Making Sense of Movies: Filmmaking in the Hollywood Style [Paperback]

Robert Stanley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0072397659 | ISBN-13: 978-0072397659 | Edition: 1

Making Sense of Movies is a film appreciation text that focuses on the Hollywood style of moviemaking to examine the aesthetic, historical, and theoretical aspects of film studies. The text focuses on a limited number of significant movies to provide greater depth of knowledge and understanding, gradually expanding the number of films with each chapter.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Robert Henry Stanley is Professor of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College of the City University of New York, where he has taught for over thirty years. His four previous books include The Celluloid Empire: A History of the American Movie Industry (1978). His professional activities have involved coordinating faculty/industry seminars for the International Radio and Television Society, moderating panel discussions for movie and television professionals, and serving on the board of directors of the New York World Television Festival. He also served for many years as a judge for the International Emmy Awards of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 1 edition (May 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072397659
• ISBN-13: 978-0072397659
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #624,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Hollywood Films Study Guide !, January 17, 2003

By 

"pink-monkey" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Sense of Movies: Filmmaking in the Hollywood Style (Paperback)

The book contains a lot of information about how Hollywood films became the way it is today. Very informative. Very fun to read. Tells you what elements makes American films "Hollywood".

Although the some movies he uses for example are very old (Casablanca, Double Indemnity, Birth of a nation, King Kong, Psycho, etc) and sometimes its really hard to get on DVD, nevertheless they are all important & significant films that all film buffs should watch.

Stanley was my professor when I was in college. He used to be a judge for Emmy Awards. He's been teaching films/media for over 30 years. By reading this book you can really tell that he really love movies!

This book is recommended for beginner to novice film students. Or just normal people can enjoy as well. Many diagrams and pictures.

It is also a great book if you are making a movie.

2.0 out of 5 stars Decent for casual reading, but a disaster as a college textbook, December 13, 2009

By 

Lazybum (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Sense of Movies: Filmmaking in the Hollywood Style (Paperback)

This book can deliver at ease if you consider it as a casual read, a source that provide a glimpse at the movie business and its history. But it fails miserably as a college textbook. The materials are presented in a fairly disorganized manner and I believe the absence of chapter summaries bring inconvenience aplenty for students when doing revisions. Some may think otherwise, but imho I do not believe a textbook without chapter summaries and a thorough glossary (this book fails in this area as well when I realize they've included very few terms in the latter chapters) is the right tool to be used in academic environment.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Honest, January 19, 2009

By 

Mary L. Rosales - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Making Sense of Movies: Filmmaking in the Hollywood Style (Paperback)

The book was written in quite a bit and the corners were turned. But I was told the condition of the book before purchase. I appreciat the honesty.

Mary