From Library Journal
-Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., Houston
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
The sources employed the film collection of the Royal Film Archive naturally, but also contributions from other collections and, above all, countless written sources permitted the discovery of an important and relatively little known cinematic production. The results take the form of a filmography divided into two parts: the silent era and the sound cinema. Given that the information to be found on the first three decades of cinema in Belgium is as surprising as it is scarce, we have chosen to take a closer look at film production during that era and cover every individual work, regardless of length. To bring clarity into this more nebulous period of history, we have divided the section on the silent era into three periods or chapters. These three chapters have themselves been subdivided into a series of thematic - though not necessarily systematic - sections, where each film has its place. The remainder of the book is devoted to the sound era. Here, all sound films of mor! ! e than 60 minutes in length are listed in chronological order, year by year, film by film. Fiction and documentary, animation, art and experimental film - all genres are represented here. Each is covered by a single page comprising a column of credit details / technical data, an illustration and a text in English, French and Dutch. The texts not only describe the contents of the film, but also consider the production history of the work, the career of the director or members of its cast and the reception of the film. They reflect the individual characteristics of the film and try to place it in its historical context. The texts as a whole thus give an overview of 100 years of Belgian cinema history. This book is not a film history. Yet readers will be surprised to discover, turning the pages on a whim or with the simple desire to revisit old flames and happen across new, that this weighty volume expands in unexpected directions. It becomes an endless puzzle in which loving st! ! udy can discern, guided by the thread of our films, the living history of our century.(Andr Delvaux)
