Film: An Introduction

by William H. Phillips

Book Overview

"Film: An Introduction "covers the movies students know and the films their instructors want them to know including the silent classics of D.W. Griffith and Sergei Eisenstein, the Hong Kong cinema of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312412673
• ISBN13: 9780312412678
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Bedford Books
• Length: 669 Pages
• Weight: 2.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic book. Blown away.

This is an older edition of one of the greatest film books ever written. This book is massive and helpful. Gives insight to hundreds of different film concepts, acknowledges countless incredible films, and jump starts your brain's creative and analytical film knowledge. Great buy! -Dr. Kenneth

THE DEFINITIVE INTRODUCTORY TEXT FOR FILM STUDY

An outstanding beginning text for film study students. I am a film study and English teacher at the high school level, and I have been using this text for the past two years. The first four chapters provide essential terminology to effectively read and analyze a film. From mise-en-scene to cinematography to editing to sound, these first four chapters develop a solid foundation for beginning film students. The book provides classic film examples, both early classics and modern classics, and there are numerous examples of shots from these films to illustrate film terminology. The second half of the book provides some meaningful discussion of film genres, the context of film in society, and alternatives to live-action films. As a beginning resource, this text is user-friendly and interesting. I highly recommend this textbook for the beginning film study student.

Finally--a Relevant Film Book!

FILM by William H. Phillips has as its strongest point its relevancy to current events in light of past film endeavors. Recent films are discussed in the 3rd Edition as well as other editions with clarity and insight. Also, it is a rare film book that discusses the economics of film making and marketing of film in theaters and video formatting. This work shows that other countries than the US also have an important cinematic history. This book encompasses both the American scene and the world historical perspective with its extensive chronology 1895-2003, and the relationship and mirroring of world events in film. This is a book to add to any collection of film reference guides. It is prime value for the money with 669 pages of prolific color plates and black and white photos of actual film shots.

Informative, easy to grasp, introduction to film concepts

Phillips has written an accessible, up-to-date, and lively book suitable for anyone who wants a basic understanding of the art of film. It is arranged so that a discussion of film techniques is first, liberally illustrated with shots from numerous films (including newer releases). One of the nice features of the book is it identifies and points out the differences between publicity stills and frame enlargments. The rest of the book discusses how movies are developed, their sources, genres, and characteristics. There is a detailed chapter on alternatives to live-action films (especially focused on animation). The book's final section addresses the social meanings of films, and provides a sample analysis of Altman's "The Player." Throughout the text are sample student papers, to demonstrate how to write about film in a critical way. In the introductory film appreciation class that I teach, students preferred this book to Bordwell and Thompson's "Film Art." For them, all the examples and photographs enhanced the concepts, while the marginal definitions helped them remember key terms. Students also appreciated the inclusion of recent movies they have seen, as well as classics like "Citizen Kane." From this college professor's point of view, the book is best for beginners, who just want to know more about film techniques and analysis. However, even advanced students would find it a useful summary of film concepts.