Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

How do films work? How do they tell a story? How do they move us and make us think? Through detailed examinations of passages from classic films, Marilyn Fabe supplies the analytic tools and background in film history and theory to enable us to see more in every film we watch. Ranging from D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation to James Cameron's Avatar , and ending with an epilogue on digital media, Closely Watched Films focuses on exemplary works of fourteen film directors whose careers together span the history of the narrative film. Lively and down-to-earth, this concise introduction provides a broad, complete, and yet specific picture of visual narrative techniques that will increase readers' excitement about and knowledge of the possibilities of the film medium.



Shot-by-shot analyses of short passages from each film ground theory in concrete examples. Fabe includes original and well-informed discussions of Soviet montage, realism and expressionism in film form, classical and modern sound theory, the classic Hollywood film, Italian neorealism, the French New Wave, auteur theory, modernism and postmodernism in film, political cinema, feminist film theory and practice, and narrative experiments in new digital media. Encompassing the earliest silent films as well as those that exploit the most recent technological innovations, this book gives us the particulars of how film--arguably the most influential of contemporary forms of representation--constitutes our pleasure, influences our thoughts, and informs our daily reality. Updated to include a discussion of 3-D and advanced special effects, this tenth anniversary edition is an essential film studies text for students and professors alike.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of Illustrations (p. ix)
• Acknowledgments (p. xiii)
• Introduction (p. xv)
• 1 The Beginnings of Film Narrative: D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (p. 1)
• 2 The Art of Montage: Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin (p. 19)
• 3 Expressionism and Realism in Film Form: F. W. Murnau's The Last Laugh and Charles Chaplin's The Adventurer (p. 37)
• 4 The Conversion to Sound and the Classical Hollywood Film: Howard Hawks's His Girl Friday (p. 59)
• 5 Expressive Realism: Orson Welles's Citizen Kane (p. 78)
• 6 Italian Neorealism: Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief (p. 99)
• 7 Auteur Theory and the French New Wave: François Truffaut's The 400 Blows (p. 120)
• 8 Hollywood Auteur: Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (p. 135)
• 9 The European Art Film: Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 (p. 152)
• 10 Film and Postmodernism: Woody Allen's Annie Hall (p. 773)
• 11 Political Cinema: Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (p. 191)
• 12 Feminism and Film Form: Patricia Rozema's I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (p. 207)
• 13 Digital Video and New Forms of Narrative: Mike Figgis's Timecode and James Cameron's Avatar (p. 228)
• Notes (p. 253)
• Glossary (p. 271)
• Bibliography (p. 279)
• Index (p. 287)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Why exactly was Citizen Kane such a revolutionary film? What are the hallmarks of Italian Neorealism? How do directors sew together a smooth scene from five or six different shots? Fabe answers these questions and more in this primer on the narrative structure of filmmaking, which analyzes 14 benchmark movies from D.W. Griffith?s The Birth of a Nation to Mike Figgis?s Timecode. (Since each film was selected to represent a significant cinematic movement?expressionism, postmodernism, French New Wave, etc.?the book also doubles as a concise history of film?s most innovative storytellers.) Fabe teaches film theory at the University of California, Berkeley, and her chapters maintain the conversational feel of lecture notes: each one gives some background on and a plot synopsis of the film discussed then provides a close analysis of a particular sequence. Antonio Ricci?s decision to steal in De Sica?s The Bicycle Thief, for example, is broken down to show how moral conflict can be encapsulated in a split second. Fabe?s analysis proves most engaging when it shows how each cinematic element works to add subtext and depth to story and character. Her explication of Hitchcock?s camera work in Notorious, for example, shows how his use of space in a frame could evoke either freedom or claustrophobia. Fabe?s book is best suited for the classroom, but even general readers may enjoy her insights, which allow one to read a chapter, pop in the corresponding DVD and experience the satisfaction of knowing how a classic film was put together. 74 b/w photos. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.