Film: A Critical Introduction

Part One: Introduction to Film Analysis Chapter 1 Introduction Cinema: A Confluence of Artistry, Industry, and Technology How This Book is Organized Technical Tips Chapter 2 An approach to Film Analysis Understanding Audience Expectations The Orchestration of Detail Creating Meaning Through the World Beyond the Film The Goal of Film Analysis: Articulating Meaning The Importance of Developing Interpretive Claims Film Analysis: Reading Significant Details Historical References in Devil in a Blue Dress Chapter 3 Writing About Film Getting Started Four Types of Writing About Film The Scene Analysis Paper: The Big Heat The Film Analysis: Steamboat Bill Jr. The Research Paper: The Conversation and Enemy of the State The Popular Review: SinCity Part Two: Film Analysis Chapter 4 Narrative Form Defining Narrative Narrative Structure Techniques in Practice: Narrative Structure in Stagecoach Variations on Narrative Conventions: Beyond Structure Perspective and Meaning Techniques in Practice: Noticing Shifts in Perspective Film Analysis: Analyzing Narrative Structure The Narrative Complexity of Rashomon Chapter 5 Mise en Scene Setting Techniques in Practice: Same Film, Different Settings Techniques in Practice: Same Setting, Different Film The Human Figure Techniques in Practice: Figure Placement in Citizen Kane Techniques in Practice: Physicality in Raging Bull and Ali Lighting Composition Two Approaches to Mise en Scene Film Analysis: The Functions of Space Spatial Opposition in Thelma and Louise Chapter 6 Cinematography Camerawork: The Camera in Time and Space Techniques in Practice: Patterns of Camera Placement and Movement -- Do the Right Thing Lenses and Filters: The Frame in Depth Techniques in Practice: Lenses and the Creation of Space -- Paths of Glory and M*A*S*H Film Stock Special Visual Effects Digital Cinema: Post-production Digital Cinematography and Film Style Film Analysis: Cinematography in Documentary Films Cinematography in Two Documentaries: Triumph of the Will and Night and Fog Chapter 7 Editing The Attributes of Editing: Collage, Tempo and Timing Techniques in Practice: Using Contrasting Imagery and Timing to Romanticize the Outlaws in Bonnie and Clyde Story-Centered Editing and the Construction of Meaning Beyond Narrative: Creating Meaning Outside the Narrative Techniques in Practice: Soviet Montage Aesthetic in The Godfather Film Analysis: Classical Editing Editing in Notorious Chapter 8 Sound Film Sound: A Brief History Freeing Sound from Image The Relationship Between Sound and Image Three Components of Film Sound Techniques in Practice: Sound Effects and the Construction of Class in Days of Heaven Techniques in Practice: Bernard Herrmann's Score and Travis Bickle's Troubled Masculinity in Taxi Driver Film Analysis: Sound and Language Language, Nationality, and Class in The Grand Illusion Chapter 9 Alternatives to Narrative Fiction Film: Documentary and Avant-garde Films Three Modes of Filmmaking: A Comparison Documentary Film: "The Creative Treatment of Reality" Documentary Form Ethics and Ethnography Avant-garde Film Techniques in Practice: Interpreting Abstract Films Conducting Research on Documentary and Avant-garde Films: Locating Sources Film Analysis: Interpreting Avant-garde Films Editing in Meshes of the Afternoon Part Three: Cinema and Culture Chapter 10 Social Context and Film Style Hollywood's Industrial Context: The Studio System as Dream Factory International Art Cinema Italian Neorealism Third Cinema Chapter 11 Film and Ideology Ideology and Film Analysis Ideology and Film Spectatorship Anti-Communist Witch Hunts and Hollywood Cinema Racial Ideology and American Cinema Gender and Cinema Sexuality and Cinema Disability and Cinema Chapter 12 Film Stardom as a Cultural Phenomenon Stars and the Movie Industry The Dynamics of Performance The Star Persona Stardom and Ideology Stars and Subcultures Chapter 13 Genre What Makes a Genre? Major American Genres Genre, Film Production and Audiences Chapter 14 Film Authorship The Idea of the Auteur: From Cahiers du Cinema to the Sarris-Kael Debate Auteur as Marketing Strategy: Old and New Hollywood Studio-era Auteurs: Welles and Hitchcock Blockbuster Auteurs: Spielberg and Lucas Using the Auteur Approach to Interpret and Evaluate Films Readings in Auteur Criticism Ousmane Sembene Kathryn Bigelow Ang Lee Wong Kar Wai Jafar Panahi Chapter 15 Cinema as Industry: Economics and Technology The Changing Structure of the Film Industry Films as Products Film and the New Technology Glossary Bibliography Picture Credits Index