The Cinema of Central Europe (24 Frames) Paperback – Large Print, 30 Aug. 2009

This collection of 24 essays on 24 films starts off with a rather tortuous discussion of its geographical remit, ending up with "Central Europe" as the least (currently) politically incorrect term. It almost makes one nostalgic for the simplicity of the old term "East European Cinema" since Russian cinema, the former Yugoslavia and the recent Rumanian new wave cry out for inclusion.What is included here is concise essays on films from Poland, Hungary and the former Czechoslovakia , from the 1930s up to the present. Many of the writers are well known critics from their respective countries but the book has been intelligently edited and hangs together well as a whole.Books of commissioned essays like this are often just fodder for university film studies courses but this one is unusually readable & consistent and should be of interest to the general cineaste - and thanks to DVD (labels like Second Run, Masters of Cinema) there has been quite a revival of interest recently in cinema from the old Eastern Europe (sorry...) & this is reflected in the films selected here, with pieces on Wajda's Ashes & Diamonds, Polanski's Knife in the Water, Saragrossa Manuscript, Marketa Lazorova, Jancso's Round Up, Menzel's Closely Observed Trains, Daises, Party & the Guests, Makk's Szerelem (Love), Svankmajer's Alice, Kieslowski's Decalogue & Bela Tarr's Satantango. All those films have recently come out on DVD and have been quite a revelation. It's good to be able to read some informed criticism on them all gathered together in one book ("What, no Valerie and Her Week of Wonders?"!).Nice large format book with decent print, photographs and good production values .