Customer Reviews

Film Art: An Introduction (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Teaching film requires you to look at film. The second week of my film course (they are always night classes that meet once a week so that you have enough time to actually screen something) I always drag in about 50 videotapes to work through the basic vocabulary of the cinema, covering everything from the close-up ("Queen Christina") to the crane-shot ("Gone With the Wind"), from tracking shots ("Touch of Evil") to the jump cut ("2001: A Space Odyssey"). Film textbooks face an inherent limitation in turns of what they can present on the printed page. However, "Film Art: An Introduction" by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson is the proverbial exception to the rule. This is the preeminent introductory film textbook because it has literally hundreds of frames from classic and lesser known films, used to illustrate the key concepts of mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing.

"Film Art" is divided into five main sections: (I) Types of Filmmaking, Types of Films" covers how films are produced and the basic types/genres of films. (II) "Film Form" examines both narrative and nonnarrative formal systems in film, using "Citizen Kane" as a case study for narrative form. (III) "Film Style" is the main section of the textbook, dealing with the shot in terms of both mise-en-scene and cinematography, how editing relates shot to shot, and the function of sound. This section concludes with an analysis of film style in five diverse films. (IV) "Critical Analysis of Film" provides four distinct critical frames of reference and analysis of various films: Classical Narrative Cinema in "His Girl Friday," "North by Northwest" and "Do The Right Thing"; Narrative Alternatives to Classical Filmmaking in "Breathless" and "Tokyo Story"; Documentary Form in "High School" and "Man with a Movie Camera"; and From, Style and Ideology in "Meet Me in St. Louis" and "Raging Bull" (and if that last combination does not give you an indication of the breadth of the examples used by Bordwell and Thompson, nothing will). The textbook concludes with a bibliography, glossary and list of helpful websites.

There are two major strengths to this textbook. First, its complete coverage of cinematic concepts. I think that everyone learns how to "read" a film, but the vast majority of people would not know that the baptism sequence in "The Godfather" is a prime example of "American montage." You read this textbook and you will become aware of things you already understood on a more abstract level. Additionally, they do not stop at first or second level terms, but get into the absolute nuts and bolts of cinema. Second, the use of specific examples from numerous films to demonstrate these concepts. Unless you have a film textbook that has a CD-Rom with miniature film clips, you cannot find one superior to what Bordwell and Thompson offer up here. Furthermore, their use of examples clearly demonstrates their formidable knowledge of the field. The only downside to using this textbook in your film class is that you might have a problem convincing your students you know half as much as this pair.

Way back when I went to University in dear old Blighty. My degree was Film,Tv and Radio Studies, and despite my total lack of application, or to be frank attendance, I graduated with honours and a unhealthy infatuation with Wine, Women and Song. There are two reasons why I graduated, 1 I have the ability to retain information, 2 Film Art by Boardwell and Thompson. Quite frankly the best text book in the history of further education. It is simple enough for the most inexperienced of students, but also it's depth and coverage is enough to give a basic foundation in the most complex of film theory. God bless you Boardwell & Thompsen, and if anyone out there wants both a degree and liver problems as a result of University, BUY THIS BOOK

I'm learning film in the first year at college, and this text is proving its worth. It's got all the basic and major theory concepts, with bucketloads of examples, film stills and diagrams to back up the theory, so you never feel like there's no practical application for what you're learning. Most of the time, the examples are from popular and/or classic films, so you're bound to know what Bordwell and Thompson are talking about as they introduce new ideas.

Nowdays I can't watch films or TV shows without noticing how obvious some of the techniques described in this book are. It's really quite satisfying knowing how to 'read' the language of film, and having an edge over your friends when you go to the movies :)

I found this book to be a an interesting and
informative look at the history of films.
Well, to be honest, it has lots of pictures
and makes good use of them. If you love film,
you'll love this book.

This was assigned in my film history class; but I plan to read the whole thing again later, because it is not only informative but it's also a very good read. It's well organized and puts together a cohesive look at how films go together. I don't give it full marks because it does have the usual murky areas and overly textbook-ish spots. It's also way overpriced for something that isn't available new and yet is not a 'vintage' book.

This book is useful as a university textbook, but is also excellent for filmgoers who would like to understand a bit more than the average audience.

I received the textbook just in time for the quarter to begin. It was in good condition, at a very cheap price. However, if you need the DVD that comes along with the book, you'll have to buy it separately. Otherwise, everything was great.

After spending 3 years as a film major, I was cornered into the Intro to Film studies class that worked out of this absurdly expensive book. 95% of the material we covered I already understood, but reading them in Film Art and trying to understand what the heck was going on made me want to drop out of college. This text manages to take the simplest of film theories and misconstrue them into boring, dense readings using some of the strangest (not the best, by any means) examples from films, some of which you might have seen, others probably you've never heard of (and never will again, even if you're in the field).

For the love of sanity somebody write a better film textbook, this one is horrible. You're much better off reading A Guide to Writing About Film and Film: An International History of the Medium. Professors, please stop assigning this book, trying to plow through this text alone has turned a lot of people I know off of film studies.

I may be in trouble with this book because it's an older version but the price was right and it came with the dvd so I'm winging it. The book looks new and never used.

I decided to read this introductory textbook because it was recommended by another author whose book on film I found helpful. It's a good survey of the field from screenwriting to film production for the early-program student or for the film aficionado looking to learn more. Perhaps most helpful are references to other texts that delve more deeply into subunits of the field.