Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings

Abstract

Brought up to date with an expanded range of selections, extended historical coverage, and a dedicated pluralistic commitment, third edition of this highly popular text on film aesthetics features major additions of contemporary topics in film theory--including psychoanalytic, feminist, and Marxist approaches--and new essays on television, horror films, and experimental movie making. Of 53 selections, 13 are new. The section Kinds of has been retitled Film Genres and concentrates exclusively on distinctions within a single type of film: classical Hollywood narrative cinema. The final section, now called Film: Psychology, Society, and Ideology is substantially revised to take into account film's relationship to its consumers: how films shape or reflect cultural attitudes, reinforce or reject dominant modes of cultural thinking, and stimulate or frustrate people's needs and drives. Throughout book chapter introductions have been rewritten to reflect today's concerns. Current and comprehensive, book that The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism called the best collection available on disparate comments in fields of film theory and criticism is now even better.