How to Read a Film

Richard Gilman referred to How to Read a Film as simply "the best single work of its kind." And Janet Maslin in The New York Times Book Review marveled at James Monaco's ability to collect "an enormous amount of useful information and assemble it in an exhilaratingly simple and systematic way." Indeed, since its original publication in 1977, this hugely popular book has become ...

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Richard Gilman referred to How to Read a Film as simply "the best single work of its kind." And Janet Maslin in The New York Times Book Review marveled at James Monaco's ability to collect "an enormous amount of useful information and assemble it in an exhilaratingly simple and systematic way." Indeed, since its original publication in 1977, this hugely popular book has become the definitive source on film and media. Now, James Monaco offers a special anniversary edition of his classic work, featuring a new preface and several new sections, including an "Essential Library: One Hundred Books About Film and Media You Should Read" and "One Hundred Films You Should See." As in previous editions, Monaco once again looks at film from many vantage points, as both art and craft, sensibility and science, tradition and technology. After examining film's close relation to other narrative media such as the novel, painting, photography, television, and even music, the book discusses the elements necessary to understand how films convey meaning, and, more importantly, how we can best discern all that a film is attempting to communicate. In addition, Monaco stresses the ever-evolving digital context of film throughout--one of the new sections looks at the untrustworthy nature of digital images and sound--and his chapter on multimedia brings media criticism into the twenty-first century with a thorough discussion of topics like virtual reality, cyberspace, and the proximity of both to film. With hundreds of illustrative black-and-white film stills and diagrams, How to Read a Film is an indispensable addition to the library of everyone who loves the cinema and wants to understand it better.

James Monaco is President of UNET 2 Corporation and author or editor of more than a dozen books on film and media, published in more than 40 editions, which have been as successful in translation in Europe and Japan as in English in the UK and North America.

With Baseline, the worldwide information source for the entertainment business which he founded in 1982, he’s responsible...

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James Monaco is President of UNET 2 Corporation and author or editor of more than a dozen books on film and media, published in more than 40 editions, which have been as successful in translation in Europe and Japan as in English in the UK and North America.

With Baseline, the worldwide information source for the entertainment business which he founded in 1982, he’s responsible for both a film guide and an encyclopedia and is the only American film writer to have products in both of those niches. An experienced TV talk show guest and radio commentator, Monaco is also well-known as a leader of the internet and new media industries.

FRONT MATTER
INTRODUCTION
Preface to the Second Edition
1. FILM AS AN ART
The Nature of Art
Ways of Looking at Art
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FRONT MATTER
INTRODUCTION
Preface to the Second Edition
1. FILM AS AN ART
The Nature of Art
Ways of Looking at Art
The Spectrum of Abstraction
The Modes of Discourse
The "Rapports de Production"
Film, Recording, and the Other Arts
Film, Photography, and Painting
Film and the Novel
Film and Theater
Film and Music
Film and the Environmental Arts
The Structure of Art
2. TECHNOLOGY: IMAGE AND SOUND
Art and Technology
Image Technology
Sound Technology
The Lens
The Camera
The Filmstock
Negatives, Prints, and Generations
Aspect Ratio
Grain, Gauge, and Speed
Color, Contrast, and Tone
The Soundtrack
Post-Production
Editing
Mixing and Looping
Special Effects
Opticals, the Lab, and the Post House
Video and Film
Projection
3. THE LANGUAGE OF FILM: SIGNS AND SYNTAX
Signs
The Physiology of Perception
Denotative and Connotative Meaning
Syntax
Codes
Mise-en-Scéne
The Framed Image
The Diachronic Shot
Sound
Montage
4. THE SHAPE OF FILM HISTORY
Movies/Film/Cinema
"Movies": Economics
"Film": Politics
"Cinema": Esthetics
Creating an Art: Lumière versus Méliès
The Silent Feature: Realism versus Expressionism
Hollywood: Genre versus Auteur
Neorealism and After: Hollywood versus the World
The New Wave and the Third World: Entertainment versus Communication
The Postmodern Sequel: Democracy, Technology, End of Cinema
5. FILM THEORY: FORM AND FUNCTION
The Critic
The Poet and the Philosopher: Lindsay and Münsterberg
Expressionism and Realism: Arnheim and Kracauer
Montage: Pudovkin, Eisenstein, Balázs, and Formalism
Mise-en-Scéne: Neorealism, Bazin, and Godard
Film Speaks and Acts: Metz and Contemporary Theory
6. MEDIA: IN THE MIDDLE OF THINGS
Community
Print and Electronic Media
The Technology of Mechanical and Electronic Media
Radio and Records
Television and Video
"Broadcasting": The Business
"Television": The Art
"TV": The Virtual Family
7. MULTIMEDIA: THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION
The Digital Revolution
The Myth of Multimedia
The Myth of Virtual Reality
The Myth of Cyberspace
"What Is to be Done?"
I FILM AND MEDIA: A CHRONOLOGY
To 1895: Prehistory
1896 – 1915: The Birth of Film
1916 – 1930: Silent Film, the Births of Radio and Sound Film
1931 – 1945: The Great Age of Hollywood and Radio
1946 – 1960: The Growth of Television
1961 – 1980: The Media World
1981 – Present: The Digital World
II BIBLIOGRAPHY: READING ABOUT FILM AND MEDIA
Part One: A Basic Library
1. Film as an Art
2. The Technology of Film and Media
3. The Language of Film
4A. Film History: The Economics and Politics of Film
4B. Film History: General Historical Studies
4C. Film History: Specific Major Periods
4D. Film History: Genres and Specific Topics
4E. Film History: National Cinemas
4F. Film History: Films and Filmmakers
5. Film Theory and Practical Criticism
6. Media
7. New Media
Part Two: Information
8. Lists and Encyclopedias
9. Book Bibliographies
10. Guides to Periodical Literature
11. Miscellaneous Guides
12. Journals and Magazines
13. Databases
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