This collection is the first to bring together scholars to explore the ways in which various people and groups in Italian society reacted to the advent of cinema. Looking at the responses of writers, scholars, clergymen, psychologists, philosophers, members of parliament, and more, the pieces collected here from that period show how Italians developed a common language to describe and discuss this invention that quickly exceeded all expectations and transcended existing categories of thought and artistic forms. The result is a close-up picture of a culture in transition, dealing with a 'scandalous' new technology that appeared poised to thoroughly change everyday life.

[Francesco Casetti](https://filmstudies.yale.edu/people/francesco-casetti) is the Thomas E. Donnelly Professor of Humanities and Film and Media Studies at Yale University. Silvio Alovisio is Assistant Professor of Film at University of Torino. He is extensively working on Italian silent cinema and early film theories. He is the author of some ten essays and books, among which The 'Pastrone System': Itala Film from the Origins to World War 1, and L'occhio sensibile (The Responsive Eye) on cinema and psycho/physiology.Luca Mazzei is Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Film at University of Roma "Tor Vergata". He currently works on early film theories, novels on film, and the role of cinema during the war against the Ottoman Empire (1911). He is the co-editor of Lucio d'Ambra il cinema (co-ed. with A. Aprà) and Microteorie. Cinema Muto Italiano (co-ed. with L. Quaresima).

Francesco Casetti, The Throb of the Cinematograph Section 1. Cinema and Modern LifeIntroduction (Francesco Casetti)1. Edipi [Ettore della Porta], Cinematography2. Giovanni Papini, The Philosophy of Cinematograph3. Gaio [Adolfo Orvieto], Summertime Spectacles: The Cinema 4. Maffio Maffii, Why I love the Cinema5. Giovanni Fossi, The Movie Theatre Audience6. Crainquebille [Enrico Thovez], The Art of Celluloid7. Ricciotto Canudo, The Triumph of the Cinema8. Fausto Maria Martini, The Death of the WordSection 2. Film in TransitionIntroduction (Francesco Casetti) 9. Lucio D'Ambra, The Museum of the Fleeting Moment10. Haydée [Ida Finzi], The Woman and the Cinema11. Emanuele Toddi [Pietro Silvio Rivetta], Darkness and Intelligence 12. Matilde Serao, A Spectatrix is Speaking to You13. Emilio Scaglione, Motion Pictures in Provincial Towns14. Edoardo Coli, Cinematic Psychology15. Silvio D'Amico, The Cinematograph Doesn't Exist16. Giovanni Bertinetti, The Cinema, School of the Will and of Energy17. Alberto Orsi, The Close-Up18. Ernesto Quadrone, Cinedrama TitlesSection 3. Cinema at War Introduction (Luca Mazzei)19. Nino Salvaneschi, The War from Close-Up20. Renato Giovannetti, That Poor Cinema21. Renato Giovannetti, War Applied to Industry22. Luigi Lucatelli, Families of Soldiers23. g. pr. [Giuseppe Prezzolini], War and Cinema24. Lucio D'Ambra, Max Linder Dies in the War25. Saverio Procida, Cinema of War Section 4. Politics, Morality, EducationIntroduction (Silvio Alovisio)26. Domenico Orano, The Cinema and Education27. Romano Costetti, The Intuitive Method of Religious Education28. Giovan Battista Avellone, The Cinema and Its Influence on the Education of the People29. Francesco Orestano, Motion Pictures and Scholastic Education 30. Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, The People's Theatre31. Angelina Maria Buracci, Cinema for the Cultivation of the Intellect 32. Ettore Fabietti, The Cinema as TeacherSection 5. Film, Body, MindIntroduction (Silvio Alovisio)33. Pasquale Rossi, Collective Psychology34. Mario Ponzo, Psychological Observations Made during Motion Picture Screenings35. Giuseppe D'Abundo, Concerning the Effects of Film Viewing on Neurotic Individuals 36. Mariano Luigi Patrizi, The Ongoing Battle between Gesture and Word 37. Mario Umberto Masini and Giuseppe Vidoni, The Cinematograph in the Field of Mental Ilness and Criminality: Notes38. Mario Ponzo, Cinema and Juvenile Delinquency Section 6. The Aesthetic Side Introduction (Luca Mazzei and Silvio Alovisio)39. Corrado Ricci, Problems of Art: Expression and Movement in Sculpture 40. Sebastiano Arturo Luciani, Scenic Impressionism41. Goffredo Bellonci, The Aesthetics of Cinema42. Sebastiano Arturo Luciani, The Poetics of Cinema43. Goffredo Bellonci, Manifesto for a Cinematic Revolution44. Antonio Gramsci, Theatre and the Cinema45. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Bruno Corra, Emilio Settimelli, Arnaldo Ginna, Giacomo Balla, and Remo Chiti, The Futurist Cinematography46. Antonio Gramsci, In the Beginning Was Sex=47. Emanuele Toddi [Pietro Silvio Rivetta], Rectangle-Film (25 x 19)48. Anton Giulio Bragaglia, The Proscenium Arch of My Cinema49. Lucio D'Ambra, My Views on the Cinematograph 50. Michele Biancale, Meditations in the DarkSection 7. A Theory in a Narrative Form Introduction (Luca Mazzei)51. Roberto Tanfani, Colour Film 52. Luigia Cortesi, At the Cinema53. Alberto Lumbroso, A Phantom Pursued54. Aldo Borelli, Miopetti's Duel 55. Guido Gozzano, Pamela-Film 56. Pio Vanzi, Feature Film57. Luciano Doria, Me, Riri, and Love in Slippers58. Federigo Tozzi, A Cinematic Performance59. Pier Maria Rosso di San Secondo, Life, a Glass Theatre60. Guido Gozzano, The Shears' ReflectionSources Authors' BiographiesGeneral BibliographyAknowledgementsIndex Editors' Biographies