Cinematic Expression
Haim Calev

 

The book presents basic expressive practices and narrative conventions established in the first centenary of cinema. It is based on close analysis of films, classical and modern.
   The 'Story Board', which usually serves as a film production pre-planning tool, has been adapted as a research instrument. Schemes of shot drawings have been specially designed to enable a close scrutiny of narrative and cinematic problems.

   Timing, screen directions, graphical arrangments, symmetrical repetitions, styles of camera motion and editing rhythms have been analysed in terms of the value they add to thematic articulation. The potentialities of the film medium to utilize space and time as expressive elements have been examined.

 

 

 

                                                       Patterns of Cinematic Expression and theoretical conclusions about their narrative functioning are presented in the book through sequences from the following films:

 

Altman. The Player

Lean. Bridge on River Kwai

Annaud. Name of the Rose

Losey. Mr. Klein

Antonioni. The Passenger

Malle. Fatal Attraction 

Bergman. Persona

Nichols. The Graduate

Bergman. The Seventh Seal

Reisz. The French L.'s Woman

Bertolucci. The Last Emperor 

Renoir. Rules of the Game

Bunuel. Viridiana

Renoir. The Marseillaise 

Eisenstein. B. S. Potemkin

Taviani. Padre Padrone

Forman. Hair

Thomas. Thirty-nine Steps

Hitchcock. The Birds

Truffaut. 400 Blows 

Hitchcock. Psycho

Varda. Vagabonde

Hitchcock. Rear Window 

Vignie. Return of Martin Guerre

Hitchcock. Rope

Von Sternberg. Blue Angel

Kieslowski. D.L. of Veronique

Wells. Citizen Kane

Kieslowski. Three Colors: Red

Wier. Green Card

Kurosawa. Ikiru 

Wier. The Witness

Kurosawa. Ran

Wise. The Sound of Music 

Kurosawa. Rashomon

Zinnemann. High Noon


 

The book is based on research conducted for over a decade at Tel Aviv University in the courses Film Analysis, Elements of Cinematic Expression and Cinematic Syntax. Hundred of student papers including seminar papers - based on close film analysis using editing equipment - have been written according to these principles. The conclusions have been discussed in frontal class sessions and in tutorials. Film production exercises have been carried out to verify the conclusions about the effectivness of Patterns of Cinematic Expression.

 

The book has been published in Hebrew.
An English version is forthcoming.
See Hebrew Version

For more information Email:
optimus@kolnoa.net

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