Pearson - Understanding Movies, 12/E

Courses

Introduction to Film (Literature & Creative Writing)
Introduction to Film (Mass Communication / Public Relations / Film)

In this section:

Description

For undergraduate courses in Introduction to Film, Introduction to Cinema, and Film Appreciation.

This Twelfth Edition of Understanding Movies provides valuable insight into how movies communicate and convey meaning to their audiences through a unique network of language systems and techniques. In a readable, accessible, and sometimes humorous manner, Understanding Movies engages students in the fascinating language of film and helps further their appreciation and understanding of why and how movie watchers respond as they do to different films.

Organized around elements of film, the Twelfth Edition of this market leading text provides students with a new way of looking at films that are familiar to them through contemporary coverage and a visually engaging presentation.

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Features

A vibrant, compelling design with hundreds of colorful, clear photographs reflects the dynamism of the content and engages students in the book.

Detailed captions accompany the hundreds of photos and provide students with a visual story of cinema along with the most updated information on new developments in film technology.
Covers film as an industry, including information on box office grosses, marketing strategies, etc.
Discusses information on technology, including digital innovations and special effects.

The inclusion of ethnically-diverse examples, such as exemplary coverage of Islamic cinema, introduce students to global cinema and encourage reflection on American film issues including how racism in America affected the careers of such African-American artists as Paul Robeson, Hattie McDaniel, and Lena Horne.

New To This Edition

Fresh coverage of contemporary films genres such as Animation (Ratatouille, Persepolis), and Computer Generated Imagery (Beowulf, Ironman).

Expanded discussion on how movies provide pleasure with insight into modern comedies such as Talladega Nights, Juno, SuperBad and Tropic Thunder.

New examination and analysis of the role of cultural myths in popular culture.

Updated coverage of Science Fiction films (Cloverfield, Transformers), Action films (Curse of the Golden Flower), popular Musicals (Dreamgirls, Sweeney Todd) and Political films (Rendition, Battle of Algiers).

New material on the social activism of celebrity actors such as Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

MyCommunicationKit - The new, 12th edition of Understanding Movies is now accompanied by MyCommunicationKit, Pearson Education's online learning resource. Students will have a wealth of resource available 24/7 via the web, including multimedia, chapter summaries, learning objectives, flashcards, practice tests, and access to MySearchLab.

Table of Contents

Preface.

1. PHOTOGRAPHY: Overview.

Realism and Formalism.

The Shots.

The Angles.

Light and Dark.

Color.

Lenses, Filters, and Stocks.

Special Effects.

The Cinematographer.

Further Reading.

3. MOVEMENT: Overview.

Kinetics.

The Moving Camera.

Mechanical Distortions of Movement.

Further Reading.

4. EDITING: Overview.

Continuity.

D.W. Griffith and Classical Cutting.

Soviet Montage and the Formalist Tradition.

Andre Bazin and the Tradition of Realism.

Hitchcock’s North by Northwest:

Storyboard Version.

Further Reading.

5. SOUND: Overview.

Historical Background.

Sound Effects.

Music.

Musicals.

Spoken Language.

Further Reading.

6. ACTING: Overview.

Stage and Screen Acting.

The American Star System.

Styles of Acting. Casting.

Further Reading.

7. DRAMA: Overview.

Time, Space, Language.

The Director.

Settings and Décor.

Costumes and Makeup.

Further Reading.

8. STORY: Overview.

Narration.

The Spectator.

The Classical Paradigm.

Realistic Narratives.

Formalist Narratives.

Nonfiction Narratives.

Genre and Myth.

Further Reading.

9. WRITING. Overview.

The Screenwriter.

The Screenplay.

North by Northwest: Reading Version.

Figurative Comparisons.

Point of View.

Literary Adaptations.

Further Reading.

10. IDEOLOGY: Overview.

The-Left-Center-Right Model.

Culture, Religion, and Ethnicity.

Feminism.

Queer Cinema.

Tone.

Further Reading.

11. CRITIQUE: Overview.

Theories of Realism.

Formalist Film Theories.

The Auteur Theory.

Eclectic and Synthesizing Approaches.

Structuralism and Semiology.

Historiography.

Further Reading.

12. SYNTHESIS: CITIZEN KANE: Overview.

Photography.

Mise en Scène.

Movement.

Editing.

Sound.

Acting.

Drama.

Story.

Writing.

Ideology.

Critique.

Further Reading.

Glossary.

Index.

Previous Edition(s)

Understanding Movies, 11/E
Giannetti
©2008 | Pearson | Paper; 624 pp | Out of Print
ISBN-10: 0132336995 | ISBN-13: 9780132336994
Brief Description |
For undergraduate courses in Introduction to Film, Introduction to Cinema, and Film Appreciation.

This contemporary, best-selling text is designed to help students analyze movies with precision and technical sophistication.

Designed to help students analyze movies with precision and technical sophistication, Understanding Movies focuses on formalism—how the languages of the film (e.g., camera work, editing, lighting, story, photography, etc.) create meaning. Building on the same principle of organization as previous editions—structuring chapters around the elements of film—the new edition of this best seller offers a lavish use of color, printed on high-quality paper and has been updated to integrate recent films, developments in filmmaking, and personalities in the field.

More Info

In this section:

Author Bios

Louis Giannetti is a Professor Emeritus of English and Film at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He has taught courses in film, literature, writing, drama, and humanities. He has published many articles, both popular and scholarly, on political subjects, literature, and drama. In addition to being a professional film critic for several years, he has written about movies for such scholarly journals as Literature/Film Quarterly, The Western Humanities Review, and Film Criticism. Professor Giannetti is also the author of a book on cinema theory, GODARD AND OTHERS: Essays on Film Form, published in both Britain and the Unites States. Giannetti’s other books include MASTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA (Prentice Hall, 1981), a survey of American fiction films from the perspective of eighteen key figures. FLASHBACK: A Brief History of Film, Sixth Edition (Allyn & Bacon, 2010), written with Scott Eyman, is a history organized by decade outlining the major events, trends, and important filmmakers and their work, with emphasis on the American cinema. Both books are copiously illustrated. UNDERSTANDING MOVIES has been a bestselling text in all its previous editions, widely used in the United States and in such countries as Australia, Britain, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Japan.

Backcover Copy

“Understanding Movies is the best text that I have found which covers the essentials of filmmaking in a logical sequence, comprehensively, using a writing style that will delight the most discriminating reader. “

Janine Adkins, Rio Solado College

This Twelfth Edition of Understanding Movies provides valuable insight into how movies communicate and convey meaning to their audiences through a unique network of language systems and techniques. In a readable, accessible, and sometimes humorous manner, Understanding Movies aims to engage you in the fascinating language of film and to help further your own appreciation and understanding of why and how movie watchers respond as they do to different films.

Organized around elements of film, the Twelfth Edition of this market leading text provides you with a new way of looking at familiar films through contemporary coverage and a visually engaging presentation.

Features of the Twelfth Edition:

Fresh coverage of contemporary films genres such as Animation (Ratatouille, Persepolis), and Computer Generated Imagery (Beowulf, Ironman)
Expanded discussion on how movies provide pleasure with insight into modern comedies such as Talladega Nights, Juno, SuperBad and Tropic Thunder
New examination and analysis of the role of cultural myths in popular culture
Inclusion of ethnically-diverse examples, such as exemplary coverage of Islamic cinema, introduce you to global cinema and encourage reflection on American film issues

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Instructor's Manual and Test Bank (Download only) for Understanding Movies
Giannetti
©2011 | Pearson | On-line Supplement; 121 pp | Live
ISBN-10: 0205737536 | ISBN-13: 9780205737536

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Exam Copy for Understanding Movies, 12/E
Giannetti
©2011 | Pearson | Paper; 608 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205737609 | ISBN-13: 9780205737604
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MyTest Test Bank for Understanding Movies
Giannetti
©2011 | Pearson | On-line Supplement | Live
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Allyn & Bacon
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InterWrite PRS RF (Personal Response System)
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