TY - BOOK AU - Snyder,Robert L. TI - Pare Lorentz and the documentary film SN - 0874174112 AV - PN1995.9.D6 S56 1993eb U1 - 070.1/8 20 PY - 1994/// CY - Reno PB - University of Nevada Press KW - Lorentz, Pare. KW - Documentary films KW - United States KW - History and criticism KW - LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES KW - Journalism KW - bisacsh KW - fast KW - Lorentz, Pare KW - Criticism, interpretation, etc KW - Electronic books N1 - Originally published: Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 1968. With new preface; Includes bibliographical references and index; I. The Roots of the Films of Merit -- II. The Plow That Broke the Plains -- III. The River -- IV. The Formation and Financing of the United States Film Service -- V. Ecce Homo! and The Fight for Life -- VI. Other Productions and Projects of the Film Service -- VII. The End of the Films of Merit -- VIII. An Evaluation of the Films of Merit -- A. Letter from Comptroller General McCord to Administrator, Resettlement Administration, August 19, 1935 -- B. Letter from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Lowell Mellett, August 13, 1938 -- C. Letter from President Roosevelt to Henry A. Wallace, August 13, 1938 -- D. Letter from Lowell Mellett to Pare Lorentz, August 13, 1938 -- E. Letter from President Roosevelt to Lowell Mellett, September 20, 1938 -- F. Letter from President Roosevelt to John Studebaker, July 1, 1939 -- G. Letter from Pare Lorentz to Louis Gruenberg -- H. Bulletin from the United Parents Associations -- I. Proposals for an Inter-American Film Program, August 16, 1939; J. Data on the Films of Merit; Electronic reproduction; [S.l.]; HathiTrust Digital Library; 2011 N2 - In October 1990, the Library of Congress announced its list of twenty-five culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant films to be added to the National Film Registry. The River, written and directed by Pare Lorentz in 1937, was inducted along with Scorsese's Raging Bull and Capra's It's a Wonderful Life; Originally published in 1967, Pare Lorentz and the Documentary Film was the first book devoted exclusively to the works of Lorentz. Robert L. Snyder focuses on the films Lorentz made for the United States Film Service - The River, The Plow That Broke the Plains, and The Fight for Life. With the exception of a few vintage World War I training films, these three films were the first made by the government for general viewing by the American public; It was Lorentz's idea to produce a series of films about the pressing problems facing the nation during the Great Depression - drought, floods, poverty, and slums. With an initial budget of $6,000 and the enormous drive and energy of a young director who had never made a motion picture, the beginnings were anything but auspicious. The results, however, were sensational and often made national headlines; In spite of inadequate budgets, bureaucratic red tape, professional jealousies, Lorentz developed new filming techniques and set new standards in his documentaries. Snyder has written a perceptive account of the production of these classic films and the contemporary reaction to them, along with a critical evaluation of each work. This is an important book for anyone interested in documentary film and the history of the Depression era UR - https://libproxy.firstcity.edu.my:8443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&AN=27953 ER -