Main entry:

Klein, Norman M., 1945-

Title & Author:

The Vatican to Vegas : a history of special effects / Norman M. Klein.

Publication:

New York : New Press : Distributed by Norton, 2004.

Description:

vi, 506 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 407-480) and index.
Introduction : The Vatican to Vegas -- Part I. Scripted spaces and the illusion of power, 1550-1780 -- Baroque immersion, Baroque artifice -- Perspective awry -- Masques -- Happy imprisonment: labyrinths -- Burning down Vesuvius: late Baroque gizmos and fiery illusions, 1750-1780 -- Part II. Building the unexpected: industrial fables as special effects, 1780-1964 -- After 1780: the Baroque imaginary into science fiction -- Aloft: Jules Verne; Felix Nadar; Edgar Allan Poe -- Oz -- Panoramas: a crow's nest over London; Walking through Gettysburg -- The virgin and the dynamo: World's Fairs, 1851-1964 -- Part III. Alien thrills: epic shocks on screen, 1895 to the present -- Movie F/X: making heads roll -- 2001 to 2001: immersion into deep space; Baroque reincarnation -- Animation as Baroque: Fleischer morphs Harlem; Tangos to crocodiles -- Panoramic chases into nowhere: from Tex Avery to Independence day -- The Sim future of the cinematic city -- Part IV. The electronic Baroque: 1955-2050 -- Noir Disney -- Scripted spaces: navigating the consumer-built city -- Outside the labyrinth: architainment in Las Vegas -- The disappearing nineties: Jerde cities -- Conclusion : Easy credit: driving two hundred years a day in Los Angeles -- Afterword: Bush as Baroque special effects (December 23, 2000) -- Appendix. Search engine for the history of special effects.
Dust jacket.

Summary:

"A guided tour through the magical world of illusions, The Vatican to Vegas takes the reader from lavish Baroque fantasies of the seventeenth century to the Electronic Baroque of today. The "scripted spaces" described by Norman Klein are punctuated with devices widely used in special effects: shocks, surprise twists, grand fakes, and copies. These elaborate deceptions allow the viewer to assume the role of a central character. But, as Klein points out, real power in this world of fakery rests with whoever controls the illusion - be it the pope, the president, the imagineer, the designer, or the studio executive."--Jacket.

ISBN:

1565848039 (hc)
9781565848030 (hc)

Subject:

Cinematography Special effects History.
Cinéma Effets spéciaux Histoire.
Cinematography Special effects.
Film
Spezialeffekt
Filmtrucages.
Filmtechniek.
Illusies.
Visuele waarneming.

Form/genre:

History.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 284216
Call No.: BIB 222919
Status: Available