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Kristin Thompson, Storytelling in the New Hollywood: Understanding Classical Narrative Technique (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999), xi + 398 pp., $49.95 (cloth), $24.95 (paper).
In 1985, Kristin Thompson (along with David Bordwell and Janet Staiger) published The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960, which still remains one of the most influential analyses of American film. The three authors demonstrated how the totality of feature films produced by the major American studios between 1917 and 1960 represented a distinct artistic, economic, and technological phenomenon, known as Classical Hollywood Cinema. One of CHC's most vital elements was having "clear-cut guidelines of filmmaking," which told "stories clearly, vividly, and entertainingly" (1). All other aspects of the CHC film style - including cinematography, editing, production design, lighting, and music - were purposely designed not only for aesthetic pleasure,...