Unit-4,Cinema• Name: Sonal Baraiya• Subject: P-15,Mass Communication

and Media Studies• Topic: Film Review and Film

Criticism• Submitted to: S. B. Gardi, Maharaja

Krishnakumarsinhji, Bhavnagar University, Department of English.

History of Film• The history of film

began in the 1890s, when motion picture cameras were invented

• film production companies started to be established

• the limits of technology• 1927 motion pictures

were produced without sound

What is a film?

• “A story or event recorded by a camera as a set of moving images and shown in a cinema or on television by using animation techniques or special effects.”

 

• “Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating — or indoctrinating — citizens. The visual elements of cinema gives motion pictures a universal power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue.”

What is a film review?• The film review is a

popular way for critics to assess a film’s overall quality and determine whether or not they think the film is worth recommending. Film reviews differ from scholarly film articles in that they encompass personal and idiosyncratic reactions to and evaluations of a film, as well as objective analyses of the film’s formal techniques and thematic content.

The Essential Elements of Film Reviews• Condensed plot synopsis• Background information• Abbreviated arguments about

the Film• Evaluation

What is a Film Criticism?• Film criticism is the study,

interpretation, and evaluation of a film and its place in cinema history. Film criticism usually offers interpretation of its meaning, analysis of its structure and style, judgment of its worth by comparison with other films, and an estimation of its likely effect on viewers.

Film Criticism

Journalistic Criticism

Academic Criticism

Journalistic Critics• Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation

of films and the medium.

• Today arts criticism in general does not hold the same place it once held with the general public.

• James Agee(Time Magazine)

• Vincent Canby(The New York Times)

• Michael Philips(Chicago Tribune)

Academic Criticism

• More often known as film theory or film studies, academic critique explores cinema beyond journalistic film review.

• These film critics try to examine why film works, how it works, what it means and what effects it has on people.

• Andre Bazin

• Jean- Luc Godard

• Kristin Thompson

• Devid Bordwell