The Widescreen Anamorphic Lens

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademic

    Abstract

    This article examines the transformative impact of anamorphic widescreen technology on film aesthetics, in two parts: first, I discuss how the affordances of early anamorphic widescreen technology (primarily CinemaScope) played a key role in standardizing widescreen formats in the Hollywood film industry during the 1950s. Following this brief historical contextualization, I argue that that besides its affordances, the initial limitations of this particular technology too have impacted film aesthetics. In the possession of later widescreen technologies, filmmakers responded to the limitations of early anamorphic formats by introducing or re-introducing stylistic and aesthetic techniques.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationExposing the Film Apparatus
    Subtitle of host publicationThe Film Archive as a Research Laboratory
    EditorsGiovanna Fossati, Annie van den Oever
    Place of PublicationAmsterdam
    PublisherAmsterdam University Press/EYE
    Pages109-117
    ISBN (Print)978-90-8964-718-4 en 978-94-6298-316-8
    Publication statusPublished - 11-Mar-2016

    Publication series

    NameFraming Film
    PublisherAmsterdam University Press
    ISSN (Print)2352-5576

    Keywords

    • Film Analysis
    • Film archive
    • widescreen
    • film theory
    • film history

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