Film Viewer's Guide [Paperback]

David Bordwell (Author), Kristin Thompson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0072388242 | ISBN-13: 978-0072388244 | Publication Date: July 17, 2000 | Edition: 6

Packaged free with each copy of Film Art, this new guide by David Bordwell explains how to analyze and write about films.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Bordwell is Jacques Ledoux Professor of Film Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds a master's degree and a doctorate from the University of Iowa. He is the author of The Films of Carl Theodor Dreyer (University California Press, 1981), Narration in the Fiction Film (University Wisconsin Press, 1985), Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema (British Film Institute/Princeton University Press, 1988), Making Meaning: Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema (Harvard University Press, 1989), The Cinema of Eisenstein (Harvard University Press, 1993), On the History of Film Style (Harvard University Press, 1997) and Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment (Harvard University Press, 2000). He has won a University Distinguished Teaching Award.

Kristin Thompson is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She holds a master's degree in film from the University of Iowa and a doctorate in film from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She has published Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible (Princeton University Press, 1981), Exporting Entertainment: America's Place in World Film Markets, 1907-1934 (British Film Institute, 1985), Breaking the Glass Armor: Neoformalist Film Analysis (Princeton University Press, 1988), Wooster Proposes, Jeeves Disposes; or Le Mot Juste (James H. Heinman, 1992), Storytelling in the New Hollywood (Harvard University Press, 1999), Storytelling in Film and Television (Harvard University Press, 2003), and Herr Lubitsch Goes to Hollywood: German and American Film after World War I (University of Amsterdam, 2005). In her spare time she studies Egyptology.

The authors have collaborated on Film History (McGraw-Hill, 1994) with Janet Staiger, on The Classical Hollywood Cinema (Columbia University Press, 1985) and Storytelling in the New Hollywood (Harvard University Press, 1999).

Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 6 edition (July 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072388242
• ISBN-13: 978-0072388244
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,702,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Bordwell is Jacques Ledoux Professor Emeritus of Film Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds a master's degree and a doctorate in film from the University of Iowa. His books include The Films of Carl Theodor Dreyer (University of California Press, 1981), Narration in the Fiction Film (University of Wisconsin Press, 1985), Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema (Princeton University Press, 1988), Making Meaning: Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema (Harvard University Press, 1989), The Cinema of Eisenstein (Harvard University Press, 1993), On the History of Film Style (Harvard University Press, 1997), Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment (Harvard University Press, 2000), Figures Traced in Light: On Cinematic Staging (University of California Press, 2005), The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies (University of California Press, 2006), and The Poetics of Cinema (Routledge, 2008). He has won a University Distinguished Teaching Award and was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Copenhagen. His web site is www.davidbordwell.net.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I DO recommend this book, August 15, 2004

By 

G. C. (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Film Art: An Introduction and Film Viewers Guide (Paperback)

The previous review of this book was by a film professor. This one is by a film STUDENT. This book was required reading for my first film class which was an introduction to film class called: the Language of Film. This book is definitely a great introduction to the art of film. It is not a book about filmmaking. It is a book that introduces with each chapter a new angle from which film can be studied. Everything about film is covered: Film history; genre films; narrative form; the stages of film production, distribution, and exhibition; mise-en-scene; editing and sound in cinema; film criticism; and the future of film. Each section is accompanied by examples and screen captures from popular classic and modern films, and scattered quotations from popular and obscure filmmakers.

The title of this book is a perfect description of what the book is. If you are a beginner, it is perfect for an overview or outline of what film is. If you are an advanced film student, it is great for sharpening your knowledge of film.

With regard to the previous review by the film professor who was afraid that this book would put off his/her students, it would be better for students to know early on what they are getting themselves into. If you are actually turned off after reading this book, you shouldn't go any further with your film studies.

In conclusion, this is a great book that introduces the purely cinematic aspects of film that distinguishes it from every other art form. I highly recommend it.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From a film professor, August 24, 2004

By 

JCW (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Film Art: An Introduction and Film Viewers Guide (Paperback)

Since an earlier review was from a film professor who trashed this book, I thought it would be a good idea if another film professor stepped forward to defend it. The complaints from the aforementioned film professor are vague -- Film Art is apparently "pretentious" and "full of itself." If my college professors advanced criticisms that were as vague as that, and provided absolutely NO evidence or further explanations of their opinions, I wouldn't have continued my studies. It's pretty sad when a beginning undergraduate film student offers a much more articulate and thorough review of a text than a professor.

In any case, Film Art is an excellent introduction to the study of film, largley because it is NOT pretentious or full of itself. Unlike many theoretical accounts of film, Film Art is set forth in extremely clear language, is painstakingly organized for maximum clarity, is filled with visual examples and evidence from a staggeringly wide variety of films (Hollywood, foreign, documentary, avant-garde, old, new, etc.), and is thoroughly informed by both a mastery of film aesthetics and history, but also a practical knowledge of film production. Though it is not about film production and was not written by fillmmakers, its authors are totally familiar with the practices of film production and, unlike so many film scholars who leave production details to the techies, employ this body of practical knowledge to clarify how films work.

An excellent resource for teachers and students alike!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will change how you watch movies!, December 21, 2005

By 

Q (Q Continuum) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Film Art w/ Film Viewer's Guide and Tutorial CD-ROM (Paperback)

This is one of the best introductions to film studies. The bulk of the book is about the formal analysis of film, from genre, to editing, staging, sound, and mise-en-scene. Although this is an introductory book, it goes very in-depth into all the formal elements of film-making. All terms are carefully defined with many examples. Film has its own "language," and this book helps readers to understand that language. After reading this book, you will never watch a film in the same way again. It will vastly increase your understanding. The writing is clear, accessible, well-organized, and straightforward. There are also chapters on film production and distribution, and a helpful chapter on film history. Reading a film textbook tends to be an exercise in frustration, since there is so much technical analysis of films that either you haven't seen, or haven't seen recently. The many pictures help with that problem to some extent. The physical size of the book is rather awkward for reading, unless you're sitting at a large desk with the book laid out in front of you. The accompanying CD includes a few very short film clips and some quizzes on the chapter materials.