New Documentary

by Bruzzi; Stella

• ISBN13: 9780415385251
• ISBN10: 0415385253
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-12-04
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Praise for New Documentary: 'It's refreshing to find a book that cuts through the tired old debates that have surrounded documentary film and television. It heralds a welcome new approach.' Sight and Sound 'Documentary practice changes so fast that books on the subject are often out of date before they are published. Bruzzi's achievement is to have understood the genre as an activity based on performance rather than observation. This is a fresh perspective which illuminates the fundamental shifts that will continue to take place in the genre as it enters its second century.' John Ellis, Professor of Media Arts, Royal Holloway, University of London New Documentary provides a contemporary look at documentary and fresh and challenging ways of theorising the non-fiction film. As engaging as the original, this second edition features thorough updates to the existing chapters, as well as a brand new chapter on contemporary cinema release documentaries. This new edition includes: Contemporary films such as Capturing the Friedmans, #xC3;'tre et avoir, Farenheit 9/11, The Fog of Warand Touching the Voidas well as more canonical texts such as Hoop Dreamsand Shoah Additional interviews with influential practitioners, such as director Michael Apted and producer Stephen Lambert A comprehensively revised discussion of modern observational documentary, including docusoaps, reality television and formatted documentaries The work of documentary filmmakers such as Nicholas Barker, Errol Morris, Nick Broomfield, Molly Dineen and Michael Moore and the work of Avant-Garde filmmakers such as Chris Marker and Patrick Keiller Gender identity, queer theory, performance, race and spectatorship. Bruzzi shows how theories of documentary filmmaking can be applied to contemporary texts and genres, and discusses the relationship between recent, innovative examples of the genre and the more established canon of documentary.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	vi
Acknowledgements	vii
Introduction	1
PART I Ground rules	13
1 The event: archive and newsreel	15
2 Narration: the film and its voice	47
PART II The legacy of direct cinema	73
3 Documentary journeys	81
4 New observational documentary: from 'docusoaps' to reality television	120
PART III Performance	153
5 The president and the image	155
6 The performative documentary	185
PART IV New directions	219
7 Contemporary documentaries: performance and success	221
Notes	253
Bibliography	260
Index	269