La narración en el cine de ficción

by David Bordwell

Sabemos a ciencia cierta que la mayoría de las películas son narraciones, pero casi nunca nos preguntamos qué significado tiene eso, que mecanismos utilizan para acabar construyendo lo que llamamos una historia. Con el presente estudio, David Bordwell quiere llenar este vacío y, a la vez, proporcionar el primer análisis comprehensivo de esa compleja operación. Ello supone, claro está, realizar simultáneamente un somero recorrido por las distintas teorías que se han ido estableciendo al respecto desde que el cine empezó a contar historias, pero el objetivo de Bordwell no es la pura enumeración sino la confección de un nuevo enfoque: una visión de la narrativa fílmica que sin duda cambiara radicalmente la manera en que ahora la percibimos. El resultado es un proyecto de tal amplitud y alcance que ya se ha convertido en una de las contribuciones de mayor peso intelectual de la teoría cinematográfica contemporánea.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Writing, Art, Academic, Media Tie In, Cultural

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

David Bordwell, Jacques Ledoux Professor at the University of Wisconsin, is arguably the most influential scholar of film in the United States. The author, with his wife Kristin Thompson, of the standard textbook Film Art and a series of influential studies of directors (Eisenstein, Ozu, Dreyer) as well as periods and styles (Hong Kong cinema, Classical Hollywood cinema, among others), he has also trained a generation of professors of cinema studies, extending his influence throughout the world. His books have been translated into fifteen languages.

Reviews

[Amirhossein · Rating 4 out of 5]

بوردول بخش زیادی از مباحث این کتاب رو در 《هنر سینما》و 《تاریخ سینما》به یه نحو دیگه آورده، اما همچنان خوندنش به غایت جذابه؛ بخصوص جلد دوم که درباره سینمای هنری و پارامتری و گدار حرف می‌زنه.

[Elliot T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not necessarily worth reading unless you're really interested in storytelling in movies, but pretty accessible for the non-film student. You'll obviously want to skip the chapters where Bordwell refutes existing strains of film theory, but the chapters where he actually breaks down how films tell stories (Chapters 3-10, about 200 pages) helped me to understand film in a way that no other book has.

[Mohamadjavad Taghipour · Rating 4 out of 5]

بردول با نقد و شرح انواع نقدهای فیلم و نوع دیدن فیلم، به یک نظریه شخصی می‌رسد که همانطور که خود در پایان بیان می‌کند قصد ندارد برای همه فیلم‌ها آن را عرضه کند.
در مجلد اول به شرح و بسط آن می‌پردازد و در مجلد دوم با بیان ۴ ژانر سینما به نقد فیلم‌ها می‌پردازد.
۳۱ اردیبهشت ۱۴۰۲

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb primer not only for understanding how film narratives work, from Griffith to Godard, but an excellent study of the narrative process in all media. Uses modern cognitive research to shape its ideas about the process of viewing, as well. Typically outstanding work by Bordwell, not a book for those with a casual interest in the subject.

[Klay Kubiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Film narratology has become, for me, the most intriguing aspect of cinema studies. Bordwell is the godfather of the subject, and this text is an essential gateway.

[Raúl · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Bordwell nos entrega un libro que quiere ser exhaustivo y que quiere crear una teoría que se diferencie de otras teorías de la narración a través de la forma en que el espectador recibe codificaciones que le permiten (re)construir la historia a través de los elementos entregados por el cineasta: el argumento y el estilo, que dan forma a la película. Siendo un libro interesante, completo, con análisis brillantes, finalmente decepciona porque ese objetivo que se había marcado no se aborda directamente, la función del espectador, y se examina más la función del estilo y del creador... que desestimada la figura del sujeto de enunciación acaba redundando en una figura cercana a la del criticado "autor".

[ManMothz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think film enthusiasts of all levels will find this book invaluable. Not only is Bordwell's theory of narration convincing and fairly easy to apply to your own viewing activities, but he is also a fantastic summarizer. The beginning chapters of the book which recount various theories of narration are great because they condense and explain, in relatively straightforward terms, very complexly communicated theories. This provides a great jumping off point for narrational research, as you will already have an expert, albeit slight, background in whatever literary or filmic narrational theory you might be interested in.

In regards to the full extent of Bordwell's theory, I am not such an expert summarizer as he, so I will limit my comments to say that it achieves specificity while maintaining broad applicability.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

An utterly fascinating book, explaining/arguing how film tells story: you may think it's obvious, but this book makes it clear that it's not (and the argument probably holds true for novels, short stories and stage plays as well).

Reading this while watching Mike Flanagan's The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix shows how influential it is: a lot of the films contained within I had never seen (or indeed heard of) but it still explains them in an utterly followable way.

[Pablo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Denso pero rico en teoría narrativa y ejemplos.

[Emiliano Dominici · Rating 5 out of 5]

Per capire la narrazione dei film.
Un testo fondamentale, per me, per capire come funziona la narrazione filmica. Molto interessante, ne ricordo ancora gran parte del contenuto.

[Fiametta · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب بسیار خوب با ترجمه ی بسیار بد

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

leí 83 páginas nada más pero lo voy a contar igual. me gustó mucho más de lo q pensé q me iba a gustar me dio un poco de bronca ngl

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mission 2026: Binge reviewing (and rereading on occasion) all previous Reads, I was too slothful to review, back when I read them.

Reading Bordwell again felt like returning to a stern but exhilarating classroom where every comfort is stripped away in the service of clarity. For starters, this is not a book that flatters the reader; it trains the reader. Bordwell’s central insistence—that film narration is a system, not a vibe—slowly recalibrated how I watch movies.

What I once described vaguely as “tight storytelling” or “confusing editing” becomes, under his gaze, a precise orchestration of knowledge, time, and perception. The pleasure of the book lies in this intellectual sharpening.

Bordwell’s writing is famously dry, but rereading it now, I noticed a restrained elegance beneath the academic rigour. He argues patiently, stacking examples from classical Hollywood, art cinema, and modernist film with almost geometric care.

His distinction between story, plot, and narration—concepts I thought I already understood—suddenly gains teeth.

Films stop being emotional experiences alone and become machines that distribute information strategically, sometimes generously, sometimes cruelly.

What struck me most this time was how empowering the book is. Bordwell does not mystify cinema; he demystifies it. He gives you tools and trusts you to use them. Once you grasp his framework, you can dismantle almost any film—mainstream or obscure—and see how it thinks.

This is criticism as craftsmanship, not judgement.

The book does demand effort. It resists casual reading and punishes skimming. Yet that resistance is part of its ethical stance: cinema deserves seriousness. By the end, you don’t just “like” films differently—you see differently.

Bordwell quietly rewires your attention, and that change feels permanent.

Recommended for film study students and academics alike.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps it's my mood, but man, this book is tedious. I'm interested in the subject matter, but I find that Bordwell's insistence on the cognitivist approach gets a little tiring. Still, I appreciate the effort to challenge the methodologies that consider cinema in terms of linguistic categories.

[Christine Alibutud · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by Bordwell was one of my professor's reading requirements in my writing subject. Fair to say that this was truly helpful in my course.

4 stars!

[Filip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pocitově mi to zabralo snad rok a půl, jak hutné a obsáhlé na informace Narration in the Fiction Film bylo. Jedná se ale o skutečně precizně sepsanou knihu srozumitelným (byť dosti odborným) jazykem, snažící se představit jeden ze základních principů analýzy narace narativních filmů.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very first film book I had to read in college. It's still one of my favorites. I love their new blog too.

[Kasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simultaneously brilliant and accessible. The major achievement by THE film theorist. Bordwell is, simply put, the man.

[Meraj Dhir · Rating 5 out of 5]

What you need to read to conduct comprehensive narratological analysis of fiction films in all modes of production. A work of genius.