How To Read a Film: Movies, Media, and Beyond

Monaco has likewise doubled the size and scope of his "Film and Media: The book also features a new introduction, an expanded bibliography, and hundreds of illustrative black-and-white film stills and diagrams.

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It is a must for all film students, media buffs, and movie fans. Paperback , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about How to Read a Film , please sign up. See 1 question about How to Read a Film…. Lists with This Book. Sep 27, Danny rated it liked it. This book touches upon pretty much every topic within cinema, as we get history, technique, film theory and whatnot. It's something that probably makes this the must-read book that it is, but it's also what's stopping this from being the kind of insightful book I'd hoped to get.

It's incredibly harsh - cause we're looking at one heavy read otherwise - but everything is pretty much quickly touched upon rather than actually examined. There's also the matter of it actually lacking quite a bit in th This book touches upon pretty much every topic within cinema, as we get history, technique, film theory and whatnot. There's also the matter of it actually lacking quite a bit in the "How to Read a Film" part compared to, say, the history of cinema. Obviously, the two are interconnected, but I really felt like some analysis was lacking.

How exactly have these directors changed cinema by using that or that angle and lighting? How can different waves give us different views? And most importantly, what can the viewer do to get a better insight into a film? I don't feel like I've changed much in that regard, which is why this felt just a bit disappointing. Oct 24, Nandakishore Varma rated it really liked it Shelves: Quite an exhaustive book on film theory. Worth reading and rereading for the aficionado and the student. May 12, Emir rated it really liked it. I only read two chapters from this book.

My chapter of interest was on semiotics "The Language of Film: Signs and Syntax" since I used "How to Read a Film" as a reference for a paper I was writing on semiotics and motion design. In fact, Monaco's description of how semiotics can be investigated in film is astute and served as my primary reference. Monaco describes signifiers and signifieds, the trope, indexes, metonymy, and the gap that semiotic inquiry is trying to bridge b Big qualification: Monaco describes signifiers and signifieds, the trope, indexes, metonymy, and the gap that semiotic inquiry is trying to bridge between literature and film.

There are 6 chapters dealing with various aspects of film such as art, history, media, technical, etc. Monaco's writing style is descriptive and compelling, and it's no surprise that it's a seminal book in the study of film and film history. Particularly captivating is Monaco's ability to connect different ideas and transition between them in a loose manner.

If you're simply a casual viewer interested in historical or artistic aspect of film, or an art history buff looking to expand your knowledge base onto moving image, this is a book to check out. There is a freely available pdf somewhere on the web but all images are stripped from it, and is thus of limited use.

Apr 04, Daniel Binns rated it liked it Shelves: Whilst I still think Bordwell and Thompson's 'Film Art' remains the quintessential book on film technique, Monaco's work offers a counter-point in the form of a simply laid-out, very comprehensive and accessible book about how film works. The summaries of key film theories were particularly useful to me, but the rest of it is excellent.

Published in The Sacramento Book Review http: Since the publication of its first edition in , this book has been applauded-and rightly so. In delving into each facet of film study, it results in catering for all aspects of film in Published in The Sacramento Book Review http: In delving into each facet of film study, it results in catering for all aspects of film interest, all of which are nicely separated into clear chapters and sections.

How to Read a Film

Of course, even though this book is likely the greatest of its kind out there, it obviously cannot capture everything where is David Lynch? For any one interested in expanding their notion of what a film is and learning how to appreciate it for more than a Friday night out, then there is probably no better place to start. Reviewed by Dylan Popowicz Incredibly researched and theory presented expertly while technology and theory behind was elucidated and then illustrated with informative graphics. As someone studying film for the next three years I'm definitely going to be read it more times as it has such as wealth of information that one has to revise and reprocess on a second or third reading as i often skimmed paragraphs, through this is a book that grabs your interest and those provide answers for your studies.

To anyone studying a Incredibly researched and theory presented expertly while technology and theory behind was elucidated and then illustrated with informative graphics. To anyone studying a film degree and even to the fringes a media degree I absolutely recommend Monaco's How To Read Film as a fundamental introduction to students and amateur cinephiles like my self. Aug 07, Vikram rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Level 1 Bible for all students of Cinema. Even for those who want to decipher hidden visual metaphors. Can lull one into believing they know all about Cinema having read this book.

But, as the first line says Jan 03, Jared rated it really liked it. If you are a beginner in the studies of film it is a great overview with many references that can point you on the way to further study. By the way I am a beginner. My rating for this work needs clarification. If you think this book will deal with the more popular appreciation of film i.

Thus, what we have here is a rather hefty tome over pages split into seven chapter headings each of which can stand on its own. For most people, however, the value may reside not in the whole work, but only in certain chapters of particular interest; and as such can be considered as a valuable introduction to one of the extensive topics encompassed by the Media in general. From this perspective, one might simply rate this work as a three star affair… Potential aquirers of this work might like a preview of each of these chapters: The Art of Film — in which film is considered within the main streams of traditional art forms which have both fed into, nourished and enriched film, and which in turn have been reformed into something else again… 2.

Other technologies are covered in chapter 6 for TV and Video and chapter 7 for the Digital era. An examination of Film Theory, and the role of critics — which among other things introduces the major film theories and theorists: Introduces us to the area of general technologies regarding recordings of various types, and covers Radio, Television and Video, and their impact on Art, Business, and social matters such as virtual families.

The book ends with an extensive Chronology of film and Media; an equally extensive bibliography covering each of the seven subjects; and three Indexes, one each on Topics, People, and film Titles. All the above might seem like rather heady reading, but Monaco is genuinely concerned to impart real knowledge, and because of his generous and sympathetic tone, it is actually easy to read overall.

When this book was first published in it was at a time when the study of film had become dominant as a special course in University curricula, and the discipline of Lingusitics was adopted and adapted as applicable for such a task. We must never forget about the real reality all around us, and of which we are a part, and from which all communication and understanding and Art derive. It is to this real reality that all our communications and understandings and Art forms must ultimately return us, safe and sound, but humbler and all the wiser as a result.

Aug 03, DoctorM rated it it was amazing Shelves: An excellent introduction to film and film theory. Monaco starts with both a brief history of film in the US and with a clear introduction to how film technically works. His application of critical theory is lucid and accessible.

How to Read a Film: Movies, Media, and Beyond - James Monaco - Google Книги

Apr 19, Meghan rated it really liked it. This book has so much information about film. The chapters are very long though, and its a bit hard to read. The author jumps from ideas to ideas and not always in chronological order. Many of its films of reference are French or older films from the 40's and 50's.

It made me want to go see more older films. I had to read this book for my English class. I don't think I am going to sell it. Oct 26, Ekin Hazal rated it it was amazing Shelves: I would recommend this book to all cinema enthusiasts and wants to take their part in this sector to read and study on this book, carefully.

You know what you getting? You getting a textbook. But dang, a pretty sweet textbook, a pretty wise exam of some theoretical subject, or I should say theory for simplicity's sake, but "theory" will lock us in to some aesthetic, semiotic, semantic beeswax, so I'll leave it at subject.

There's some charmless drudgery at the outset, clarifying some devices for understanding the power of whatnot and charmless, I say, despite warnings that the drudgery is just various methodologies, opinions, skippa You know what you getting? There's some charmless drudgery at the outset, clarifying some devices for understanding the power of whatnot and charmless, I say, despite warnings that the drudgery is just various methodologies, opinions, skippable, but I chose not to skip and still insist on 'drudgery' , though we move very soon into more fertile questions.

Semiotics into other things! Sure, groan at how "Rap or Hip Hop" is unwisely capitalized even as it's dismissed, oughts is misspelled with an O rather than A, YouTube is desperately over-elevated, or other awkward mistakes of future-looking instructional text; but still, so much of it is on point.

• Another Way of Being.
• How to Read a Film - Paperback - James Monaco - Oxford University Press.
• .
• Moment of Truth.
• 3 editions of this work;
• UNDERSTANDIN THA STRUGGLES 2 SURVIVE?

I giggled a little when I read on page Ingmar Bergman's name misspelled Bargeman -- he was a Swede who worked on a barge? You already are a master, you declare, as everyone is a master familiar with not the specifics of each and every 'thing' but with the grand shape!

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And condensing Africa to just a single name, or examining South America with just a few titles I haven't heard before, seems a bit problematic and maybe insensitive. To say before everything you say "Ok, this might seem a little controversial, but I assure you it's very hard and we're ok and you can go elsewhere if you need, so I'm just gonna say" might not always be the greatest way to say what you say.

Mentioning Marvel's rise this early might be more common than I realize, but it's still a little impressive, to me at least. Though we enjoy reviewing the strains of prescriptive vs. Lindsay, Eisenstein, Euro vs. Realist, and all, it often seems to tend toward a "reader-response" time waste. We all delight that authorship soon found its place, but the historicity could be a bit sharper. After that, we move into other media. I appreciate at the outset that "audience engagement" is dialed back, and we get a far more inquisitive picture of whole trends.

Radio and television are spent as most of Monaco's analysis, in shade after well-drawn shade. But then we move into the "multimedia" that might cripple and confuse the analysis too much. It's a very confusing system of confusion itself, but there might be less tired ways to draw us through! Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

US Higher Education Not for profit. Skip to main content. Go directly to our online catalogue. Features About the Author s Reviews Features A special anniversary edition of James Monaco's classic work Features a new preface and several new sections, including an "Essential Library: About the Author s James Monaco is a writer, publisher, and producer. Reviews "Anyone who writes about film, or who is interested in film seriously, just has to have it. Table of Contents Introduction I. The Language of Film: Lindsay and Munsterberg Expressionism and Realism: