"Film History: An Introduction", David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson

David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson are a couple of film historians and film theorists who have written two widely used film textbooks, Film Art: An Introduction and Film History. They keep updating their blog Observations on Film Art with outstanding analysis that discuss “film techniques, formal strategies, stylistic choices, norms and transformations of them, and genre conventions” that serve as a complement to their book Film Art. 
Film History: An Introduction is a detailed history of world cinema, from the invention of the first pre-film optical toys to the digital era. Bordwell and Thompson discuss the development of each genre, possibly all film movements, the changes in movie theaters since nickelodeons, various types of censorship, studios policies in the formal constructions of films (cinematography, editing, screenplays' narrative structure) and marketing strategies. A very ambitious book that does not look at the cinema as something individualized, but influenced by historical events and sociocultural factors (World War II, May '68, Prague Spring, etc. .). In addition, they discuss not only commercial cinema (both live action and animation), but also experimental one. The book is replete with references of essential films that characterize every moment analysed and books that may interest those who want to deepen and specialize in a certain filmic area. Currently, Film History is in its fourth edition. This is the second one.

Excerpts:
“The edges of the image created a frame around the events depicted. Objects or figures at the center tended to be more noticeable. Methods of framing the action changed after 1908.

In order to convey the psychology of the characters, for example, filmmakers began to put the camera slightly closer to the actors so that their facial expressions would be more visible. This trend seems to have started about 1909, when the 9-foot line was introduced. This meant that the camera, instead of being 12 or 16 feet back and showing the actors from head to toe, was placed only 9 feet away, cutting off the actors just below the hips. Some reviewers complained that this looked unnatural and inartistic, but others praised the acting in films by Vitagraph, which pioneered this technique.

“Indeed, German Expressionist films emphasize the composition of individual shots to an exceptional degree. Any shot in a film creates a visual composition, of course, but most films draw our attention to specific elements rather than to the overall design of the shot. In classical films, the human figure is the most expressive element, and the sets, costume, and lighting are usually secondary to the actors. The three-dimensional space in which the action occurs is more important than are the two-dimensional graphic qualities on the screen.

In Expressionist films, however, the expressivity associated with the human figure extends into every aspect of the mise-en-scene. During the 1920s, descriptions of Expressionist films often referred to the sets as "acting " or as blending in with the actors' movements. (…) ‘If the decor has been conceived as having the same spiritual state as that which governs the character's mentality, the actor will find in that décor a valuable aid in composing and living his part. He will blend himself into the represented milieu, and both of them will move in the same rhythm.’ Thus, not only did the setting function as almost a living component of the action, but the actor's body became a visual element."

Link to the complete book in PDF:

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