{"product_id":"how-film-became-history-the-rise-of-the-archival-documentary-in-1930s-america-9780231222587","title":"How Film Became History: The Rise of the Archival Documentary in 1930s America","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy the 1930s, filmmakers had access to a backlog of footage from around thirty years of motion pictures, allowing them to create a new kind of film stitched together from the raw material of older films. At around the same time, the transition to synchronous sound added a transformative new element to the grammar of cinema: the voiceover narration. Together, the film inventory and offscreen commentary gave rise to the archival documentary, the motion picture genre that preserves and rewinds history. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThomas Doherty tells the story of the archival documentary, spotlighting the first films that set out deliberately to preserve history on screen. He shows how newsreels and documentaries challenged the era's restrictive censorship and how film began to engage with the great political issues of the day. Doherty considers a range of films--some well-known, others obscure--including J. Stuart Blackton's \u003ci\u003eThe Film Parade\u003c\/i\u003e (1933), Laurence Stallings and Truman Talley's \u003ci\u003eThe First World War\u003c\/i\u003e (1934), Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr.'s \u003ci\u003eHitler's Reign of Terror \u003c\/i\u003e(1934), Max Eastman and Herbert Axelbank's \u003ci\u003eTsar to Lenin\u003c\/i\u003e (1937), and the \u003ci\u003eMarch of Time\u003c\/i\u003e screen magazine. Tracing the creation of the archival documentary, \u003ci\u003eHow Film Became History\u003c\/i\u003e illuminates how motion pictures have come to shape our vision of the past.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Thomas Doherty\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Columbia University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/21\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSeries:\u003c\/b\u003e Film and Culture\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 280\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780231222587","brand":"Columbia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46021676007561,"sku":"9780231222587","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_86839adf-4b2b-40c2-a913-6560e24fb36a.jpg?v=1777408901","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/how-film-became-history-the-rise-of-the-archival-documentary-in-1930s-america-9780231222587","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}