Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Richard Gilman referred to How to Read a Film as simply "the best single work of its kind." And Janet Maslin in The New York Times Book Review marveled at James Monaco's ability to collect "an enormous amount of useful information and assemble it in an exhilaratingly simple and systematic way." Indeed, since its original publication in 1977, this hugely popular book has become the definitive source on film and media.
Now, James Monaco offers a special anniversary edition of his classic work, featuring a new preface and several new sections, including an "Essential Library: One Hundred Books About Film and Media You Should Read" and "One Hundred Films You Should See." As in previous editions, Monaco once again looks at film from many vantage points, as both art and craft, sensibility and science, tradition and technology. After examining film's close relation to other narrative media such as the novel, painting, photography, television, and even music, the book discusses the 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 addition, Monaco stresses the still-evolving digital context of film throughout--one of the new sections looks at the untrustworthy nature of digital images and sound--and his 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.
With hundreds of illustrative black-and-white film stills and diagrams, How to Read a Film is an indispensable addition to the library of everyone who loves the cinema and wants to understand it better.
Synopsis
Imagine an entire film course -- the history of film, the origins of film technology, discussion of films, filmmakers, traditions and genres -- available all on one DVDROM. That s what you get with the multimedia edition of How To Read a Film. James Monaco s book has been a favorite since 1977 -- a standard introduction to film for a generation of readers, viewers, filmmakers, and filmgoers. The DVD-ROM brings the book to life: you can read it, but it also talks to you, plays movie clips, shows you pictures and slide shows, guides you to other references, and lets you play filmmaker by making your own movie. The disc is fully loaded with:
Four complete books: the completely revised third edition of How To Read a Film, The Dictionary of New Media, Reading about Film, and Reading about New Media
More than 130 film clips Hollywood classics, cult landmarks, rare finds, famous sequences over four hours of film!
Audio author s notes to give a new dimension to the text
Audio interviews with Hollywood movers and shakers
Animated interactive diagrams to make the technology understandable
Film labs with a short movie shot especially for the disc and users can edit the movie
Virtual Reality tours of Hollywood studios, to take you where the action is
A library of more than 140 reference texts, diagrams, charts, and databases
Completely indexed find references to any subject, person, theme, or film instantly
Linked to the ReadFilm.com website a forum for discussion, help, and updates
Guided tours and multiple linking easy for beginners, challenging for advanced users