5TH EDITION
LOOKING AT MOVIES
5TH EDITION
LOOKING AT MOVIES RICHARD BARSAM & DAVE MONAHAN
AN INTRODUCTION TO FILM
W.W. NORTON & COMPANY B
RICHARD BARSAM (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is Professor Emeritus of Film Studies at Hunter College, City Univer- sity of New York. He is the author of Nonfiction Film: A Critical History (rev. and exp. ed., 1992), The Vision of Rob- ert Flaherty: The Artist as Myth and Filmmaker (1988), In the Dark: A Primer for the Movies (1977), and Filmguide to Triumph of the Will (1975); editor of Nonfiction Film: Theory and Criticism (1976); and contributing author to Paul Monaco’s The Sixties: 1960–1969 (Vol. 8 in the History of the American Cinema series, 2001) and Filming Robert Flaherty’s Louisiana Story: The Helen van Dongen Diary (ed. Eva Orbanz, 1998). His articles and book reviews have appeared in Cinema Journal, Quarterly Review of Film Studies, Film Comment, Studies in Visual Com- munication, and Harper’s. He has been a member of the Executive Council of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies and the Editorial Board of Cinema Journal, and he cofounded the journal Persistence of Vision.
DAVE MONAHAN (M.F.A., Columbia University) is an Associate Professor and Department Chair of Film Studies at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. His work as a writer, director, and editor includes Things Grow (2010), Ringo (2005), Monkey Junction (2004), Prime Time (1996), and Angels Watching Over Me (1993). His work has been screened internationally in over fifty film festivals and has earned numerous awards, including the New Line Cinema Award for Most Original Film (Prime Time) and the Seattle International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Best Animated Short Film (Ringo).
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
vii
To Students xvii Preface xix Acknowledgments xxiii
CHAPTER 1 Looking at Movies 1 Learning Objectives 2
Looking at Movies 2 What Is a Movie? 3 The Movie Director 5
Ways of Looking at Movies 6 Invisibility and Cinematic Language 6 Cultural Invisibility 10 Implicit and Explicit Meaning 11 Viewer Expectations 13 Formal Analysis 14 Alternative Approaches to Analysis 19 Cultural and Formal Analysis in The Hunger Games 22 Analyzing Looking at Movies 32 Screening Checklist: Looking at Movies 33 Questions for Review 34 Student Resources Online 34
CHAPTER 2 Principles of Film Form 35 Learning Objectives 36
Film Form 36 Form and Content 36
Form and Expectations 39 Patterns 41 Fundamentals of Film Form 45 Movies Depend on Light 45 Movies Provide an Illusion of Movement 46 Movies Manipulate Space and Time in Unique Ways 48
Realism and Antirealism 55 Verisimilitude 58
CONTENTS
viii Contents
Cinematic Language 59
Looking at Film Form: Donnie Darko 61 Content 61 Expectations 61 Patterns 62 Manipulating Space 63 Manipulating Time 64 Realism, Antirealism, and Verisimilitude 64 Analyzing Principles of Film Form 65 Screening Checklist: Principles of Film Form 65 Questions for Review 66 Student Resources Online 66
CHAPTER 3 Types of Movies 67 Learning Objectives 68
The Idea of Narrative 68
Types of Movies 71 Narrative Movies 72 Documentary Movies 73 Experimental Movies 77
Hybrid Movies 83
Genre 85 Genre Conventions 88
Story Formulas 88 Theme 89 Character Types 89 Setting 89 Presentation 89 Stars 90
Six Major American Genres 91 Gangster 91 Film Noir 93 Science Fiction 96 Horror 99 The Western 102 The Musical 105
Evolution and Transformation of Genre 108
What about Animation? 111
Looking at the Types of Movies in The Lego Movie 115 Analyzing Types of Movies 119 Screening Checklist: Types of Movies 119 Questions for Review 120 Student Resources Online 120
ixContents
CHAPTER 4 Elements of Narrative 121 Learning Objectives 122
What Is Narrative? 122 Characters 126 Narrative Structure 130
The Screenwriter 135
Elements of Narrative 136 Story and Plot 136 Order 141 Events 142 Duration 143 Suspense versus Surprise 147 Repetition 148 Setting 148 Scope 149
Looking at Narrative: John Ford’s Stagecoach 150 Story, Screenwriter, and Screenplay 150 Narration and Narrator 152 Characters 153 Narrative Structure 153 Plot 154
Order 154 Diegetic and Nondiegetic Elements 154 Events 155 Duration 155 Repetition 155
Suspense 155 Setting 157 Scope 159 Analyzing Elements of Narrative 161 Screening Checklist: Elements of Narrative 161 Questions for Review 162 Student Resources Online 162
CHAPTER 5 Mise-en-Scène 163 Learning Objectives 164
What Is Mise-en-Scène? 164
Design 173 The Production Designer 173 Elements of Design 176
Setting, Decor, and Properties 177 Lighting 179 Costume, Makeup, and Hairstyle 181
International Styles of Design 188
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Composition 196 Framing: What We See on the Screen 197
On-screen and Offscreen Space 197 Open and Closed Framing 199
Kinesis: What Moves on the Screen 202 Movement of Figures within the Frame 203
Looking at Mise-en-Scène 204 Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow 204 Analyzing Mise-en-Scène 209 Screening Checklist: Mise-en-Scène 209 Questions for Review 210 Student Resources Online 210
CHAPTER 6 Cinematography 211 Learning Objectives 212
What Is Cinematography? 212
The Director of Photography 212
Cinematographic Properties of the Shot 215 Film Stock 215
Black and White 217 Color 219
Lighting 222 Source 222 Quality 223 Direction 223 Color 227
Lenses 229
Framing of the Shot 233 Implied Proximity to the Camera 235
Shot Types 236 Depth 238 Camera Angle and Height 242
Eye Level 243 High Angle 243 Low Angle 245 Dutch Angle 246 Aerial View 247
Scale 247 Camera Movement 248
Pan Shot 249 Tilt Shot 249 Dolly Shot 249 Zoom 251 Crane Shot 251 Handheld Camera 254 Steadicam 254
Framing and Point of View 255
Speed and Length of the Shot 258
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Special Effects 261 In-Camera, Mechanical, and Laboratory Effects 262 Computer-Generated Imagery 263
Looking at Cinematography: Richard Linklater's Boyhood 265 Analyzing Cinematography 269 Screening Checklist: Cinematography 269 Questions for Review 270 Student Resources Online 270
CHAPTER 7 Acting 271 Learning Objectives 272
What Is Acting? 272 Movie Actors 273
The Evolution of Screen Acting 279 Early Screen-Acting Styles 279 D. W. Griffith and Lillian Gish 279 The Influence of Sound 281 Acting in the Classical Studio Era 282 Method Acting 286 Screen Acting Today 287 Technology and Acting 292
Casting Actors 293 Factors Involved in Casting 294
Aspects of Performance 295 Types of Roles 295 Preparing for Roles 297 Naturalistic and Nonnaturalistic Styles 299 Improvisational Acting 301 Directors and Actors 302
How Filmmaking Affects Acting 303 Framing, Composition, Lighting, and the Long Take 304 The Camera and the Close-Up 307 Acting and Editing 308
Looking at Acting 309 Looking at Acting: Michelle Williams 311 Analyzing Acting 315 Screening Checklist: Acting 315 Questions for Review 316 Student Resources Online 316
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CHAPTER 8 Editing 317 Learning Objectives 318
What Is Editing? 318
The Film Editor 320 The Editor’s Responsibilities 323
Spatial Relationships between Shots 323 Temporal Relationships between Shots 324 Rhythm 329
Major Approaches to Editing: Continuity and Discontinuity 333 Conventions of Continuity Editing 336
Master Scene Technique 337 Screen Direction 337
Editing Techniques That Maintain Continuity 342 Shot/Reverse Shot 342 Match Cuts 342 Parallel Editing 345 Point-of-View Editing 347
Other Transitions between Shots 348 The Jump Cut 348 Fade 349 Dissolve 349 Wipe 350 Iris Shot 351 Freeze-Frame 351 Split Screen 352
Looking at Editing 353 Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s City of God 357 Analyzing Editing 361 Screening Checklist: Editing 361 Questions for Review 362 Student Resources Online 362
CHAPTER 9 Sound 363 Learning Objectives 364
What Is Sound? 364
Sound Production 366 Design 366 Recording 367 Editing 368 Mixing 368
Describing Film Sound 369 Pitch, Loudness, Quality 369 Fidelity 370
