Introduction to Film Studies

by Jill Nelmes (Editor)

Introduction to Film Studies is a comprehensive leading textbook for students of cinema. This completely revised and updated fourth edition guides students through the key issues and concepts in film studies, traces the historical development of film and introduces some of the world's key national cinemas. A range of theories and theorists is presented, from formalism to feminism, from Eisenstein to Deleuze. Each chapter is written by a subject specialist, including four new authors, and a wide range of films is analysed and discussed. It is lavishly illustrated with over 123 film stills and production shots, many of them in colour. Reviewed widely by teachers in the field and with a foreword by Bill Nichols, it will be essential reading for any introductory student of film, media studies or the visual arts worldwide.

Key features of the fourth edition are:
* full coverage of all important topics for introductory level
* updated coverage of a wide range of concepts, theories and issues in film studies
* in-depth discussion of the contemporary film industry
* new chapters on rediscovering film; ethnicity, race and cinema; documentary; film form and narrative; British cinema; approaches to cinematic authorship
* new case studies on films such as Bamboozled, Wild Strawberries, Run Lola Run, Grey Gardens, Grizzly Man, Boys Don't Cry, Love Actually, among many others
* marginal key terms, notes, cross-referencing
* suggestions for further reading, further viewing and a comprehensive glossary and bibliography
* website resources including updated popular case studies from previous editions, a chapter on German cinema and links to supporting sites

Contributors:
Chris Darke, Terri Francis, Lalitha Gopalan, Chris Jones, Mark Joyce, Searle Kochberg, Lawrence Napper, Jill Nelmes, Patrick Phillips, Suzanne Speidel, Paul Ward, Paul Watson, Paul Wells

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Art

512 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[Nedislav]

The first I read on film theory and it's a spot-on! I am really happy that the book encompasses everything from formal aspects to theoretical knowledge, from the East and the West, from low-brow to art-house. Exactly because of this inclusivity, I read about topics I would have hardly gotten into at this moment e.g. Bollywood.

Absolutely marcellous. I would definetely recommend it to everyone.

[Vincent Pollard]

To be fair this ‘text book for the layperson’ is fairly dated now, being as it was published in 1996. It’s incredibly dry for the first 40% but then becomes, for a text book, quite a page turner. My main complaint with the book is the omission of some of the great masterworks of cinema. Despite there being a whole chapter on Bollywood (which was quite interesting) there’s very little focus on Japanese and East Asian cinema. No mention of Wong Kar-Wai (okay his best films came later but he was already hot at this time) or Akira Kurosawa. In the animation section no mention of Grave of the Fireflies or Akira, both groundbreaking works, and only a passing mention of Andrei Tarkovsky. To me, mind-boggling omissions even for the time. In the gay cinema section there was mention of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Small details maybe but also big omissions.

[Luis]

Cuando dice introducción realmente se refiere a 'introducción'. Como tal, es bastante útil para revisar un tema que se desconoce o simplemente para repasar sus fundamentos. En especial es útil la lista de lecturas adicionales que se incluye al final de cada capitulo.

[Rob]

I bought this book for a film studies class to use as a point of reference. Didnt think I would be engrossed in the material the way I was, very well put together. Glad I got this book as I still use it from time to time.