Shared Pleasures: A History of Movie Presentation in the United States

Gomery ( The Hollywood Studio System ) has filled a huge gap in the history of motion pictures in America. In this exhaustive volume, he deals with movie distribution and presentation, a subject almost completely overlooked in scholarly treatment of the medium. The first of the book's three sections is a history of movie display from nickelodeons to VCRs. Of particular interest here is the evidence that television was not responsible for the decline in moviegoing. The second section deals with specialty operations, including art-house cinemas and theatres for African-Americans. The final section looks at the effect of technological innovations, from the emergence of sound to wide-screen movies to the advent of home video. Written in a conversational style, the book should appeal to a wide range of movie fans. Tracing the impact of child-bearing patterns, the rise of the suburbs and shopping malls and America's automobile culture as seen in the form of drive-in theaters, this volume is as much a social history of the U. S. as it is a history of movie exhibition. It will become a standard for anyone interested in a complete ``picture'' of our true national pastime. (May)