Study Abroad: (1975–76), 1976–77) by Unesco (review)

Books 345 the world’s filmmaking was attempted at all is remarkable. During the years intervening since the last text, the output of serious films and hence those that must be considered in a general history, has risen all over the world. The critic for theLondon Timesistheauthorofthis latest, prodigious book. Besides a general history his book contains an appendix on the animated film; a filmography of 500 leading directors (many complete); a selected and careful, if necessarily limited, bibliography arranged by category; indices crossreferenced and arranged by film title, leading actors and directors, and country and genre. These appendices alone show something of the care that went into the preparation of the book; the text itself is remarkably comprehensive. Robinson begins with the prehistory of cinema and carries his narrative virtually up to the present day. He deals with production from a cosmopolitan point of view but does center his attention on western Europe and, in particular, on the U.S.A. He attempts to capture the chronological growth of the movies and, also, to show something of the internal artistic and political forces at work in shaping that history. Considerable attention, including the publication of sequences of shots, is concentrated on depicting the early schools of editing, though this kind of analysis must soon be discontinued, as the grammar of film has become so complex and diversified.Likewise,the rise of the different studios and the major personalities involved is chronicled, while the forces impelling contemporary production cannot be so clearlysketched. A singlebook, however replete, cannot hope to accomplish the exposition more properly contained in a film library: editing, criticism, acting, finance, technique and the mechanical advances of the art. That so much is lucidly arranged at a superficial level is credit to the command of history that Robinson possesses. Usually precise, undogmatic and optimistic, World Cinema reads smoothly without becoming merely suave. (Occasionally Robinson d l use a strange turn of phrase, for example, the sets for ‘The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari’ while apt, and terrifying, are not ‘magnificent’(p. 93) as they were necessitated by a minute budget.) The book immediately suggests itself as an introductory text, although many points rely on the sympathetic experience of the movies. Without the space to describe many of the moments and effects he cites, Robinson’s work would have to be accompanied by a rich program of viewing for novices to get much out of it. Study Abroad: (1975-76), 1976-77). Unesco. Unesco Press, Paris, 1974. 523 pp. FF24,00. This book, a trilingual handbook (in English, French and Spanish), is addressed mainly to students and educational advisors (including those interested in the visual fine arts). It is divided into two main parts: one listing more generally accessible foreign study scholarships at university level (undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate) covering various forms of financial or material aid and the other listing courses, formal study programmes of 10 weeks (1 term) duration or longer (some carrying various forms of financial aid). In the entries on courses, reference is also made, whenever possible, to sources of information on relevant vacation language courses. The scholarships and courses listed are offered by both international organizations and national institutions. In the case of the latter, information is often given on academic, language, financial and other requirements and on information facilities. At the end of the book there are indexes of international organizations, national institutions and subjects of study. Patronage of the Creative Artist. Ian Bruce et a/. Artists Now, London, 1974. 91 pp. Paper, E1.00. Reviewed by E. W. F. Tomlint This foolscap-sized duplicated report is the product of five workers in various kinds of art: Ian Bruce, David Castillejo *Tall Trees, Monvenstow, Cornwall, England. Christopher Cornford, Charles Gosford and Francis Routh. Two of them have held advisory posts with the Arts Council of Great Britain. Their joint purpose here is to criticize the Council’s policy and practice since its inception in 1946, though Cornford feels obliged to make some personal reservations in an addendum. It is possible to accept most of the individual arguments in this intelligently-written and well-researched report without always sharing the writers’ attitude to art...