Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film, Second Edition ( Set with DVD) (Paperback)

by Richard Barsam (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Shaped by Richard Barsam's more than twenty years of classroom experience, Looking at Movies uses students' natural enthusiasm for the subject as a foundation for going beyond enjoyment toward intelligent, analytical understanding of movies. Professor Barsam's clear writing, thorough presentation of fundamental film principles, and unique pedagogical additions to the traditional introductory text—including an entire chapter devoted to analytical writing—ensure that students approach screenings and writing assignments equipped with the analytical tools necessary to be active, insightful interpreters of movies. Looking at Movies is accompanied by two outstanding multimedia resources, the Student website and CD-ROM, both of which are integrated directly with the text.

About the Author
Richard Barsam (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is Professor Emeritus of Film Studies at Hunter College. 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 co-founded the journal Persistence of Vision.

Product Details

• Paperback: 526 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton; 2 edition (September 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393928659
• ISBN-13: 978-0393928655
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,467 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Effort . . . Excellent Price, February 10, 2007

By	Erica J. Dymond (Lake Winola, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you teach at a university, you may know the anxiety of selecting a new text. Can you justify the exorbitant cost? Does the text competently address the basics? Will you be forced to hover over the photocopy machine, creating supplements to a less than adequate text? Here is the scoop on "Looking at Movies" . . .

The Good:
1.) It is inexpensive. Students will appreciate the price-break.
2.) It is, overall, aesthetically pleasing (which will make students more amenable to your class).
3.) It incorporates often over-looked films (like Fincher's "Fight Club")
4.) It strives to both acknowledge film history while examining contemporary works (contemporary works engage students . . . films from the 1980's, not so much!)

The Bad:
1.) The examples are slightly too small and a bit washed-out (I think as a result of the paper-stock of the actual text). The publishing company (Norton) should have allowed the examples a larger, lusher format and charged a little more . . . especially when a textbook is dedicated to a VISUAL art!!
2.) Though just released, this text references out-of-print films. For example: Jane Campion's "Portrait of a Lady" has been out-of-print for a while . . . it is currently $79.00 here (in mint condition). None of my students have ever seen this film . . . they cannot relate. This is a problem that should have been caught in editing.
3.) My copy arrived with advertisement postcards stuck in the text. Can you imagine asking your students to pay $50.00 for a text and then have advertisements spill from the pages as though it were Cosmopolitan magazine?! Tacky. (Again, not the author's fault).

The Not-Quite-Ugly but Not-Pretty-Either:
1.)The "Critical Approaches" and "Applied Readings" sections would have to be excised with an X-acto knife. While some of the approaches are interesting (to me), they are a bit odd for an introductory text (ex. cognitive psychology). I would be uncomfortable with a student thinking that these are the most common/valued approaches to film.
2.)The text is accompanied by two DVDs AND a "Writing about Movies" mini-text. I've never been a fan of the "more is more" idea, but what perplexes me is how all of these components are separate from the text (again, not the fault of the author). Why wasn't the mini-text (53 pages) incorporated into the actual text? "Removed," this mini-text carries little weight . . . it's authority is strangely compromised. Concerning the DVDs: what would have been fantastic is two little sleeves inside the text for them. Instead, here are two DVDs, packaged separately, just rolling around in space (and under dorm beds). Again, psychologically there is a sense of "is this a part of the text or was it some promotional product?" There is a disconnect. It would have been spectacular had these elements been integrated into the text itself: one unified product.

If you are seeking a newer text for your class (or even your own private study), consider Maria T. Pramaggiore's "Film: A Critical Introduction." While your bookstore will charge $80.00 for it, Amazon asks only $68.00 . . . so have your students buy it here!! The examples are lavish, the text informative and concise, and the critical approaches are a bit more relevant to the casual student (gender, class, sexuality, race, national identity etc...).

Some schools impose (or suggest) a textbook-expense cap. If this is your predicament, this text is a good choice. If not, examine Pramaggiore's text and then decide.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good text book, September 15, 2008

By	B. Bradley (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the only book used in my MFA program film course. If you are not into the nuances of making a film or even understanding how to review a film, this is a great first step. It breaks down the film into its parts and once you are done, you will actually look at movies in a new and exciting way. The companion CD is good, if film making is in your future, but wasn't necessary for a group of fiction writers. Even if you are not in a film class and just want to understand the making of films, this is a good reference.