A Sudden Flicker of Light

The motion picture industry has existed for more than a century and has been marked by success and upheaval. The addition of sound and color were profound moments in the industry, as were the invention of television, the death of the studio system, and the birth of streaming networks. The potential of a film can be speculated on, but audience tastes are fickle and artistic vision may not resonate. Epics with revisionist history (Birth of a Nation) managed to make tens, if not hundreds of millions, while masterpieces such as Citizen Kane received critical acclaim yet barely recovered their production costs. The success of a film(comedy, drama, noir thriller) is often dictated by the period of time in which they were released. The film industry remains bustling and will continue to be as long as Hollywood has its share of ambitious dreamers.

David Thomson is a cinephile, and his respect for motion pictures and their idiosyncrasies is on full display in his latest book on movies, A Sudden Flicker of Light. Whether discussing the shared experience of watching a movie in a theater or pondering how the addition of sound marked a transformative moment in the movie industry’s growth, Thomson suffuses each chapter with scholarly research and colorful insight.