Celluloid Wars: A Guide to Film and the American Experience of War

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

This guide explores the relationships between film images and the experience of war, showing how films influence war-time behaviour and how wars influence films. This reference combines essays on the aesthetic and historical aspect of war films with classifications and discussions of films about different wars, a filmography arranged alphabetically with annotations, a bibliography of books and articles dealing with war films, a general guide for film study, along with separate indices to film titles, film-makers, and subjects. This is both a research guide and a text for serious scholars of military history and American popular culture, and a reader for history buffs and for a general audience.

Reviews

. . . an excellent filmography of American war films . . .-Popular Culture in Libraries
. . . to present a "flexible reference guide" to serious moviegoers who are trying to understand the complex issues involved in films about American wars.-Communications Library
Celluloid Wars is recommended for large academic libraries supporting film programs and large public libraries collecting comprehensively in this performing art. Other libraries should give priority to The Encyclopedia of American War Films.-Booklist
In their filmgoer's and reader's guide to America at war, Wetta and Curley begin with essays on the aesthetic experience of the war film genre and on how war films compare to actual combat experience. They follow with a listing of films about wars in which Americans were involved, grouped chronologically from the Colonial wars through the Cold War. Each chapter begins with a chronology of events and commentary. Some entries are annotated; all provide release date, title, running length, filmstock, director, major cast, releasing company, and the authors' interest rating. The final chapters present an annotated warm film bibliography and resource guide. As filmography, Celluloid Wars is comprehensive; its organization also helps collocate period films. It provides the bare bones of information, however, and the annotations are much too short. Bibliography and indexing are adequate. The index does not list war films by their important subgenres--e.g., submarine films, antiwar films. Recommended for research collections that support film studies or for libraries whose users want film books.-Choice
." . . an excellent filmography of American war films . . ."-Popular Culture in Libraries
." . . to present a "flexible reference guide" to serious moviegoers who are trying to understand the complex issues involved in films about American wars."-Communications Library
"Celluloid Wars is recommended for large academic libraries supporting film programs and large public libraries collecting comprehensively in this performing art. Other libraries should give priority to The Encyclopedia of American War Films."-Booklist
"In their filmgoer's and reader's guide to America at war, Wetta and Curley begin with essays on the aesthetic experience of the war film genre and on how war films compare to actual combat experience. They follow with a listing of films about wars in which Americans were involved, grouped chronologically from the Colonial wars through the Cold War. Each chapter begins with a chronology of events and commentary. Some entries are annotated; all provide release date, title, running length, filmstock, director, major cast, releasing company, and the authors' interest rating. The final chapters present an annotated warm film bibliography and resource guide. As filmography, Celluloid Wars is comprehensive; its organization also helps collocate period films. It provides the bare bones of information, however, and the annotations are much too short. Bibliography and indexing are adequate. The index does not list war films by their important subgenres--e.g., submarine films, antiwar films. Recommended for research collections that support film studies or for libraries whose users want film books."-Choice

Author Bio

FRANK J. WETTA, Professor of History and Assistant Dean of Instruction for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Galveston College, has written on military and Civil War history. STEPHEN J. CURLEY, Associate Professor of English and Department Head of General Academics, Texas A&M University at Galveston, has written articles on literature, popular culture, and film matters.