First shot (80 documentary films)

Author: Zhang Qiu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features:
Detailed information: Provides a comprehensive introduction to the historical background, figures, events, facts, and behind-the-scenes insights related to the documentaries, sharing the unique power of authenticity that documentary films possess.
Complete content: Encompasses 80 documentary films covering historical and cultural studies, environmental and natural themes, celebrity biographies, real-life stories, and recent outstanding documentary works, offering a comprehensive overview of the documentary film genre.
Convenient search: The main text includes bilingual photo captions, country/region names, production years, running times, and major awards for each film; the appendix features the 20 best documentaries selected by the International Documentary Association on its 20th anniversary and a chronicle of significant world film events, providing a comprehensive view of the development history of documentary films.
The 80 films included in this book borrow a name from the history of documentary films and are collectively referred to as "Realistic Films." The term "borrow" is used instead of "use" because the original strict concept of documentary film has been diluted and broadened in the book. It includes both the documentation of reality and the reenactment of reality, encompassing both non-fiction and fiction, documentaries and narrative films, as well as the so-called "mockumentaries" that fall between the two. However, their core remains the same—authenticity.
The title of this book is Mirror. It is named in compliance with the needs of the series, and the asterisk () in Mirror carries the connotations of "truth" and "directness," making it a rather vivid and fitting alias for "Realistic Films." Among the 80 films in the book, the selection intentionally highlights classic, outstanding, and popular new releases and newly issued DVDs in recent years, while also including some beloved classics and even a few television documentaries.
To help readers better understand the historical, personal, event, and factual backgrounds related to the films or the behind-the-scenes production details, a brief introduction is provided in the preface, which, for many readers, may also be one of the valuable highlights of the book.