Loose Leaf for Film Art: An Introduction

by David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, Jeff Smith

Film is an art form with a language and an aesthetic all its own. Since 1979, Film Ar t has been the best-selling and most widely respected introduction to the analysis of cinema. Taking a skills-centered approach supported by examples from many periods and countries, the authors help students develop a core set of analytical skills that will enrich their understanding of any film, in any genre. In-depth examples deepen students' appreciation for how creative choices by filmmakers affect what viewers experience and how they respond. Film Art is generously illustrated with more than 1,000 frame enlargements taken directly from completed films, providing concrete illustrations of key concepts. Its Connect program includes invaluable tutorials featuring canonic film clips from the Criterion Collection. The thirteenth edition of Film Art includes extensively updated examples, and expanded coverage of digital filmmaking and the artistic and commercial implications of streaming.

1088 pages, Loose Leaf

Published September 6, 2023

About the author

David Bordwell, Jacques Ledoux Professor at the University of Wisconsin, is arguably the most influential scholar of film in the United States. The author, with his wife Kristin Thompson, of the standard textbook Film Art and a series of influential studies of directors (Eisenstein, Ozu, Dreyer) as well as periods and styles (Hong Kong cinema, Classical Hollywood cinema, among others), he has also trained a generation of professors of cinema studies, extending his influence throughout the world. His books have been translated into fifteen languages.