An Introduction to Film Studies

by Jill Nelmes (Editor)

An Introduction to Film Studies is a comprehensive textbook for students of cinema. The book provides a guide to the main concepts used to analyse the film industry and film texts, and also introduces some of the world's key national cinemas.

Each chapter includes definitions of key terms, case studies of important films and suggestions for further reading and further viewing, and there is also a glossary of terms used in cinema studies and a bibliography. The book is richly illustrated with over 130 film stills and production shots.

Contributors: Lez Cooke, Chris Jones, Mark Joyce, Asha Kasbekar Julia Knight, Searle Kochberg, Jill Nelmes, Patrick Phillips, Allan Rowe, Chris Webster, Paul Wells

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Art

480 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[Nedislav · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first I read on film theory and it's a spot-on! I am really happy that the book encompasses everything from formal aspects to theoretical knowledge, from the East and the West, from low-brow to art-house. Exactly because of this inclusivity, I read about topics I would have hardly gotten into at this moment e.g. Bollywood.

Absolutely marcellous. I would definetely recommend it to everyone.

[Vincent Pollard · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be fair this ‘text book for the layperson’ is fairly dated now, being as it was published in 1996. It’s incredibly dry for the first 40% but then becomes, for a text book, quite a page turner. My main complaint with the book is the omission of some of the great masterworks of cinema. Despite there being a whole chapter on Bollywood (which was quite interesting) there’s very little focus on Japanese and East Asian cinema. No mention of Wong Kar-Wai (okay his best films came later but he was already hot at this time) or Akira Kurosawa. In the animation section no mention of Grave of the Fireflies or Akira, both groundbreaking works, and only a passing mention of Andrei Tarkovsky. To me, mind-boggling omissions even for the time. In the gay cinema section there was mention of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Small details maybe but also big omissions.

[Luis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuando dice introducción realmente se refiere a 'introducción'. Como tal, es bastante útil para revisar un tema que se desconoce o simplemente para repasar sus fundamentos. En especial es útil la lista de lecturas adicionales que se incluye al final de cada capitulo.

[Robert Geoghegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book for a film studies class to use as a point of reference. Didnt think I would be engrossed in the material the way I was, very well put together. Glad I got this book as I still use it from time to time.