Western Civilization: A Critical Guide to Documentary Films

by Neil Heyman

Overview

Offering critical reviews of over 170 widely available documentaries, this book provides a unique guide for instructors teaching the History of Western Civilization and specialized European history courses. Coverage is from ancient times to the post World War II era. Selecting films that instructors would be likely to consider using, Heyman provides lengthy critical evaluations. Each evaluation includes a brief summary, a letter grade from A to D, a discussion of the film's technique, a consideration of its organization, and in most instances, a specific statement of its strong and weak points.

Many evaluations include specific indications of how a film can be integrated into a course on Western Civilization. Information is also provided on length, release dates, and where films can be obtained. Arranged chronologically, chapters cover films on major time periods or topics such as the Renaissance or Fascism and Nazism, enabling instructors to choose films that will illustrate specific teaching topics in European history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313284380
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/20/1995
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)
Lexile:	1240L (what's this?)

About the Author

NEIL M. HEYMAN is professor of history at San Diego State University. His previous books include the Biographical Dictionary of World War I (Greenwood 1982), and Russian History (1993).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Pre-History
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Christianity and Judaism
Early Middle Ages
Later Middle Ages
Fourteenth Century
The Renaissance
Reformation and Counter-Reformation
Sixteenth Century: Wars, Politics, The Age of Discovery
Seventeenth Century
Eighteenth Century, French Revolution, and Napoleon
Nineteenth Century
Early Twentieth Century
World War I and Post-War Europe
The Dictatorships
World War II and the Holocaust
Post-World War II Era
Subject Index
Series Index
Title Index

Editorial Reviews

Presents critical reviews of some 170 historical documentaries, arranged in sections on time periods from prehistory to post-WWII, for instructors in courses in Western civilization and in areas of European history. Entries on serial works and individual titles, plus many works too recent to be listed in current catalogs, include running time, year of production, a short summary, and a critical review about a page in length. Letter grades rate films according to clarity, accessibility, and emphasis on visual presentation. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Critical reviews of 173 documentaries suitable for use in Western Civilization courses are arranged in chronological order here. Each entry includes length, year of production, color or black-and-white designation, producer or distributor, and name of the series of which the individual film may be a part. A letter grade is assigned to each film that reflects the author's assessment of its relative worth for classroom use. These grades range from "A" ("excellent film" ) to "D" ("inferior film" ) and are further explained in the preface. A summary of a line or two characterizes each film, followed by a critical essay of several paragraphs. There are indexes by subject, series, and title Although many of the films included are parts of larger series familiar to viewers of public television (e.g., "The Ascent of Man", "Civilisation", and "A Walk through the 20th Century with Bill Moyers"), the lack of contact information beyond the name of the producer or distributor is a drawback. Though the author mentions the names of several university audiovisual departments where the films are available for rental, and the titles of several film-locator reference books, more complete contact information would be preferable While past eras are well covered in the selection of films, the postWorld War II period is represented by only a handful of entries, most of which are episodes from "Europe: The Mighty Continent", a 1976 television series. There have been a number of worthwhile documentary series about events after 1945 that might have been included, such as "Vietnam: A Television History" or "Eyes on the Prize". Those criticisms aside, there doesn't seem to be a comparable source. This work does fulfill its stated purpose, and academic and high-school libraries supporting Western civ courses may want to consider.

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