Film art: an introduction

641 Pages·2017·176.597 MB·English

by  Bordwell, David;Smith, Jeff;Thompson, Kristin

Film Art
11E
F
® i AN INTRODUCTION
l
m
Connect Film contains everything instructors need to teach using Film Art
and everything students need to learn to become informed viewers of film.
A
r
t
McGraw-Hill Education’s SmartBook is NEW in Connect Film for the 11th edition A
N
of Film Art. SmartBook is the first and only adaptive reading experience available

I
N
today. With SmartBook, reading is no longer passive and linear, but an engaging and
T
dynamic experience where students are more likely to master and retain important R
O
concepts and be better prepared for class. The SmartBook adaptive study tool
D
distinguishes what students know from what they don’t, and focuses on concepts U
C
they are most likely to forget, adapting to each student’s needs.
T
I
O
Criterion Collection Clips
N
Studying film isn’t just about learning the facts; it’s also about the skills of watching
P
and listening closely. Together with the Criterion Collection, the authors of Film Art H
X
have expanded the bank of video tutorials available exclusively in Connect Film. 1
3
3
The tutorials use film clips to clarify and reinforce key concepts and model the 6
2
2
critical skills necessary to become informed viewers. They can be shown in class 1 0
8
or assigned for students to view outside class, with brief optional follow-up quizzes. B /2
O 9/1
R 5
D C
W ELEVENTH EDITION Y
E A
L N
L M

   A
T G
H
O Y
M E
L
P O
SO B
L
N K

S
M
I
T
H
ISBN 978-1-259-53495-9
MHID 1-259-53495-2
90000
E
A
N DAVID BORDWELL    KRISTIN THOMPSON    JEFF SMITH
9 781259 534959
mheducation.com/highered
FILM ART
AN INTRODUCTION
bor34952_fm_i-xviii.indd 1 17/09/15 10:57 am
bor34952_fm_i-xviii.indd 2 17/09/15 10:57 am
ELEVENTH EDITION
FILM ART
AN INTRODUCTION
David Bordwell
University of Wisconsin—Madison
Kristin Thompson
University of Wisconsin—Madison
Jeff Smith
University of Wisconsin—Madison
bor34952_fm_i-xviii.indd 3 17/09/15 10:57 am
FILM ART: AN INTRODUCTION, ELEVENTH EDITION
Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright © 2017 by
McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Previous editions
© 2013, 2010, and 2008. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by
any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education, including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or
broadcast for distance learning.
Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the
United States.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOW/DOW 1 0 9 8 7 6
ISBN 978-1-259-53495-9
MHID 1-259-53495-2
Senior Vice President, Products & Markets: Kurt L. Strand
Vice President, General Manager, Products & Markets: Michael Ryan
Vice President, Content Design & Delivery: Kimberly Meriwether David
Managing Director: William Glass
Brand Manager: Sarah Remington
Lead Product Developer: Dawn Groundwater
Marketing Manager: Kelly Odom
Editorial Coordinator: Christina Grimm
Director, Content Design & Delivery: Terri Schiesl
Program Manager: Debra Hash
Content Project Managers: Sandy Wille; Jodi Banowetz
Buyer: Susan K. Culbertson
Designer: Srdjan Savanovic
Content Licensing Specialists: (photo) Shawntel Schmitt; (text) Ann Marie Jannette
Cover Image: Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLC and Moonrise LLC
Compositor: MPS Limited
Printer: R. R. Donnelley
All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the
copyright page.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bordwell, David.
Film art : an introduction / David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, Jeff Smith,
University of Wisconsin, Madison.—11
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-259-53495-9 (paperback)
1. Motion pictures—Aesthetics. I. Thompson, Kristin, 1950- II. Title.
PN1995.B617 2015
791.4301—dc23
2015032809
The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website
does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw-Hill Education
does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
mheducation.com/highered
bor34952_fm_i-xviii.indd 4 17/09/15 10:57 am
A B O U T T H E AU T H O R S
David Bordwell is Jacques Ledoux Professor Emeritus of 1907–1934 (British Film Institute, 1985), Breaking the
Film Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He Glass Armor: Neoformalist Film Analysis (Princeton
holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in film from the University Press, 1988), Wooster Proposes, Jeeves
University of Iowa. His books include The Films of Carl- Disposes, or, Le Mot Juste (James H. Heineman, 1992),
Theodor Dreyer (University of California Press, 1981), Storytelling in the New Hollywood: Understanding
Narration in the Fiction Film (University of Wisconsin Classical Narrative Technique (Harvard University Press,
Press, 1985), Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema (Princeton 1999), Storytelling in Film and Television (Harvard
University Press, 1988), Making Meaning: Inference University Press, 2003), Herr Lubitsch Goes To
and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema (Harvard Hollywood: German and American Film After World War I
University Press, 1989), The Cinema of Eisenstein (Amsterdam University Press, 2005), and The Frodo
(Harvard University Press, 1993), On the History of Film Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood
Style (Harvard University Press, 1997), Planet Hong (University of California Press, 2007). She blogs with
Kong: Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment David at www.davidbordwell.net/blog, and is a con-
(Harvard University Press, 2000), Figures Traced in tributor to TheOneRing.net. In her spare time, she studies
Light: On Cinematic Staging (University of California Egyptology.
Press, 2005), The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style
in Modern Movies (University of California Press, 2006), David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson have also collabo-
Poetics of Cinema (Routledge, 2008), Pandora’s Digital rated on Film History: An Introduction (McGraw-Hill,
Box: Films, Files, and the Future of Movies (Irvington 3d ed., 2010), Minding Movies: Observations of the Art,
Way Institute Press, 2012), and The Rhapsodes: How Craft, and Business of Filmmaking (University of Chicago
1940s Critics Changed American Film Culture (University Press, 2011), Christopher Nolan: A Labyrinth of Linkages
of Chicago Press, 2016). He has won a University (Irvington Way Institute Press, 2013), and, with Janet
Distinguished Teaching Award and was awarded an Staiger, on The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style
honorary degree by the University of Copenhagen. His and Mode of Production to 1960 (Columbia University
website is www.davidbordwell.net. Press, 1985).
Kristin Thompson is an Honorary Fellow at the University Jeff Smith is a professor in the Communication Arts
of Wisconsin–Madison. She holds a master’s degree in Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
film from the University of Iowa and a doctorate in film and the author of two books: The Sounds of Commerce:
from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She has Marketing Popular Film Music (Columbia University
published Eisenstein’s Ivan the Terrible: A Neoformalist Press, 1998) and Film Criticism, the Cold War, and the
Analysis (Princeton University Press, 1981), Exporting Blacklist: Reading the Hollywood Reds (University of
Entertainment: America in the World Film Market California Press, 2014).
To our parents,
Marjorie and Jay Bordwell
and Jean and Roger Thompson
bor34952_fm_i-xviii.indd 5 17/09/15 10:57 am
F I L M A R T —A P E R S O N A L I Z E D L E A R N I N G
A N D T E AC H I N G E X P E R I E N C E I N
F I L M A P P R E C I AT I O N
Film Art helps students master the skills of film appreciation by teaching them to
analyze and appreciate classic and contemporary films. Enhanced by McGraw-Hill
Education’s SmartBook®, Film Art delivers a learning and teaching experience
tailored to the needs of each institution, instructor, and student.
PERSONALIZING FILM LEARNING
For nearly a generation, Film Art has helped students become informed viewers of
classic and contemporary films by explaining key vocabulary and concepts of film
forms, techniques, and history. And now, with the introduction of McGraw-Hill
Education’s SmartBook students are better equipped to understand and retain these
basic concepts.
SmartBook is an adaptive learning program proven to help students
learn faster, study smarter, and retain more knowledge for greater success.
Distinguishing what students know from what they don’t, and focusing on con-
cepts they are most likely to forget, SmartBook continuously adapts to each
student’s needs by building a personalized learning path. An intelligent, adaptive
study tool, SmartBook is proven to strengthen memory recall, keep students in
class, and boost grades.
Enhanced by McGraw-Hill Education’s SmartBook,
Film Art delivers the first and only adaptive reading
experience currently available.
∙ Make It Effective. SmartBook creates a person-
alized reading experience by highlighting the
most impactful concepts a student needs to learn
at that moment in time. This ensures that every
minute spent with SmartBook is returned to the
student as the most valuable minute possible.
∙ Make It Informed. Real-time reports quickly
identify the concepts that require more attention from individual students—
or the entire class.
ANALYZING AND CRITIQUING FILM
Studying film isn’t just about learning the facts; it’s also about the skills of watch-
ing and listening closely. Together with the Criterion Collection, we’ve developed
Connect Film to introduce students to the world of film and challenge them to
develop the critical-analysis skills necessary to become informed viewers.
The authors have partnered with the Criterion Collection to create brief video
tutorials, available exclusively in Connect Film. The tutorials use film clips to
clarify and reinforce key concepts and model the critical skills necessary to become
informed viewers. They can be shown in class or assigned for students to view
vi
bor34952_fm_i-xviii.indd 6 17/09/15 10:57 am
FILM ART vii
outside class, with brief optional follow-up quizzes. Below is a list of Criterion
Collection tutorial selections available in Connect Film:
Light Sources: Ashes and Diamonds Shifting the Axis of Action: Shaun
(1958) of the Dead (2004)
Available Lighting: Breathless (1960) Crossing the Axis of Action: Early
Summer (1951)
Staging in Depth: Mr. Hulot’s Holiday
(1953) Crosscutting: M (1931)
Color Motifs: The Spirit of the Beehive Elliptical Editing: Vagabond (1985)
(1973)
Jump Cuts: Breathless (1960)
Tracking Shots Structure a Scene:
Sound Mixing: Seven Samurai (1954)
Ugetsu (1953)
Contrasting Rhythms of Sound and
Tracking Shot to Reveal: The 400
Image: Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (1953)
Blows (1959)
Offscreen Sound: M (1931)
Style Creates Parallelism: Day
of Wrath (1943) What Comes Out Must Go In: 2D
Computer Animation
Staging and Camera Movement in a Long
Take: The Rules of the Game (1939) Lens and Camera Movement
Editing with Graphic Matches: Seven Film Lighting
Samurai (1954)
Below are several Criterion Tutorials new to the eleventh edition:
Contrasting Style for Objective and Subjec- Playing with Unrealistic Sound:
tive Narration: Journey to Italy (1954) Daisies (1966)
Diegetic narration by an Unidentified Staging with the Main Characters’ Backs
Character: I Vitelloni (1953) toward the Camera: L'Avventura (1960)
Setting and Costume Play an Active Role:
Authenticity in Documentaries: Nanook
Ivan the Terrible, Part II (1958)
of the North (1922)
Two Ways of Staging for Humor: The
Gold Rush (1925) Surrealism in Experimental Film:
Un Chien andalou (1929)
The Long Lens and Zooming: Close-up
(1990) Post Production Sound
In addition, Connect Film features Film Analysis Assignments with additional
clips, film stills, and links to movie clips to help students practice analyzing aspects
of each film and prepare them for their longer written assignments. These include
clips from the following films:
Battleship Potemkin (1925) Meet John Doe (1941)
D.O.A. (1950) Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The General (1926) Nosferatu (1922)
His Girl Friday (1940) Scarlet Street (1945)
The Lady Vanishes (1938) Sita Sings the Blues (2008)
M (1931) Wackiki Wabbit (1943)
Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
bor34952_fm_i-xviii.indd 7 17/09/15 10:57 am
viii FILM ART
APPRECIATING FILM
Film Art provides the respected scholarship and analytic tools students need
to understand key vocabulary and concepts of film forms, techniques, and his-
tory; appreciate a wide variety of classic and contemporary films and the creative
choices made by filmmakers to shape the experience of viewers; and analyze films
critically and systematically to enrich their understanding and appreciation of any
film, in any genre.
“Creative Decision” sections provide in-depth examples to deepen students’
CREATIVE DECISIONS
appreciation for how creative choices by filmmakers affect how viewers respond.
Discussions include, for example, performance and camera positioning in The
Social Network, editing in The Birds, and overlapping dialogue cuts in The Hunt for
Red October.
“Closer Look” features examine important issues in contemporary cinema
and provide detailed looks at such topics as computer-generated imagery
(CGI) in The Lord of the Rings, editing in L. A. Confidential, and motifs in
The Shining.
Authors’ blog, “Observations on Film Art.” In what Roger Ebert called
“the most knowledgeable film blog on the web,” David Bordwell and Kristin
Thompson share their ideas and experiences with instructors and students (http://
www.davidbordwell.net/blog). Throughout the text, “Connect to the Blog” refer-
ences point to blog entries with relevant ideas, terms, and film examples, connect-
ing ideas in Film Art to the current film scene in an accessible way.
PERSONALIZING FILM TEACHING
Through McGraw-Hill Education’s Create, a new chapter on Film Adaptations,
written by Jeff Smith of the University of Wisconsin, is available for instructors to
better customize and personalize their film appreciation course. In addition, an
appendix on “Writing a Critical Analysis” is available for instructors who require
written film critiques, and DVD Recommendations provide particularly effective
resources related to key topics.
McGraw-Hill Create allows you to create a customized print book or
eBook tailored to your course and syllabus. You can search through
thousands of McGraw-Hill Education texts, rearrange chapters, combine material
from other content sources, and include your own content or teaching notes. Create
even allows you to personalize your book’s appearance by selecting the cover and
adding your name, school, and course information. To register and to get more
information, go to http://create.mheducation.com.
bor34952_fm_i-xviii.indd 8 17/09/15 10:57 am
FILM ART ix
Chapter-by-Chapter Changes
Chapter 1 Updated and expanded information on New analyses of sound techniques in The Magnificent
digital production, distribution, and exhibition, with Ambersons, Blow-Out, Norma Rae, Interstellar, Breakfast
examples of special effects from Pacific Rim. New at Tiffany’s, Reservoir Dogs, The Nutty Professor,
information on contemporary theater sound systems, Vicki Cristina Barcelona, Gosford Park, 12 Monkeys,
as exemplified by Atmos and Brave. New references and Accident, along with an expanded consideration
to Middle of Nowhere and Nightcrawler. Examination of The Conversation. Enhanced references to blog
of marketing campaigns for The Dark Knight, the “Observations on Film Art.”
Transformers series, and The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Chapter 8 Extensive new section on Gravity and film
Enhanced references to blog “Observations on Film Art.”
style in the digital age. Enhanced references to blog
Chapter 2 Enhanced references to blog “Observations “Observations on Film Art.”
on Film Art.”
Chapter 9 New section on sports film as genre, with
Chapter 3 Enhanced references to blog “Observations new examples from My Sweet Pepper Land, The World’s
on Film Art.” Fastest Indian, Fever Pitch, and Offside. Enhanced
references to blog “Observations on Film Art.”
Chapter 4 New references to mise-en-scene in
Watchmen, Snowpiercer, and Laura. Enhanced references Chapter 10 New examples from The Act of Killing,
to blog “Observations on Film Art.” Searching for Sugar Man, and Rango. Enhanced
references to blog “Observations on Film Art.”
Chapter 5 Updated information on digital color
grading. Discussion of 3D in Life of Pi. Discussions of Chapter 11 New detailed analysis of Moonrise
Family Plot and Leviathan. Enhanced references to blog Kingdom. Enhanced references to blog “Observations on
“Observations on Film Art.” Film Art.”
Chapter 6 New examples from Wolf of Wall Street Chapter 12 Update on contemporary Hollywood
and Lucy. Enhanced references to blog “Observations industry and technology, including sound systems and
on Film Art.” Video on Demand. New examples from Beetlejuice,
Ben-Hur, The Apple, and Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Chapter 7 Extensively revised sound chapter, with
Enhanced references to blog “Observations on Film Art.”
new material on sound perspective in the theater space.
bor34952_fm_i-xviii.indd 9 17/09/15 10:57 am