This book is aimed at general readers and students interested in a comprehensive introduction to film studies. While it covers thoroughly the techniques and terminology used in film production and film criticism, the book emphasizes thinking critically and writing effectively about film. Organized in three parts, the text focuses on the fundamentals of film analysis before moving on to more complex topics.

This book is aimed at general readers and students interested in a comprehensive introduction to film studies. While it covers thoroughly the techniques and terminology used in film production and film criticism, the book emphasizes thinking critically and writing effectively about film. Organized in three parts, the text focuses on the fundamentals of film analysis before moving on to more complex topics.

Parts I and II give readers the tools to enhance their enjoyment and understanding of films by helping them to recognize how the various elements of a film-narrative, mise en scene, cinematography, editing and sound-work together to produce meaning.

Part III introduces readers to critical frameworks that highlight the way in which cinema functions as a cultural institution. Individual chapters move beyond textual analysis to consider the relationship between film and society, exploring subjects such as stardom, genre, ideology and the contemporary film industry. Part III offers readers access to current theoretical debates about film in cultural, historical and economic contexts.

Preface 

Picture Credits

Part One

Introduction to Film Analysis

1 Introduction  

2 An Approach to Film Analysis

3 Writing About Film

Part Two

Film Analysis 

4 Narrative Form

5 Mise en Scene

6 Cinematography

7 Editing

8 Sound

9 Alternatives to Narrative Fiction Film: Documentary and Avant-garde Films

Part Three

Cinema and Culture 

10 Social Context and Film Style

11 Film and Ideology

12 Film Stardom as a Cultural Phenomenon

13 Genre

14 Film Authorship

15 Cinema as Industry: Economics and Technology

Glossary 

Bibliography 

Index