The History on Film Reader

Historical film studies is a burgeoning field, with a large and ever growing number of publications from across the globe. The History on Film Reader distils this mass of work, offering readers an introduction to just under thirty of the most critical and representative writings on the relationship between film and history. Films discussed include: Gladiator, Forrest Gump, Pan's Labyrinth, Titanic and Life is Beautiful.
Thematically structured, this Reader offers an overview of the varying ways scholars see film as contributing to our understanding of history, from their relationship with written histories, to their particular characteristics and their role in education, indoctrination and entertainment. It draws together the contributions of scholars from a variety of fields, such as Pierre Sorlin, Natalie Zemon Davis, Robert Rosenstone, Marcia Landy, Hayden White, Jean Baudrillard, Roland Barthes, Philip Rosen, Roy Rosenzweig and David Thelen. Together, these writings represent a novel combination of insights from film theory, cultural studies, historiography, the history of cinema and film promotion and reception.
Including an introduction which describes the field of historical film studies, section introductions which contextualize the chapters and a filmography, this is an essential collection for all those interested in the relationship between history and film.

Marnie Hughes-Warrington is Associate Professor in Modern History at Macquarie University. She is the author of 'How Good an Historian Shall I Be?'(2003), History Goes to the Movies (2007), and Fifty Key Thinkers on History (2008), and is the editor of Palgrave Advances in World Histories (2005).

Introduction Marnie Hughes-Warrington History on Film: Theory, Production, Reception Part I: Introducting Historical Film 1. The Film in History: Restaging the Past Pierre Sorlin 2. Film and the Challenge of Authenticity Natalie Zemon Davis 3. History in Images/History in Words Robert Rosenstone 4. History and Media and Memory Marcia Landy 5. Historiography and Historiophoty Hayden White Part II: Shaping Historical Film 6. Historical Fiction: A Body Too Much? Jean Comolli 7. The Emergence of Cinematic Time Mary A. Doane 8. Flashbacks in Film Maureen Turim 9. The Time-Image Gilles Deleuze 10. Can the Shoah be Funny? Some Thoughts on Recent and Older Films S. L. Gilman 11. Projecting the Holcaust into the Present, Lawrence Baron Part III: Historical Film and Identity 12.Prosthetic Memory / Traumatic Memory Robert Burgoyne Cinema 13 Never Having to Say You're Sorry: Rambo's Rewriting of the Vietnam War D. Desser and G. Studies 14. In the Combat Zone Marilyn Young 15. Revisiting the Round Table: Arthur’s American Dream Susan Aronstein 16. Gladiator and Contemporary America (2000) Monica Silveira Cyrino Part IV: Historical Films as Reality, Documentary and Propaganda 17. History: A Retro Scenario Jean Baudrillard 18. Detail and Historicity in Mainstream Cinema Philip Rosen 19. The Romans in Film Rolans Barthes 20. Historical Authenticity in Popular Films Set in the Past Michelle Pierson 21. Truth, History, and the New Documentary Linda Williams 22. Memory and Pedagogy in the ‘Wonderful World of Disney H. A. Giroux Part V: Marketing and Receiving Historical Film 23. Irony, Nostalgia and the Postmodern L. Hutcheon 24. The Carole Lombard in Macy's Window C. Eckert 25. Selling My Heart: Music and Cross-Promotion in Titanic J. Smith 26. The Presence of the Past Roy Rosenzweig and David Thelen Filmography. Index