This journey of research into the career, life and times of the great Australian cinematographer and Director of Photography Robert Krasker, BSC is replete with accidental discoveries and frustrating inability to gain access to exactly the reference books to best tell his story.
I am, of course, not located anywhere near the great research libraries of the northern hemisphere so must make do mostly with what I can find online or, if luck prevails, find something useful in the State Library even with its many gaps and lacks and more.
Until the late Rachael Low’s seven-volume The History of British Film appeared in the results of a search for something completely different, I had no idea such a remarkable research work existed.
Now to find copies of all seven volumes somewhere within reach, although there seems to be problems accessing all seven if one wants to buy them in paperback or Kindle ebook form, given several volumes are missing when I search Amazon in different territories.
Here is how Amazon.com.au describes The History of British Film:
“This set is one of the cornerstones of film scholarship, and one of the most important works on twentieth century British culture. Published between 1948 and 1985, the volumes document all aspects of film making in Britain from its origins in 1896 to 1939.
Rachael Low pioneered the interpretation of films in their context, arguing that to understand films it was necessary to establish their context. Her seven volumes are an object lesson in meticulous research, lucid analysis and accessible style, and have become the benchmark in film history.”
The History of British Film (Volume 1): The History of the British Film 1896 – 1906, https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08DWC6BTY
Rachael Low’s methods and attitudes are somewhat controversial nowadays and that she trashed all her interviews with key figures from the 1920s is a tragedy, but the volume of most use to The Robert Krasker Project would likely be The History of British Film (Volume 7): The History of the British Film 1929–1939, Film Making in 1930s Britain though the title of The History of British Film (Volume 6): The History of the British Film 1929-1939, Films of Comment and Persuasion of the 1930s is not exactly self-explanatory but is intriguing.
Links
- Amazon.com – Rachael Low
- BFI – Why Rachael Low matters – a tribute to the pioneering British film historian – “When Rachael Low died in 2014, it passed relatively unnoticed in the film world. But she deserves to be honoured as a trail-blazing historian of British cinema. Here’s why.”
- Routledge – The History of British Film (Volume 1)The History of the British Film 1896 – 1906
- Taylor & Francis Group – The History of British Film (Volume 1): The History of the British Film 1896 – 1906
- Wikipedia – Rachael Low
The Robert Krasker Project 