[ecrea] new book: Michael Witt, ‘Jean-Luc Godard, Cinema Historian’

Some list members might be interested to know that my study of Godard’s monumental multimedia investigation of cinema history, ‘Histoire(s) du cinéma’ (1988-1999), has recently been published by Indiana University Press in hardback, paperback and ebook format:

Michael Witt, ‘Jean-Luc Godard, Cinema Historian’ (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2013)

http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=807014

ABOUT THE BOOK

Originally released as a videographic experiment in film history, Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Histoire(s) du cinéma’ has been widely hailed as a landmark in how we think about and narrate cinema history, and in how history is taught through cinema. This book-length study of the various manifestations of ‘Histoire(s) du cinéma’ (videos/DVDs, books, CDs, 35mm film) examines the project as both a specimen of an artist’s vision and a philosophical statement on the history of film. It begins by charting the development of ‘Histoire(s) du cinéma’ from the late 1960s onwards, and situating the project within the context of Godard’s wider oeuvre. It goes on to contextualize Godard’s theories and approaches to historiography, and to provide a guide to the wide-ranging cinematic, aesthetic, and cultural forces that shaped his ideas on topics such as silent cinema, World War II, the Holocaust, cinema and national identity, Hollywood, the French New Wave, and television. The book is lavishly ill
ustrated with over 260 images and is in colour throughout.

REVIEW

“Michael Witt has given us a clear, exhilarating, inspiring presentation of Godard’s tour de force, ‘Histoire(s) du cinéma’, bringing the director’s entire body of work into focus in the process. Beautifully written, his study succeeds brilliantly in making Godard’s most difficult films and videos comprehensible, tracing their genealogies within the director’s career and his points of reference. This is essential reading about digital media’s potential to ‘write history’, raising wonderful questions about a committed personal approach to 'cinema history'.” (Janet Bergstrom, Professor of Cinema and Media Studies, UCLA)

PROMOTIONAL OFFER

The paperback edition of the book can be purchased in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa at a 30% discount (£16.79 rather than £23.99) direct from the distributor, Combined Academic Publishers, using the discount code CS0813JEAN at checkout:http://www.combinedacademic.co.uk/36160-jean-luc-godard-cinema-historian.html   To order by phone with this discount, call Marston Book Services on +44(0)1235 465500.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Witt is Reader in Cinema Studies and Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Film and Audiovisual Cultures at the University of Roehampton, London (http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/Research-Centres/Centre-for-Research-in-Film-and-Audiovisual-Cultures/). He is the co-editor of ‘For Ever Godard’ (Black Dog, 2004), ‘The French Cinema Book’ (BFI, 2004), and ‘Jean-Luc Godard: Documents’ (Centre Pompidou, 2006). He has recently contributed an introduction to the new transcription and translation into English by Timothy Barnard of Godard’s ‘Introduction to a True History of Cinema and Television’, which is forthcoming in April 2014 from caboose books:http://www.caboosebooks.net/true-history-of-the-cinema

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
0.1 Godard’s Theorem
0.2 What is ‘Histoire(s) du cinéma’?
0.3 The Aims and Organization of this Book

Chapter 1: ‘Histoire(s) du cinéma’: A History
1.1 Prehistory of the Project
1.2 The Museum of the Real
1.3 Development and Morphogenesis of the Series
1.4 Dialogue with Serge Daney
1.5 Completion

Chapter 2: The Prior and Parallel Work
2.1 Thinking Oneself Historically
2.2 On the Genealogy of Godard’s Videographic Style
2.3 The Parallel Output
2.4 Projection

Chapter 3: Models and Guides
3.1 The Orphic Challenge
3.2 Historians and Philosophers of History
3.3 Art Historians
3.4 Cinema Historians
3.5 Found-Footage Essayists
3.6 Audiovisual Film Critics and Historians

Chapter 4: The Rise and Fall of the Cinematograph
4.1 The Intelligence of the Cinematograph
4.2 Insulted and Injured
4.3 Resurrection

Chapter 5: Cinema, Nationhood, and the New Wave
5.1 Vestiges of Montage
5.2 Collaboration and Popularity
5.3 Cinema and National Identity
5.4 National Cinemas
5.5 The New Wave

Chapter 6: Making Images in the Age of Spectacle
6.1 Beauty and the Beast
6.2 The Televisual Mutation
6.3 Making Images, Making History

Chapter 7: The Metamorphoses
7.1 Selected Moments
7.2 Glue and Scissors
7.3 The ‘Histoire(s) du cinéma’ books
7.4 Godard as Sound Artist
7.5 Histoire(s) de la musique

Envoi

Works by Godard
Bibliography
Notes


Dr Michael Witt
Reader in Cinema Studies
Co-Director, Centre for Research in Film and Audiovisual Cultures (CRFAC)
http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/Research-Centres/Centre-for-Research-in-Film-and-Audiovisual-Cultures/
Department of Media, Culture and Language
University of Roehampton  |  London  |  SW15 5SL  |  United Kingdom
(m.witt /at/ roehampton.ac.uk)   |www.roehampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 208 392 3274
Website:http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/staff/Michael-Witt/


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