Practicallyspeaking,theartisticmaturingofthecinemawasthesingle-handedachievementofDavidW.Griffith(1875-1948).BeforeGriffith,photographyindramaticfilmsconsistedoflittlemorethanplacingtheactorsbeforeastationarycameraandshowingtheminfulllengthastheywouldhaveappearedonstage.Fromthebeginningofhiscareerasadirector,however,Griffith,becauseofhisloveofVictorianpainting,employedcomposition.Heconceivedofthecameraimageashavingaforegroundandarearground,aswellasthemiddledistancepreferredbymostdirectors.By1910hewasusingclose-upstorevealsignificantdetailsofthesceneoroftheactingandextremelongshotstoachieveasenseofspectacleanddistance.Hisappreciationofthecamera’spossibilitiesproducednoveldramaticeffects.Bysplittinganeventintofragmentsandrecordingeachfromthemostsuitablecameraposition,hecouldsignificantlyvarytheemphasisfromcamerashottocamerashot. Griffithalsoachieveddramaticeffectsbymeansofcreativeediting.Byjuxtaposingimagesandvaryingthespeedandrhythmoftheirpresentation,hecouldcontrolthedramaticintensityoftheeventsasthestoryprogressed.Despitethereluctanceofhisproducers,whofearedthatthepublicwouldnotbeabletofollowaplotthatwasmadeupofsuchjuxtaposedimages,Griffithpersisted,andexperimentedaswellwithotherelementsofcinematicsyntaxthathavebecomestandardeversince.Theseincludedtheflashback,permittingbroadpsychologicalandemotionalexplorationaswellasnarrativethatwasnotchronological,andthecrosscutbetweentwoparallelactionstoheightensuspenseandexcitement.Inthusexploitingfullythepossibilitiesofediting,GriffithtransposeddevicesoftheVictoriannoveltofilmandgavefilmmasteryoftimeaswellasspace. Besidesdevelopingthecinema’slanguage,Griffithimmenselybroadeneditsrangeandtreatmentofsubjects.Hisearlyoutputwasremarkablyeclectic:itincludednotonlythestandardcomedies,melodramas,westerns,andthrillers,butalsosuchnoveltiesasadaptationsfromBrowningandTennyson,andtreatmentsofsocialissues.Ashissuccessesmounted,hisambitionsgrew,andwiththemthewholeofAmericancinema.Whenheremade?EnochArden?in1911,heinsistedthatasubjectofsuchimportancecouldnotbetreatedinthethenconventionallengthofonereel.Griffith’sintroductionoftheAmerican-mademulti-reelpicturebegananimmenserevolution.Twoyearslater,?JudithofBethulia,anelaboratehistoricophilosophicalspectacle,reachedtheunprecedentedlengthoffourreels,oronehour’srunningtime.Fromourcontemporaryviewpoint,thepretensionsofthisfilmmayseematrifleludicrous,butatthetimeitprovokedendlessdebateanddiscussionandgaveanewintellectualrespectabilitytothecinema. Theprimarypurposeofthepassageisto_____.
A.discuss the importance of Griffith to the development of the cinema B.document Griffith’s impact on the choice of subject matter in American films C.deplore the state of American cinema before the advent of Griffith D.analyze the changes in the cinema wrought by the introduction of the multi-reel film正确答案A
