Designed as an introduction to the intelligent and active appreciation of films, this book provides an anecdotal discussion of current and past movies. Among the subjects discussed are the origins of the industry, the process of filmmaking, the role of the spectator, the development of various film genres, the debate over sex and violence, and the…

The art of the motion picture is explored through a step-by-step study of the medium's development as a new art form. The book attempts to provide insight into creative film expression and to present an historical overview of the medium's artistic development. It is divided into three sections. The first is largely an account of the efforts made…

This paper is divided into three parts, the first discussing the necessary conditions for an adequate response to Godard and Gorin's film "Vent d'Est." It is suggested that the film demands both cinematic and political sophistication on the part of the viewer and that the audience must accept the flatness, the "deconstruction" of the cinematic…

This booklet is both an explanation of the independent film (also known as "avant-garde" or underground film) and a catalog of Grove Press' underground films, which are available for sale or rent. The topics covered include ways the independent film differs from the commercial film, the importance of and a short history of the independent film,…

Designed to encourage moviegoers to become film viewers, this book divides the various aspects of film into the following chapters: "The Most Popular Art Form,""The World of Film,""Viewing the Film: The First Level of Understanding,""The Language of Film,""From Script to Film: A case Study,""Evaluating Film: 'Does It Work?""Evaluating Film:…

Based on the assumption that critical viewing can broaden the range of films one can respond to, increase understanding, and ultimately lead to an intensification of subjective response, this book offers a critical approach to experiencing movies. After explaining the critical method to be used, several films in the context of different aesthetic…

This book covers the life and aesthetic qualities of the work of the European film-maker Jean-Marie Straub (1933- ). It contains introductory chapters on the biography and artistic milieu of Straub and continues with a chapter-by-chapter critical treatment of each of his films: "Machorka-Muff"; "Not Reconciled"; "Chronicle…

The goals of visual literacy experiences are to give the student skill in "reading" visuals and in expressing himself and communicating through visuals. (JH)

This selective annotated bibliography lists current reference sources in the McGill Library system which deal with film. It emphasizes a scholarly approach to the film as art and includes only a few technical items. The citations are arranged in the following categories: guides and bibliographies, film catalogues and listings, dictionaries and…

Students can see more in motion picture and television productions once they realize that they are already quite knowledgeable, and these ten discovery-experience lesson units on film and television productions provide teachers with a means to let them discover for themselves that they already know several characteristics of the moving media as…

This brief history of the cinema surveys the birth, development, and modern period of silent and sound films. The approach seeks out major "auteurs" of film, discusses their more artistic works, and places them in historical perspective. Commentary on the aesthetic nature of film includes speculation on the relationship of sound to…

In order to understand the communicative interaction of film, it is necessary to carefully analyze the special qualities of film as a visual medium, to understand the elements of audience identification with what happens in the film, and to interpret the use of symbolism that enables an audience to derive meaning from it. Among the special…

The medium of film is uniquely suited to the representation of social problems such as racism. By stressing major issues of racism--slavery, the black cultural heritage, black power, and the black civil rights movement--and coupling these issues with films which give a realistic view of the substance and problems of racism, both concepts…

Designed as an introductory film text for high school and early college students, this book contains twelve chapters, each dealing with one of the following subjects: "Citizen Kane," the history and production of the film, film and cinematic terms, the image on the film, the image of the world through film, editing, sounds, the director,…

This book is a critical, genre study of surrealist films including a general discussion of the backgrounds, influences, and overall traits of surrealism as a mode of artistic response to an absurdist world. Citing the impetus of Jacques Vache and Andre Breton as the originators of surrealism, the work expands upon the themes of fractured realism…