Ebooks
Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism is initiating a series of open access ebooks by republishing monographs which originally appeared in the series Close-Up (Wallflower Press, 2006-09). These are free to download, and are available in epub, mobi and now PDF formats.
Filmmakers' Choices - John Gibbs
Filmmakers’ Choices explores different areas of decision-making within filmmaking, focusing on each in the analysis of a film. The discussion of Talk to Her (2002) examines the detailed construction of point of view; the account of Lured (1947) reflects on narrative structure and the creative possibilities of coincidence. Other films under investigation include Candyman (1992), The Reckless Moment (1949) and Unforgiven (1992).
[Download files: PDF, Epub or Mobi]
Movies and Tone - Douglas Pye
The concept of tone gestures towards some of the most crucial issues for film analysis – the relationships of a movie to its material, its traditions and its spectator – and yet tone has had a very limited place in film theory and criticism. This study asks how tonal qualities within a film can be identified, exploring the decisions which lead to our grasp of tone as a dimension of meaning that is both informing and subject to moment-by-moment modulation. Discussion centres on The Deer Hunter (1978), Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Strangers on a Train (1951), Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) and Some Came Running (1958).
[Download files: PDF, Epub or Mobi]
The Police Series - Jonathan Bignell
This study focuses on television style in the US police series. Chapters closely analyse the mise-en-scène of programmes in the 1980-2003 period including Hill Street Blues (1981-1987), Miami Vice (1984-1990), NYPD Blue (1993-2005), Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1999) and CSI (2000-2015). Through the detailed investigation of changing aesthetics in the police series, the study addresses critical issues around style and ideology, ‘quality’, genre, programme brands and authorship in US television.
[Download files: PDF, Epub or Mobi]
Reading Buffy - Deborah Thomas
In this book Joss Whedon’s acclaimed television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003), is seen not just to create a richly detailed and satisfying fictional world, but to be an abundant source of complex meanings. Several aspects of Buffy are examined: its visual intelligence, the playful sophistication of its narrative strategies, and the interest the series takes in its relationship with its many fans.