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Reading the Movies: Twelve Great Films on Video and How to Teach Them

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Recognizing film as a medium of expression that should have a place in high school and college classrooms, this book provides a framework for teaching about film as a medium and for studying the ways filmmakers use images and technology to convey experiences, emotions, and ideas. The first part of the book presents six chapters on "reading" the movies: (1) the Art of Fiction Film; (2) the Languages of Film; (3) the Technology of Film; (4) a Brief History of Film; (5) Theories of Film; and (6) Film in the English Class. The second part of the book focuses on teaching approaches for 12 diverse and important films available on videocassette, from Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times" to Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" and Penny Marshall's "Awakenings." The book presents background on each film and its maker, questions for discussion, and topics and resources for further study. A list of 60 other movies, a description of 4 film projects, and a 137-item bibliography are attached.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the book was how well it discussed literary theory as it pertains to film. Literary theory has begun to make its way into the high school curriculum and some teachers are now being asked to go deeper than the surface of the theories in order to prepare the studies for a higher level of critical thinking in college. At the very beginning of Chapter 5, Costanzo says "Like theories of literature or composition, theories of film attempt to answer fundamental questions of identity, process, and effect. The remaining pages of Chapter 5 go on to do a superb job at explaining several of the different belief systems of literary theory. These explanations come in very handy later in the book, as Costanzo's lesson plan ideas for the 12 films call for a deep understanding of the issues raised by the films and in the films, while also taking into considerations the who, what, where, when, and why questions as it pertains to the time when the film was made.