Latin American cinema : a comparative history / Paul A. Schroeder Rodríguez.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Part 1. Silent cinema. Conventional silent cinema ; Avant-garde silent cinema -- Part 2. Studio cinema. Transition to sound ; Birth and growth of an industry ; Crisis and decline of studio cinema -- Part 3. Neorealism and art cinema. Neorealism and art cinema -- Part 4. New Latin American cinema. New Latin American cinema's militant phase ; New Latin American cinema's Neobaroque phase -- Part 5. Contemporary cinema. Collapse and rebirth of an industry ; Latin American cinema in the twenty-first century -- Conclusion: A triangulated cinema -- Appendix: Discourses of modernity in Latin America.

"A comparative history of Latin America's national cinemas over the course of five major periods: silent cinema, studio cinema, neorealism/art cinema, the New Latin American Cinema, and contemporary cinema. Close readings of approximately fifty films illustrate the major aesthetic, economic, and technological trends that define each period and the transitions between them. The selection of films reflects the tripartite division of film production in the region: 75 percent are from Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina; 25 percent are from countries other than the big three"--Provided by publisher.