Sunday, July 31, 2011

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Bfi TV Classics)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Bfi TV Classics) Review


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"In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer." Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for seven seasons, from 1997 to 2003, and in that time it revolutionized American TV. It was a television series that single-handedly reinvented the high school genre, splicing it with action, comedy, and the supernatural to captivate its core teenage audience while providing enough formal experimentation, existential reflection, and, above all, pitch-perfect writing and acting to extend the show's appeal to viewers of all ages.
 
Anne Billson unravels Buffy's magic, examining her antecedents and influences and exploring how, in a broadcasting environment inimical to long-running series, the show's creators were able to push the envelope and create a fully realized mythology in which fantasy elements are underpinned by emotional honesty. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a superheroine for our times. Not only that, but she's funny as well. Television will never be the same again.


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Jul 31, 2011 21:12:37

Friday, July 29, 2011

Crime (Routledge Film Guidebooks)

Crime (Routledge Film Guidebooks) Review


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Crime films have, since the earliest days of cinema, been popular with audiences, industry and critics alike and encompassed a diverse range of subjects, styles and themes. The genre provides a range of pleasures for the spectator, from taking on the role of the detective in the pursuit of clues in the ‘whodunit’, to the more illicit thrills of identification with an anti hero. In the many incarnations of the crime film such as the gangster, film noir, political and detective thrillers, the genre explores the anxieties of different historical moments.

Sarah Casey Benyahia provides an overview of the development of the crime film and examines the key theories and ideas involved in the study of the genre. These include; the investigative structure and narration of the crime film, the aesthetics of violence and issues of representation and ideology. These areas are explored through contemporary and classic, Hollywood and European cinema with case studies on the history of the genre, the role of the detective, the 'family crime' film and the conspiracy thriller.

Crime provides a broad framework to the study of the genre through the introduction of narrative, genre and audience theories as well as detailed analysis of specific films.

Films discussed include: Scarface (1932) Mildred Pierce (1945) Dirty Harry (1971) The Parallax View (1974) Reservoir Dogs (1992) Mystic River (2002) Hidden (2005) Gone Baby Gone (2007) Zodiac (2007) The Millennium Trilogy (2009) The Secret in Their Eyes (2010)


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Jul 30, 2011 06:18:05

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Virtual Life of Film

The Virtual Life of Film Review


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As almost (or, truly, virtually) every aspect of making and viewing movies is replaced by digital technologies, even the notion of "watching a film" is fast becoming an anachronism. With the likely disappearance of celluloid film stock as a medium, and the emergence of new media competing for an audience, what will happen to cinema--and to cinema studies? In the first of two books exploring this question, D. N. Rodowick considers the fate of film and its role in the aesthetics and culture of moviemaking and viewing in the twenty-first century.

Here Rodowick proposes and examines three different critical responses to the disappearance of film in relation to other time-based media, and to the study of contemporary visual culture. Film, he suggests, occupies a special place in the genealogy of the arts of the virtual: while film disappears, cinema persists--at least in the narrative forms imagined by Hollywood since 1915. Rodowick also observes that most so-called "new media" are fashioned upon a cinematic metaphor. His book helps us see how digital technologies are serving, like television and video before them, to perpetuate the cinematic as the mature audiovisual culture of the twentieth century--and, at the same time, how they are preparing the emergence of a new audiovisual culture whose broad outlines we are only just beginning to distinguish.

(20070901)


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Jul 28, 2011 05:21:35

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Film Analysis: A Norton Reader

Film Analysis: A Norton Reader Review


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Film Analysis: A Norton Reader offers concise analyses—each written exclusively for this text by a leading scholar—of forty-four diverse, historically significant films.

Written with undergraduate readers in mind, these essays cover the central issues raised in today’s cinema courses and provide students with practical models to help them improve their own writing and film-analysis skills. Film Analysis also includes a helpful introduction and an extensive glossary. Already half the price of competing texts when purchased alone, Film Analysis can be packaged at 50 percent off with either A History of Narrative Film or Looking at Movies.


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Jul 26, 2011 11:08:34

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Encyclopedia of Religion and Film

Encyclopedia of Religion and Film Review


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Technology has enabled films to reach much wider audiences, enabling today's viewers to access a dizzying number of films that employ diverse symbolism and communicate a vast array of viewpoints. Encyclopedia of Religion and Film will provide such an audience with the tools to begin their own exploration of the deeper meanings of these films and grasp the religious significance within.

Organized alphabetically, this encyclopedia provides more than 90 entries on the larger religious traditions, the major film-producing regions of the globe, the films that have stirred controversy, the most significant religious symbols, and the more important filmmakers. The included topics provide substantially more information on the intersection of religion and film than any of the similar volumes currently available. While the emphasis is on the English-speaking world and the films produced therein, there is also substantial representation of non-English, non-Western film and filmmakers, providing significant intercultural coverage to the topic.


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Jul 25, 2011 09:56:04

Saturday, July 23, 2011

The Miracle Case: Film Censorship and the Supreme Court (Landmark Law Cases and American Society)

The Miracle Case: Film Censorship and the Supreme Court (Landmark Law Cases and American Society) Review


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It was only a forty-minute foreign film, but it sparked a legal confrontation that has left its mark on America for more than half a century. Roberto Rossellini's Il Miracolo (The Miracle) is deceptively simple: a demented peasant woman is seduced by a stranger she believes to be Saint Joseph, is socially ostracized for becoming pregnant out of wedlock, but is finally redeemed through motherhood.

Although initially approved by state censors for screening in New York, the film was attacked as sacrilegious by the Catholic establishment, which convinced state officials to revoke distributor Joseph Burstyn's license. In response, Burstyn fought back through the courts and won.

Laura Wittern-Keller and Raymond Haberski show how the Supreme Court's unanimous 1952 ruling in Burstyn's favor sparked a chain of litigation that eventually brought filmmaking under the protective umbrella of the First Amendment, overturning its long-outdated decision in Mutual v. Ohio (1915). Their story features a more formidable cast than did the film itself, with the charismatic Francis Cardinal Spellman decrying the film as a Communist plot, while outspoken film critic Bosley Crowther vigorously advocated "freedom of the screen." Meanwhile, movie producers stood by silently for fear of alienating the Church and its large movie-going membership, leaving Burstyn to muster his own defense.

More than the inside story of one case, this book explores the unique place that the movies occupy in American culture and the way that culture continues to be shaped by anxiety over the social power of movies. The Burstyn decision weakened the ability of state censorship boards and the Catholic Church to influence the types of films Americans were allowed to see. Consequently, the case signaled the rise of a new era in which films would be more mature and more controversial than ever before.

Focusing on this single most important case in the jurisprudence surrounding motion picture expression, Wittern-Keller and Haberski add a significant new dimension to the story of cinema, censorship, and the history of First Amendment protections.

This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series.


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Jul 24, 2011 07:32:35

Friday, July 22, 2011

The Film Editing Room Handbook: How to Tame the Chaos of the Editing Room (4th Edition)

The Film Editing Room Handbook: How to Tame the Chaos of the Editing Room (4th Edition) Review


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The assistant film editor has many more responsibilities than simply helping to edit the picture. He or she must work with all the numerous members of the filmmaking team, juggle the demands of copious amounts of footage from various sources, keep notes during the shoot’s dailies screenings, process sound, oversee the creation of optical effects and integrate them in the editor’s workflow, and many more detail-oriented, simultaneous tasks that require skills on a technical and organizational level. Widely regarded as THE guide for helping you get through it all, Norman Hollyn, editing whiz and longtime instructor, is the ultimate master at making the process fun while making you a pro. In this fourth edition, he continues in the celebrated style of his previous editions with a hands-on approach, assuming the role of an assistant editor to describe the myriad workflows involved. Not only will you learn everything you need to know about how the editing process works, but you’ll gain the wisdom that normally only comes with on-the-job experience, putting you way ahead in your career and making you a better, more efficient editor.

In The Film Editing Room Handbook, you’ll learn:

  • Everything the assistant editor needs to know on the job—from pre-production to the shoot, to editing and adding visual effects and sound, to the mix and color finishing.
  • How to work in a variety of scenarios, whether it is a feature, television, commercial, musical, or web-based project.
  • Best practices for organizing and optimizing your systems and files, useful to editors working on any nonlinear editing platform.
  • How to find a job in this competitive market and put together an attractive résumé that proves you’ve got the skills to succeed.

Praise for The Film Editing Room Handbook, Fourth Edition

"The Film Editing Room Handbook systematically explains everything you need to know about the editing process, exactly as it exists in the making of major motion pictures. Complicated technical concepts are made totally clear and easily understandable in this absolutely essential book for all assistant editors, indie filmmakers, and those who aspire to break into the industry.”
– Mark Goldblatt, A.C.E., editor of The Terminator, Starship Troopers, and True Lies

“ This is a wonderful book that explains the complexities of the editing room assistant's job with clarity and wit.”
– Alan Heim, A.C.E, Oscar-winning editor and former president of American Cinema Editors

“ The Assistant Editor is the unsung hero of the editing room, tip-toeing around land mines to keep everything running smoothly in a job where all the important rules are unwritten. Until now. Norman Hollyn does an excellent job explaining the process of editing, the role of the assistant editor, and clearly labeling where all the booby traps are buried.”
– Larry Jordan, producer, director, editor, and Apple-certified trainer

“ This book is an excellent introduction to editing in the real world. Norman Hollyn not only tells you what is necessary, he tells you what is efficient. He knows how important that can be because he’s been there.”
– Burton J. Sears, film instructor at Savannah College of Art and Design, editor of Virtuosity, Jacob’s Ladder, and Henry and June


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Jul 23, 2011 02:20:05

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Top Secrets for Writing, Producing and Directing a Low-Budget Short Film

Top Secrets for Writing, Producing and Directing a Low-Budget Short Film Review


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WRITING, PRODUCING AND DIRECTING A LOW-BUDGET SHORT FILM is a comprehensive step-by-step overview of how to complete a low-budget short film and get it shown. It begins with how to write a short script to shoot in one or at most two days. It discusses how to finalize your script by getting feedback and preparing it for production through doing a scene breakdown, and possibly a storyboard. It describes how to direct the film yourself or work with a director, audition the actors and cast the film, plan for and participate in the shoot, and work with an editor to finish your film. It discusses how to get your film shown, including entering it in festivals, and concludes with an extensive list of resources and references, which include books, articles, script and storyboard software, conferences, expos, festivals, and more.


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Jul 21, 2011 19:45:41

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

X Films: True Confessions of a Radical Filmmaker

X Films: True Confessions of a Radical Filmmaker Review


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Filmmaker Alex Cox's thoughtful autobiography examines his craft and influences, as well as providing his insights into many of his favorite films. Sometimes called a radical, Cox is a quintessential auteur, as well as an internationally focused, insightful critic and writer whose passion for film has gripped him since childhood. In addition to being a captivating look into Cox's process, this book also encourages and instructs would-be independent filmmakers, guiding the next generation of film pioneers through the arduous journey of creation. Cox weaves his own "confessions" with his notes to the new guard, including thoughts on new forms of digital distribution and his radical views on intellectual property — the result is a readable, startling treatise on both the film innovations of today and the thrilling potential of future filmmaking.


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Jul 20, 2011 16:58:06