英语电影赏析history and genre

1、1appreciating cinemachapter 1 - history and genre2v_ and _ are the two basic parameters used when categorizing film.vhelp to know both when a film was produced and what kind of film it is.vthe history of film is simplified by its shortness. vgenres are the categories into which, on the basis of shar

2、ed characteristics, we place artistic, musical, literary or cinematic works. contents historygenre1895hollywood3vthere is considerable debate concerning how the concept of “genre” should be defined or how individual films should be classified. vnevertheless, the concept of genre remains the best way

3、 of organizing films into meaningful groups, and also a useful guide as to the potentially significant elements of a given film. chapter 1 - history and genre4chapter 1 - history and genrevhistory (in the case of hollywood)1.early cinema2.classical hollywood cinema3.post-classical hollywood cinemavg

4、enre1.concept2.the categorization of genres3.the functions of genre5chapter 1 - history and genreveach of these periods is characterized by1.certain technological development2.patterns of industrial organization, and 3.artistic forms.6history - early cinemavin 1826, photography was invented and laid

5、 the technological groundwork for cinema. vit would be many decades before photography could be adapted to create a motion picture.1) the exposure time was too long for the production of moving images.2) the glass plate film (玻璃片胶卷玻璃片胶卷) could not be fed through a camera or projector (投影投影仪仪).7histo

6、ry - early cinemavkey breakthrough - in 1889, celluloid was introduced by kodak into filming at a high enough speed and projecting a series of frames(画面，镜头画面，镜头) in rapid succession.19 jan 2012 us photography firm eastman kodak, the 133-year old company that invented the hand-held camera, files for

7、bankruptcy protection. by 2014, celluloid film will have been replaced completely by digital copies. 8history - early cinemavthe development of cameras which are able to film moving images was made independently in america and france by edison and the lumire brothers respectively.vin 1895, the lumir

8、e brothers made the first film in the world - larrivee (arrival of a train at la ciotat). vthe new technology occurred on dec. 28 1895 in paris - the birthday of film. 9history - early cinema10history - early cinemavin 1905, the film industry became popular, attracting more and more people. vfrom 19

9、10 to 1915 in the usa, the cinemas were a phenomenal success, from 1000 to 10,000, and audiences had almost double again, reaching 49 million per week from 26 million every week. 11history - early cinemavindustry structure (业界结构业界结构) in this period differed significantly from that later.1. film prod

10、uction was based on initially the so-called “cameraman system” - films were the product of one individual (the cameraman) who took charge of planning, writing, filming and editing.2. at the end of this period, the director was given charge of a group of workers with clear roles, and a producer was a

11、ppointed to take responsibility for planning and budgeting.12history - early cinemavfrom an aesthetic point of view, early cinema bears little in common with todays cinema.1.the most prominent characteristic - to seek to record and represent (记录和记录和重现重现) aspects of real life.2.the heart - to rely pr

12、imarily on spectacle (景象景象) rather than narrative.another expression - the cinema of attractions (展示性的电影展示性的电影)13birth of chinese films or moviesvfilm was born in 1895, and on august 1896, it was introduced into china.vin 1905, the first movie dingjun mountain was made by the chinese, which shows th

13、e birth of chinese film.14history - classical hollywood cinema vthe early 1920s through to the late 1950svthe arrival of sound and color - although there were some initial obstacles (expensive, crude color technology, new lighting techniques), both of them were, of course, destined to become staple

14、/ main ingredients of the hollywood film. 15history - classical hollywood cinema vfrom the industrial perspective, the period is characterized by the emergence of the “studio system (制片制片厂制度厂制度) ”.1.major companies - big five (warner brothers, loews-mgm, fox, paramount, rko); 2.little three - columb

15、ia, universal, and united artists. 16history - classical hollywood cinema vdifferent from a cinema of attractions in early cinema, classical hollywood cinema was a cinema of narrative.1.the now familiar narrative ingredients of film - causality, temporal logic, motivated action, and plot resolutions

16、 - were in place.2.the art of continuity editing made hollywood film gradually become a much smoother and more polished product.17history - classical hollywood cinema vin the era, the star was born. 1.unlike modern-day stars, however, the stars in this period were controlled by long-term contracts s

17、igned with the major studios, and the studios determined the roles they were to play.2.studios also hyped the stars with extra-filmic publicity and gossip to promote and sustain interest in the star as a commodity.3.stars were also used to generate audiences interest in other commodities related to

18、films. 18history - classical hollywood cinema vin the period, the major cinematic genres emerged. 1.musical - with its characteristic use of musical numbers (插曲插曲) inserted into a linear narrative (故事情节故事情节);2.horror, gangster, science fiction, war, and film noir, are developed into relatively well-

19、defined forms. 19history - post-classical hollywood cinema vthe 1960s va number of significant challenges1.the number of audience had dropped.2.the major studios lost the right of exhibition (cinemas) and only distribution (paramount anti-trust case). 3.the growth of television4.the result of these

20、industrial-level readjustments has been a growing awareness that the future of the film industry lies not only on the big screen, but also on the increasing variety of other exhibition formats now available, such as dvd, pay-per-view tv, cable. 20va new generation of directors came to the forefront.

21、 they had been trained in university film schools rather than the studio system. they knew the tradition of classical hollywood and obtained ideas and inspiration from the european “art films.” the result is a highly diversified array of directorial talent. history - post-classical hollywood cinema

22、21history - post-classical hollywood cinema vgenres remain, but their conventions (规则规则) are observed less strictly. causal relationships still form the basis of narrative, but connections between events are looser and temporal logic (时间逻辑时间逻辑) may occasionally be abandoned. vprotagonists may be aim

23、less, different from those in the second period.vsometimes some stylistic devices are for demonstrating the filmmakers artistic pretensions / propositions, or attracting and stimulating the audience.22exercisevsummarize the main features (technological, industrial, and aesthetic) of early cinema, cl

24、assical hollywood, and post-classical hollywood.23cinema history: an overviewearly cinemaclassical hollywoodpost-classical hollywood technologydevelopment of celluloid; cameras and projectorsdevelopment of sound and color development of other exhibition channels and multimedia platformsindustry dire

25、ctors and producersbig five and little three; narrativeanti-trust case; competition with tv; different media platformsaestheticsactuality filming; cinema of attractionsflexible use of genre; rules of causality and temporal logic observed less strictly; stylistic devices 24vmuch academic ink has been

26、 wasted in the fruitless (徒徒劳的劳的) attempt to give a definitive list of the hollywood genres. (e.g. the alien - horror and science fiction)vproblems with genre definition are exacerbated still further by the differences between the genres recognized by the industry and those accepted by academic crit

27、ics. (e.g. social drama film)vin fact, genres and generic classifications are used more flexibly than much academic criticism would suggest. it is rare to find a film that belongs exclusively to one genre; almost no film will possess all of the characteristics of a single genre and none of the chara

28、cteristics of any other. (e.g. the silence of the lambs; the matrix; etc.)genre - categorization of genres25vthis reflects the way that filmmakers and audiences in practice use the concept of genre - as a loose, flexible, and overlapping system.vhow in practice should one go about determining the ge

29、nre (s) of a given film? vgeneric categories are generally defined on the basis of subject matter (题材题材), formal properties (形式形式), style (风格风格) or (audiences) affective response (效果效果). (example - , etc.)genre - categorization of genressee the following tables26genre - categorization of genresgenre

30、defining criteriadifferentiating criteriasocial dramaromancegangsterwar filmscience fictionfantasywesterndisastercrimeepicsubject matterserious social topicromantic relationship between loversgangsters in urban americaspecific military conflictsfuturistic technologies / future worldsimpossible world

31、s / fantastical charactersamerican westnatural or man-made catastrophecriminal activities and investigationbiblical or ancient history table 127genre - categorization of genresgenredefining criteriadifferentiating criteriaactionmusicalform; formal criteria / qualities / properties presence of action

32、 set-piecespresence of song and dance performancesblockbusterfilm noir / neo-noirstylespectacular eventschiaroscuro (明暗对照明暗对照法法) lighting and dark mise-en-scne (法语法语-场面调度场面调度)comedyhorrorthrilleraffective responseintended to generate laughterintended to horrifyintended to thrilltable 228genre - cate

33、gorization of genrescomedy animation action drama adventure familyfantasy romance horrorthriller sci-fi music sport documentaryhistory mystery29exercisevwhat kind of procedures would you follow to identify the genre of a given film?vone obvious method would be to consult the “differentiating criteri

34、a” of the genres as listed in the table. additionally, one could also look at recurrent situations, audience response, style and actors.1. recurrent situations are a good way of identifying genres. (e.g. - action films , etc.)30exercisevwhat kind of procedures would you follow to identify the genre

35、of a given film?2. some genres are defined primarily through audience response, so it may also be important to consider the emotional experience of watching a film. (e.g. horror - fear; comedy - laugh)31exercisevwhat kind of procedures would you follow to identify the genre of a given film?3. an imm

36、ediately distinctive feature of a genre is often its style and, in particular, its iconography (i.e. its system of recurring motifs (重现的象重现的象征征)such as costumes, props, settings, etc.) (e.g. science fiction, film noir)32exercisevwhat kind of procedures would you follow to identify the genre of a giv

37、en film?4. another way we commonly recognize genre is through actors, because certain actors tend to be associated with some genres more than others. (e.g. tom hanks - forrest gump; the matrix; a mafia boss in the godfather)33genre - the functions of genresv1. to ensure and increase profitability 1)

38、 genres offer the ability to “pre-sell” the film before the launch.2) the genre system simplifies the operating of targeting (把把作为目作为目标标) certain audiences. (e.g.)34genre - the functions of genres3) the economics (经济效益经济效益) of genre affects both the history of genres and the tendency for them to be

39、combined together in individual films. hollywood producers either significantly alter the formula (类型的框架类型的框架) or retreat from (放弃放弃) the genre altogether. they also consider genre combinations (类型的融类型的融合合) which can be a dangerous tactic, but can also lead to astonishingly successful films. (e.g. t

40、itanic - combining the disaster film with romance) 35v2. genres can provide film audiences with pleasure. v3. on a deeper level, genres can viewed as basic imaginative forms and structures (想象中的基本形式和结想象中的基本形式和结构构) that help us to interpret the meaning and understand the significance of our lives. (e

41、.g. science fiction, epic films, etc.)genre - the functions of genres36v4. genres seem to serve the purpose of providing imaginary resolutions to certain basic social conflicts. e.g. horror and science fiction display the need for the subordination of the individual to the group in order to survive.

42、genre - the functions of genres37v5. other approaches to genre have focused on the way in which certain genres work to promote certain ideological positions. genre films (类型片类型片) provide imaginary resolutions to particular conflicts which are held to be fundamentally political in nature, and their r

43、esolution is believed to have political implications. (e.g. science fiction, etc.)genre - the functions of genres38genre - the functions of genresv6. there are some indications that genre films will be replaced by seriality. we hope that the former will remain dominant. 39exercise do you think there

44、 is a hierarchy of genres? are some genres more prestigious than others?the concept of a hierarchy of genres comes from literary study. it was once generally believed that certain genres were higher - more noble, dignified (有尊严的有尊严的), demanding (苛求苛求的的), worthwhile - than others. at the top of the h

45、ierarchy were epic and tragedy, lower down came comedy, and lower still came satirical works and epigrams (警句警句).40exercise do you think there is a hierarchy of genres? are some genres more prestigious than others?cinema has no formal hierarchy as such (就其本就其本身而论身而论), but there does seem to be an in

46、formal hierarchy governing the critical reputation of cinematic works. when it comes to the oscars, there is a definite preference for serious drama, epic, biopics (传记片传记片) and literary adaptations. action, war, science fiction, fantasy, suspense and western do less well.referring to the following t

47、able41exercise the oscars: best picture winners by genre from 1927/8 to 2001genrepercentage winning “best picture”drama 39%historical / epic16%comedy 14%musical 11%war 8%action 5%western 4%suspense 3%42discussion questionsvwhat are the advantages and disadvantages of approaching films through the co

48、ncept of genre?vdo you think genres are historically and culturally specific?see the next page43key to discussion question 1vadvantages - 1) are the best way of categorizing films into meaningful groups;2) may constitute basic mythical patterns that help humans to make sense of their existence;3) provide interpretive guidelines: they point out elements of the film that are likely to be significant and of interest;4) are revised to address particular historical needs, and so are themselves a record of cultural change.44key to discussion question 1vdisadvantages -1) there is