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Great Pioneers of the Cinema
by William M. Drew
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| This section includes articles on some of the most outstanding directorial talents of the early cinema. For the first time in history, individuals from virtually every culture in the world simultaneously created an art. It is the goal of this series to give some sense of the scope and variety of international film production in the silent era. Some of these filmmakers have remained world famous but have often been misunderstood or misinterpreted, and some still await wider international recognition. Some were extremely prolific, directing hundreds of films, while others made only a handful; yet all shared a passion for exploring the new, universal language of images, transforming the cinema through the force of their art. Some died before the advent of sound, and some were forced out of the industry with the onset of the technological revolution. Others were pivotal in shaping the language of sound film in the 1930s and 1940s; indeed, a number continued their careers into the 1960s and 1970s when the new directors of "the film generation" were establishing themselves. Rediscovering the films of the silent artists, works that had all too often been neglected in the wake of the sound revolution, enables later generations to recapture the original purity and beauty of cinema while gaining a greater understanding of other cultures around the world. |
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Copyright © 2002 by William M. Drew. All rights reserved.
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