Customer Reviews

Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're looking to get into film studies, this is THE essential anthology to buy. I've seen pretty much every major anthology of film theory out right now and this is without a doubt the most comprehensive of the lot.

First, a word of warning: one review indicates that the essays are difficult and this is very true. "Introductory Readings" is slightly misleading because this collection isn't aimed at someone completely new to the field. Some of these essays (particularly those by Metz and Deleuze) assume quite a bit of knowledge on topics such as Lacanian psychoanalytic theory and postmodern critical theory. It's really not a "film appreciation guide" in any way. Those are out there and they're great at what they do, but this is different. It's a collection on some of the most important theoretical essays in the field.

It's now in the 6th edition and there are a fair amount of new essays. I'm not sure that it's worth upgrading if you have a recent edition though. I definitely wouldn't discard your 5th edition, as this edition drops at least three or four essays in favor of newer ones.

A couple things are noteworthy: first, there is now a presence of Deleuze, an omission that seemed curious until now. Second, there is a wider range of ideas now. The best example is Jeff Sconce's article on new critical approaches to exploitation cinema. I always felt this collection slightly favored historic theoretical works (e.g. Eisenstein, Pudovkin) over newer approaches, but the inclusion of writers such as Sconce help to balance the collection out.

I can't recommend this collection highly enough. There is a very good reason that every intro to film theory course uses this anathology. No serious film student should be without this.

First of all, if you are purchasing this book here is a great probability that someone required you to read it. Just as a warning, THIS BOOK IS VERY HARD TO READ!!!

The translations is difficult and sometimes you are completely confused. However the content is amazing. If you take the time to watch the films being discussed and or the films by the authors the words come alive and there is depth and understanding of the medium that we all enjoy.

I was required to read this for a MFA English course and I would have never read it otherwise. Now I recommend the book and several of the articles on a regular basis.

One note, check with your professor to see if you must order the latest edition. The previous editions are sometimes adequate and significantly less cost.

This is a good source for any student of film studies to have laying around, as it'll save you the trouble of checking out 7+ books from the library to get just a few of the essays featured in here. All of them are important, influential pieces that are a must-read to have a foundation in the ongoing film theory debates. Not a beginner text, by any means, but certainly an excellent resource and a comprehensive starting point for theory essays.

Although this not is a comprehensive volume of film theory, it's an invaluable resource for serious cinema students.

Very highly recommended both as a reference text and as dense but intriguing recreational literature.

I had to order this book for a Philosophy and Film online class, which fulfills my upper level Philosophy requirement. It is a very extensive book that contains articles and excerpts from numerous prominent film critics and theorists. Many of the readings are very old (from the beginning of the film era) so they are a little dense to read, but they are very interesting and informative nonetheless.