Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film (Second Edition) (Paperback)

~ Richard Barsam (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Looking at Movies, Second Edition, offers students everything they need to understand and appreciate film: a visually dynamic presentation, more help with film analysis than any other text, and a sophisticated and integrated media package featuring nearly four hours of moving-image content. The text, DVDs, website, and writing guide package costs less than competing texts alone, making Looking at Movies an outstanding value for your students. Includes two DVDs, access to the student website, and a supplementary Writing About Movies guide. Also available as an eBook. .

About the Author

Richard Barsam (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is Professor Emeritus of Film Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York. He is the author of Nonfiction Film: A Critical History (rev., exp. ed. 1992), The Vision of Robert Flaherty: The Artist as Myth and Filmmaker (1988), In the Dark: A Primer for the Movies (1977), and Filmguide to "Triumph of the Will" (1975); editor of Nonfiction Film Theory and Criticism (1976); and contributing author to Paul Monaco’s The Sixties: 1960–1969 (Vol. 8, History of the American Cinema, 2001) and Filming Robert Flaherty’s "Louisiana Story": The Helen Van Dongen Diary (ed. Eva Orbanz, 1998). His articles and book reviews have appeared in Cinema Journal, Quarterly Review of Film Studies, Film Comment, Studies in Visual Communication, and Harper’s. He has been a member of the Executive Council of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, the Editorial Board of Cinema Journal, and the Board of Advisers of the History of American Cinema series, and he cofounded the journal Persistence of Vision.

Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.; Second Edition edition (November 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393171302
• ISBN-13: 978-0393171303
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #392,266 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easily worth a look, January 2, 2004

By	Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film (Paperback)

Barsam's is a welcome addition to the field of introductory film texts, superior in many respects to similar entries (Giannatti, Phillips, etc.). The style is reader-friendly but in no way condescending; the examples are generous and representative of classic as well as current developments; the coverage is comprehensive. Indeed, with the accompanying CD-Rom and Website, the text is a virtual encyclopedia of information about the cinema, thereby justifying its slightly higher price. Moreover, this is the first text that begins to realize many of the media-specific qualities of the subject it attempts to illuminate.

This is a first edition, and understandably there are problems, some admittedly attributable to individual preferences. A few things I've noticed:

1. The website can be "buggy," at least to a Macintosh operating system. Numerous "Java Script" messages are appearing along with failures to play visual and audio files. Even with the misfires, the website is the most impressive I've ever used in conjunction with a text. Because of it, an instructor need have no apologies about using a text that includes discussions of numerous films unknown to students and impossible to screen in class.

2. The accompanying VCD contains valuable film examples but unfortunately doesn't include any clips from "Citizen Kane." I would hope that a future edition includes a DVD with Kane and other useful illustrative and instructive materials. Website information and quizzes often have too many technical glitches to make them effective time-savers for a teacher, who now must solve each student's difficulties with the website (the required 8-digit password doesn't help).

3. Barsam uses much personal and arbitrary descriptive language that subsequently becomes "reified" in the quizzes about the components of film. As a result, the quiz becomes as much about remembering the specific language of the author and textbook as about the properties of a filmic element (equally true of the book's competitors).

4. The order of topics will not appeal to every instructor. For example, the most basic element of film--the shot--isn't addressed until the discussion of photography in Chapter 4. Also, the attention to previously marginalized films and filmmakers can be quite uneven. African-American issues receive considerable space in several chapters in the book and on the website whereas feminist issues receive a couple of paragraphs. Moreover, there is very little consideration of "auteurism," the enabling and prevailing approach of academic cinema studies.

5. The author's lack of experience with literary and composition issues is frequently apparent, though to the book's credit ample space is given to student writing. Still, the treatment of point of view in cinema becomes problematic, especially when the author refers to the camera's perspective as "omniscient." Also, the inclusion of an exemplary student essay, while extremely welcome, represents an unfortunate choice, in my opinion, since the essay is somewhat sophomoric, exhibits clumsy writing and omits a thesis(!).

All in all, a promising production by Barsam and Norton. I look forward to giving it a test drive.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TEXTBOOK, June 24, 2009

By	Anthony Hampton "Anthony" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

this was my textbook for intro film. its very good in covering the basics of sound, cinematography, acting, editing, mise-en-scene and a couple other topics. it's geared towards college students and college, intro film courses.

You won't learn anything advanced nor will one learn much about actually making a movie from a technical point of view....you will learn alot about theory and about the nuts and bolts of film.

It's a fun enough read and there are many, up to date, images to help illustrate the points. One of the biggest plusses is the accompanying dvd that has a few lessons and the website that goes along with the book. There are test and lessons on the website.

This is literally a textbook and a very good one at that.

4.0 out of 5 stars Quality basics, October 10, 2007

By	Micah J. Smith - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is a good introduction into film analysis, in terms of giving definitions and following with commonly known examples from popular film culture. It was easy to learn from.