page_title: Sejarah Film 1900–1950
section_title: Contents
hierarchical_section_title: Sejarah Film 1900–1950 / Contents
caption_attribution_description: Ad for a short film showing in Batavia
context_page_description: Sejarah Film 1900–1950: Bikin Film di Jawa is a 2009 history of the cinema of the Dutch East Indies written by Misbach Yusa Biran. It was published by Komunitas Bambu in collaboration with the Jakarta Arts Council and well received. The book was written by Biran before his death, three years later.
context_section_description: Sejarah Film 1900–1950 consists of three chapters and has numerous illustrations, including photographs of significant figures and locations, film posters, advertisements, promotional stills, and magazine covers. The book's foreword, entitled "Menghindar Kekacauan dan Menolak Pengabaian" ("Avoiding Chaos and Refusing Ignorance") was written by film producer and critic Eric Sasono. The book has seven appendices, including a list of films of the Dutch East Indies, list of cinemas, and reproductions of correspondence between film personnel from the Indies. Sourcing for the book is mixed, ranging from personal interviews to contemporary newspaper accounts and letters.
  In a foreword, Biran discusses the first films screened in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and their development, beginning in 1900 and continuing until the mid-1920s. He further outlines the roles of the travelling stage troupes in the colony's entertainment industry during the period. At the end of the chapter he suggests that the films from this period, released before Usmar Ismail's Darah dan Doa (1950), could not be considered truly "Indonesian" as they were commercially oriented.
  The following chapter covers the early efforts to make documentaries and fictional films. This chapter includes extensive discussion of the various directors and producers active in the period, as well as numerous films: these include the first fictional film in the Indies, Loetoeng Kasaroeng (1926), the first sound film in the colony, Karnadi Anemer Bangkong (1930), and the period's most successful film, Terang Boelan (1937).
  The second chapter, the book's longest, discusses the golden period of Indies' films between 1939 and 1941. It includes discussions of the major production houses of the time, all owned by ethnic Chinese. It further discusses various trends at the time, including the star system, reportage of the industry, and common themes. Films discussed in this chapter include the action film Rentjong Atjeh, the romance Kartinah (both 1940), and the early supernatural thriller Tengkorak Hidoep.
  The final chapter discusses the state of the film industry during the Japanese occupation (1942–1945) and ensuing National Revolution (1945–1949). Topics include the Japanese propaganda during the occupation and early films by Usmar Ismail late in the revolution, as well as the activities of the news agency Berita Film Indonesia.
caption: An example of an image from the book: a 1905 advertisement for a film screening
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