Cineastes and film lovers of all ages looking for further education into movies and filmmakers during this holiday season have several new books from which to choose in advancing their knowledge of silent film, Pre-Code, and film criticism. All offer a plethora of information and insight as they dissect and define their possibilities and construction.

A Journey Through Film History book signing by Anthony Slide at 6 p.m. Monday at Be Kind Video, 3601 1/2 Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, Calif., 91505.

Silent film accompanist and archivist Ben Model’s engaging book “The Silent Film Universe” provides an entertaining and concise explanation for the wonder and artistry of silent film, making it accessible for fans of all ages. He dissects and deconstructs its grammar, language, and acting, revealing that it “is a trifecta of silence, monochrome, and especially the speed-up of film… .” that envelops its viewers in a romantic dream state, deciphered with simple clues, feelings, and intuitiveness. Based on his lifetime of watching and accompanying silent film, Model reveals how those of us who love silent film realize that our own reactions and imaginations become an important part of its own creation, envisioning and understanding its missing pieces as we fall deeper into its dreamworld.

This “Silent Film Universe” comes through performance techniques that show and highlight action, the use of title cards to provide gateways into scenes, and the practice of “undercranking,” that is shooting at a slower frame rate than what it would be projected at, elevating the medium to its own separate plane of existence and taking us “into the uncharted territory of wonder… .” Model’s book is a must for those learning about and falling in love with silent film. “The Silent Film Universe” is published by Undercrank Productions LLC costs $20 in paperback. and can be found at leading online sites and Model’s own Undercrank website.

Kim Luperi and Danny Redi’s “Pre-Code Essentials: Must-See Cinema from Hollywood’s Untamed Era, 1930-1934” offers an engrossing survey of 50 Pre-Code essential films, the era they were produced in, and what the Pre-Code genre entails. The term Pre-Code refers to films produced at the height of the Great Depression between 1930-1934 that directly confronted provocative and important subjects such as economic disparities, class consciousness, and sexual freedom, before the Production Code Administration stepped in and drastically watered down American cinema through censorship and political threats. Raw, dark, and uncompromising, they disparaged the status quo while celebrating the bold, brave, and adventurous. The book examines 50 essential films of the genre, including “Freaks,” “Safe in Hell,” “I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang,” “Madam Satan,” “Merrily We Go to Hell,” and “Baby Face,” augmented with over 200 lavish photos and PCA records.

This is an entertaining joy ride into the daring world of early American sound cinema. The books is released by Running Press, costs $25.99, and can be found in many local bookstores or through book buying websites.

For those looking for insight into the evolution of film scholarship, journalism, and archives over the last 50 years, one can turn to Anthony Slide’s forthcoming BearManor Media book, “A Journey Through Film History: Anthony Slide in Conversation with Matthew Renoir.” Renoir, great grandson of the legendary French director Jean Renoir, conducts a series of interviews with Slide similar to the classic “Hitchcock/Truffaut” book, revealing Slide’s life as a writer and historian documenting the work of the film world’s earliest and greatest filmmakers and actors through interviews, biographies, and histories, while providing insight into Slide’s long and detailed career as a film schola, which continues today.

The book launches Monday, December 15 at 6 pm at BeKind Video, 3601 1/2 Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank with a talk and book signing with Slide. Books cost $20.

These books offer a deep and fascinating look into varied film genres, writers, and histories for those looking to expand their knowledge of film and its impact on social and visual culture.