Preview added to your library
The Big Screen By: David Thomson

The Big Screen - The Story of the Movies

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Rate this book!

( 103 customer ratings)

In order to rate this item, you must sign in first.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, October 2012

Synopsis

The Big Screen tells the enthralling story of the movies: their rise and spread, their remarkable influence over us, and the technology that made the screen—smaller now, but ever more ubiquitous—as important as the images it carries.

The Big Screen is not another history of the movies. Rather, it is a wide-ranging narrative about the movies and their signal role in modern life. At first, film was a waking dream, the gift of appearance delivered for a nickel to huddled masses sitting in the dark. But soon, and abruptly, movies began transforming our societies and our perceptions of the world. The celebrated film authority David Thomson takes us around the globe, through time, and across many media—moving from Eadweard Muybridge to Steve Jobs, from Sunrise to I Love Lucy, from John Wayne to George Clooney, from television commercials to streaming video—to tell the complex, gripping, paradoxical story of the movies. He tracks the ways we were initially enchanted by movies as imitations of life—the stories, the stars, the look—and how we allowed them to show us how to live. At the same time, movies, offering a seductive escape from everyday reality and its responsibilities, have made it possible for us to evade life altogether. The entranced audience has become a model for powerless and anxiety-ridden citizens trying to pursue happiness and dodge terror by sitting quietly in a dark room.

Does the big screen take us out into the world, or merely mesmerize us? That is Thomson’s question in this grand adventure of a book. Books about the movies are often aimed at film buffs, but this passionate and provocative feat of storytelling is vital to anyone trying to make sense of the age of screens—the age that, more than ever, we are living in.


$15.29 List price: $16.99 You save: 10% ($1.70)

BUY NOW

Preview added to your library

The Big Screen - The Story of the Movies

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, October 2012
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
( 103 customer ratings)

You Might Like:

eBook Information

ISBN: 9781466827714
Language:  English
Download options: Adobe DRM EPUB

Files Available for Download

If you use one of Kobo's free reading apps you won't need to worry about download options most of the time. Your Kobo reading app can easily add Kobo Store books to your library for a seamless reading experience.

Download options matter when:

  • You want to read your book on an eReader other than the Kobo eReader (see here for a list of supported eReaders).
  • The book you want is only available as an Adobe DRM PDF.

In both of these cases you will need to:

  1. Download a copy of your book to your computer.
  2. Open the book using a free application called Adobe Digital Editions.

You can also use Digital Editions to transfer the book to your eReader. See here for more information on Digital Editions.

Read this on:

  • Desktop More

    Kobo Desktop App

    You can read this item on your computer using our free Kobo Desktop Application. This application lets you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones. Check out our demo for more information!

    Download it now for PC!

    Download App!

    Mac user? Click here

    Download it now for Mac!

    Download App!

    PC user? Click here

    Learn More »
  • eReaders More

    eReading Devices

    You can read this item on your Kobo eReader (or other select electronic reading devices). The Kobo eReader lets you carry your whole library with you, so that you can read on the go.

    Visit kobo.com/ereaders »
  • Tablets More

    Tablets

    You can read this item on select tablets using one of our free Kobo apps. These apps let you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones.

    Learn More »
  • Kobo Vox More

    Kobo Vox

    You can read this item on your Kobo Vox eReader. The Kobo Vox eReader lets you read books with color, sound or interactive elements. Check out our demo for more information on the Kobo Vox.

    Learn More »
  • Kobo Arc More

    Kobo Arc

    You can read this item on your Kobo Arc using the Library app. This app lets you read, manage your library of eBooks, and shop for new books.

    Learn More »
  • Android More

    Android

    You can read this item on any Android device (phone, tablet) with one of our free Kobo apps. These apps let you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones.

    Learn More »
  • iPhone More

    iPhone

    You can read this item on the free Kobo app for iPhone. This app let you read, manage your library of eBooks, and even shop for new ones.

    Download the iPhone App! Learn More »

Goodreads Reviews for The Big Screen

{1}

By: {2}

Available on: {3}

Coming soon

Secure Transaction

Subtotal

Store Credit

Total

We'll charge your credit card {4} on {3}.

We'll charge your credit card {4} when the book is added to your Library.

Your store credit covers the cost of this purchase, so we don't charge your credit card

Use Quick Buy for all eBook purchases.
{0}
By clicking Buy Now, I agree to Kobo's Terms of Sale. BUY NOW Pre-Order

Thank you for your purchase

Thanks for pre-ordering

{2} is now in your library. You'll receive an email confirming your purchase very soon.

{2} has been pre-ordered. You'll receive a confirmation email confirming your pre-order very soon.

You were charged:

You will be charged: on {3}

You will be charged: when the book is added to your Library

Rakuten Super Points earned: {1}

Rakuten Super Points {1} earned after the book is added to your Library

{0}
Continue shopping