How to Read a Film: The World of Movies, Media, Multimedia: Language, History, Theory - Softcover

Monaco, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 019503869X ISBN 13: 9780195038699

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2000

Synopsis

First published in 1977, this popular book has become the source on film and media. Now, James Monaco offers a revised and rewritten third edition incorporating every major aspect of this dynamic medium right up to the present.

Looking at film from many vantage points, How to Read a Film: Movies, Media, Multimedia explores the medium as both art and craft, sensibility and science, tradition and technology. After examining film's close relation to such other narrative media as the novel, painting, photography, television, and even music, Monaco discusses those elements necessary to understand how films convey meaning and, more importantly, how we can best discern all that a film is attempting to communicate.

In a key departure from the book's previous editions, the new and still-evolving digital context of film is now emphasized throughout How to Read a Film. A new chapter on multimedia brings media criticism into the twenty-first century with a thorough discussion of topics like virtual reality, cyberspace, and the proximity of both to film. Monaco has likewise doubled the size and scope of his "Film and Media: A Chronology" appendix. The book also features a new introduction, an expanded bibliography, and hundreds of illustrative black-and-white film stills and diagrams. It is a must for all film students, media buffs, and movie fans.

About this title

About the Author:

James Monaco is a writer, publisher, and producer. His books include American Film Now, The New Wave, The Encyclopedia of Film, and The Connoisseur's Guide to the Movies.

Review:

*Praise for previous editions:

"This book is a compliment to the reader....Monaco's spirit is gracious; he has a gift for making accumulations of detail relevant and uncluttered. His manner is modest and undidactic, and he is painstakingly scrupulous."--Samson Raphaelson, Film Comment

"An astute and thoroughgoing analysis....Monaco is cuts above the popular 'criticism' of Reed, Kael, et al. He is lucid and sophisticated."--Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 019503869X
• ISBN 13: 9780195038699
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 672