A Companion to Early Cinema

An authoritative and much-needed overview of the main issues in the field of early cinema from over 30 leading international scholars in the fieldFirst collection of its kind to offer in one reference: original theory, new research, and reviews of existing studies in the fieldFeatures over 30 original essays from some of the leading scholars in early cinema and Film Studies, including Tom Gunning, Jane Gaines, Richard Abel, Thomas Elsaesser, and André GaudreaultCaters to renewed interest in film studies" historical methods, with strict analysis of multiple and competing sources, providing a critical re-contextualization of films, printed material and technologiesCovers a range of topics in early cinema, such as exhibition, promotion, industry, pre-cinema, and film criticismBroaches the latest research on the subject of archival practices, important particularly in the current digital context