Choice Reviews Online · 1998 · 149 citations · 0 references
HumanitiesFilm StudiesFilm AestheticsFilm HistoryMedia StudiesClassical Hollywood CinemaEarly CinemaSilent CinemaSound RecordingSound StudiesStudio System HistoryAdaptation To Silent CinemaEarly Film ExhibitionEarly Film ProductionEpic HistoriographySound Era TransitionSound Technology HistorySound Technology In FilmTransition To Sound
The transition from silent films to talkies was gradual, with Hollywood initially resisting and only reluctantly adopting sound after The Jazz Singer, and many industry members and audiences hesitated to embrace the new technology. The study examines the technological and political forces that introduced sound, their impact on Hollywood, and how the talkie revolution paved the way to the modern film industry. Audience enthusiasm for sound forced a permanent shift away from silent film’s visual dynamism toward the early, often clunky, sound productions.
A chronicle of the epic story of the transition from silent films to talkies. Debunking the myth that Hollywood was transformed overnight in the wake of the popularity of The Jazz Singer in 1927, Eyman shows how the industry at first resisted and then only reluctantly accepted the arrival of sound. For a long time after The Jazz Singer, in fact, there were still some actors, directors, and even filmgoers who refused to embrace the new technology. But the sense of wonder which sound inspired in audiences, causing them to abandon the visual dynamism of silent film in favour of the crudely recorded and stiffly filmed movies of sound's first wave, meant that change was irrevocable. This text explores the technology and politics behind the introduction of sound, how this innovation affected Hollywood, and how the talkie revolution led inexorably to the modern movie industry.