Film, Form, and Culture

Fourth Edition

Robert Kolker

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317541677
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Media Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Film, Form, and Culture (4th edition) offers a lively introduction to both the formal and cultural aspects of film. With extensive analysis of films past and present, this textbook explores film from part to whole; from the smallest unit of the shot to the way shots are edited together to create narrative. It then examines those narratives (both fiction and non-fiction) as stories and genres that speak to the culture of their time and our perceptions of them today.

Composition, editing, genres (such as the gangster film, the Western, science fiction, and melodrama) are analyzed alongside numerous images to illustrate the discussion. Chapters on the individuals who make films - the production designer, cinematographer, editor, composer, producer, director, and actor - illustrate the collaborative nature of filmmaking.

This new edition includes:

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• An expanded discussion of the digital 'revolution" in filmmaking: exploring the movement from celluloid to digital recording and editing of images, as well as the use of CGI

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• A new chapter on international cinema that covers filmmaking from Italy to Mumbai offering students a broader understanding of cinema on a worldwide scale

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• A new chapter on film acting that uses images to create a small catalogue of gestures and expressions that are recognizable in film after film

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• Expanded content coverage and in-depth analysis throughout, including a visual analysis of a scene from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight

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• An expanded chapter on the cultural contexts of film summarizes the theories of cultural and media studies, concluding with a comparative analysis of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo and Judd Apatow's This is 40

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• Over 260 images, many in color, that create a visual index to and illustration of the discussion of films and filmmaking

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• Each chapter ends with updated suggestions for further reading and viewing, and there is an expanded glossary of terms.

Additional resources for students and teachers can also be found on the companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/kolker), which includes additional case studies, discussion questions and links to useful websites.

This textbook is an invaluable and exciting resource for students beginning film studies at undergraduate level.