Chronicle of a Camera: The Arriflex 35 in North America, 1945-1972

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Univ. Press of Mississippi, Feb 15, 2013 - Performing Arts - 168 pages

This volume provides a history of the most consequential 35mm motion picture camera introduced in North America in the quarter century following the Second World War: the Arriflex 35. It traces the North American history of this camera from 1945 through 1972--when the first lightweight, self-blimped 35mm cameras became available.

Chronicle of a Camera emphasizes theatrical film production, documenting the Arriflex's increasingly important role in expanding the range of production choices, styles, and even content of American motion pictures in this period. The book's exploration culminates most strikingly in examples found in feature films dating from the 1960s and early 1970s, including a number of films associated with what came to be known as the "Hollywood New Wave." The author shows that the Arriflex prompted important innovation in three key areas: it greatly facilitated and encouraged location shooting; it gave cinematographers new options for intensifying visual style and content; and it stimulated low-budget and independent production. Films in which the Arriflex played an absolutely central role include Bullitt, The French Connection, and, most significantly, Easy Rider. Using an Arriflex for car-mounted shots, hand-held shots, and zoom-lens shots led to greater cinematic realism and personal expression.

 

Contents

A ThirteenPound Wonder
3
The Early Postwar Years
14
The Fifties
26
The Fifties and Sixties
40
illustrations
51
The Sixties and Early Seventies
52
The Sixties and Early Seventies
68
The Sixties and Early Seventies
89
Master Shot
99
Foreign Influences The Arriflex 35 Overseas
113
Notes
123
Photo Credits
157
Index
159
Copyright

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About the author (2013)

Norris Pope, Palo Alto, California, is program director for scholarly publishing at Stanford University Press. The author of Dickens and Charity, he has a doctorate in modern history from Oxford University. He owns--and often uses--an Arriflex 35.

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