From Library Journal
In over 350 entries, Beaver concentrates on historical and contemporary film-art techniques, concepts, genres, and styles rather than the technical aspects of filmmaking. Users familiar with the previous edition (LJ 4/15/83) will welcome the same quality here, but they will probably be disappointed by the paucity of new material. An examination of the entries "absolute film" through "buddy films" revealed only four new entries (out of 47), with minimal text revisions. Even the 100-plus stills are almost entirely duplicated. Still, the new edition's consistent quality recommends it for all public and academic libraries that do not have the first edition.
Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., Tex.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
As the subtitle implies, the entries in the
Dictionary of Film Terms focus on "aesthetic" terminology dealing with "techniques, concepts, genres, and styles that have evolved as a part of cinematic expression and analysis." First published in 1984, this updated edition covers the cinema from its inception to the present. Entries range from
absolute film (a term used to describe the abstract experimental European film movement of the 1920s) and
camera obscura (which describes the principle of photographic reproduction developed by Leonardo da Vinci) to
digital sound. Many of the definitions refer to specific films as examples. When definitions contain words or terms that are themselves entries in the book, these are boldfaced.
See references appear at the end of some definitions. This new edition is more than 50 pages longer with new terms (e.g.,
computer-generated imaging,
cult film) and illustrations. Some entries from the first edition have been updated with current films added as examples. Two indexes list film titles mentioned in the entries and group entries topically under such headings as
Editing,
Cinematography, and
Lighting. The chronology from the previous edition has been dropped.
Ira Konigsberg's Complete Film Dictionary (New American Library, 1987) defines 3,500 terms--many more than the Dictionary of Film Terms. Konigsberg's entries are more technical than Beaver's, but both books are generally understandable to the layperson. Although the Dictionary of Film Terms includes a few terms not included in Konigsberg (such as introvision, last minute rescues, and Hitchcockian), there are many terms defined in the latter book that are not in Dictionary of Film Terms. Both books are illustrated with small black-and-white photographs, but The Complete Film Dictionary also contains instructive line drawings. In a few cases The Complete Film Dictionary goes into more technical detail than the Dictionary of Film Terms. (Beaver defines the term optical printer in a paragraph, while Konigsberg has a 21/2-page description of the equipment.)
Most libraries that already own The Complete Film Dictionary do not need to add the Dictionary of Film Terms; however, large academic and research libraries and specialized film libraries with Konigsberg's book should purchase the Dictionary of Film Terms because of its aesthetic emphasis. Public libraries and smaller academic libraries without an adequate film dictionary should consider The Complete Film Dictionary instead of the Dictionary of Film Terms because of its more comprehensive coverage.
