Nick Pinkerton ― Sight & Sound Published On: 2016-05-02

“In The Rhapsodes, [Bordwell’s] applied his sharp analytic eye not just to the arguments put forth by his four subjects but also—and this may be the most fun part of the book—to their prose.” ― Fandor Published On: 2016-05-02

“Highly entertaining. . . . [Bordwell] is equally attentive to the four writers’ idiosyncratic prose styles and to the strategies they used to argue that mainstream movies were an art form worthy of serious study.” ― Library of America Published On: 2016-05-05

"The Rhapsodes, besides being a pleasure to read, makes a sophisticated contribution to the study of film criticism." ― Cineaste Published On: 2016-09-08

About the Author

David Bordwell is the Jacques Ledoux Professor of Film Studies Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With Kristin Thompson, he is coauthor of Film Art: An Introduction and Film History: An Introduction and the blog Observations on Film Art, which can be found at http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Chicago Press
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 4, 2016
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Illustrated
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 022635220X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0226352206
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.46 x 9 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #279,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars (12)

About the author

Follow authors for new release and deal updates, plus improved recommendations. See updates from all followed authors in Your Books.
David Bordwell

David Bordwell

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

David Bordwell is Jacques Ledoux Professor Emeritus of Film Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds a master's degree and a doctorate in film from the University of Iowa. His books include The Films of Carl Theodor Dreyer (University of California Press, 1981), Narration in the Fiction Film (University of Wisconsin Press, 1985), Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema (Princeton University Press, 1988), Making Meaning: Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema (Harvard University Press, 1989), The Cinema of Eisenstein (Harvard University Press, 1993), On the History of Film Style (Harvard University Press, 1997), Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment (Harvard University Press, 2000), Figures Traced in Light: On Cinematic Staging (University of California Press, 2005), The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies (University of California Press, 2006), and The Poetics of Cinema (Routledge, 2008). He has won a University Distinguished Teaching Award and was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Copenhagen. His web site is www.davidbordwell.net.

Sponsored

Related books

Page 1 of 1Start Over
Sponsored
Previous page
  1. Image
    Shop the Store on Amazon ›
    A Brief History of Italy: Tracing the Renaissance, Unification, and the Lively Evolution of Art and Culture
    A Brief History of Italy: Tracing the Renaissance, Unification, and the Lively Evolution of Art and Culture
    4.34.3 out of 5 stars249
    $15.99 List:$16.99
  2. Image
    Shop the Store on Amazon ›
    Rhymes of a Mortal: Poems on Life's Journey
    Rhymes of a Mortal: Poems on Life's Journey
    4.14.1 out of 5 stars18
    $12.99
  3. Image
    Shop the Store on Amazon ›
    Ancient Astrology: The Ultimate Guide to Babylonian, Egyptian, and Hellenistic Astrology and the Zodiac Signs (Astrology and Divination)
    Ancient Astrology: The Ultimate Guide to Babylonian, Egyptian, and Hellenistic Astrology and the Zodiac Signs (Astrology and Divination)
    3.73.7 out of 5 stars55
    $13.69
Next page

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
12 global ratings
Sponsored

Top reviews from the United States

  • Daryl Chin
    5 out of 5 stars
    As always, an excellent survey from this great film scholar
    Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2024
    Format: Paperback
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Though short, this is a lovingly researched and clearly written survey of the major American film critics from the 1930s and 1940s. The book is packed with so many insights into how film became a central cultural phenomenon in the United States during that period, and how critics like Otis Ferguson, James Agee and Manny Farber were able to write about the films and helped establish film criticism as an important social entity.

    Sending feedback...
    Thank you for your feedback.
    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

    We'll check if this review meets our community guidelinesOpens in a new tab. If it doesn't, we'll remove it.

  • Pete
    4 out of 5 stars
    Pyrotechnic commentary about early film reviewers and the films they critique.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2016
    Format: Paperback
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Bordwell consistently makes the important point that serious criticism of films not only improves the quality of films going forward but sets up a new literary genre. He targets some early reviewers, Agee, Ferguson are two who are highlighted with quotes from their works. The bonus is the dazzling writing by Bordwell himself. This small book is packed with interesting tidbits as well as constructive commentary. A bit specialized but for us film lovers there can never be too many details about movies.

    5 people found this helpful
    Sending feedback...
    Thank you for your feedback.
    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

    We'll check if this review meets our community guidelinesOpens in a new tab. If it doesn't, we'll remove it.

See more reviews

Top reviews from other countries

  • Mark
    5 out of 5 stars
    Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2017
    Format: Paperback
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    excellent

    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

    We'll check if this review meets our community guidelinesOpens in a new tab. If it doesn't, we'll remove it.

See more reviews