Cinema of Apocalypse

A Short Guide to Writing About Film by Timothy J. Corrigan. (Tisch book stacks: PN1995 .C66 2010)

Both an introduction to film study and a practical writing guide, this brief text introduces the reader to film terms and the major film theories, serving a great purpose for individuals who want to think and write critically about film.

Movie Reviews vs Film Criticism

Review

Criticism

Critical Essay

Theoretical Essay

Author

written by journalist or staff of newspapers, magazines and trade journals from an entertainment, cultural, or artistic perspective.

written by a scholar or other expert in the field of film studies

written by a scholar, or other expert in the field of film studies

Audience

aims at the broadest possible audience, the general public with no special knowledge of film

for those who are "at least familiar with the film under discussion, although that reader may not have thought extensively about it."

for advanced students or readers who "posses a great deal of knowledge about specific films, film history, and other writings about film."

Contents

summaries of the plot or discussion of the film in another context (the director's other work, films of the same genre, etc.) that might help the reader understand it.

functions to introduce unknown films and to recommend or not recommend them.

a far more specific focus than that of a review in order to reveal subtleties or complexities that may have escaped viewers, for example, a short sequence at the beginning of the film, or on a camera angle that becomes associated with a specific character.

"Its aim is to explain some of the larger and more complex structures of the cinema and how we understand them." An essay, for instance, on the relation of film and reality, on the political or ideological foundations of the movie industry, or on how film narrative is unlike literary narrative.

tip: always check the Library Catalog to see if there is a newer edition of this book.

Film as art: Creativity, technology and business -- The significance of film form -- Narrative as a formal system -- The Shot: Mise-en-scene -- The Shot: Cinematography -- The relation of shot to shot editing -- Sound in the cinema -- Summary: Style as a formal system -- Film genres -- Documentary, experimental and animated films -- Film criticism: sample analyses -- Film art and film history.

A few more titles to get you started:

Dictionary of Film Terms: The Aesthetic Companion to Film Art. PN1993.45 .B33 2006

Cinema Studies: the Key Concepts. PN1993.45 .H36 2006

This is a dictionary format to key theoretical terms, genres, film theory and film history. It includes an extensive bibliography.

Becoming Film Literate: the Art and Craft of Motion Pictures. PN1994 .L595 2005

Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. PN1994 .M364 2004

Understanding Movies, 9th ed. PN1994 .G47 2002

Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory. Ref: PN1993.45 .C75 2001

How to Read a Film: the World of Movies, Media, and Multimedia: Language, History, Theory; 3rd ed. PN1994 .M59 2000

The Oxford Guide to Film Studies. Ref. PN1995 .O93 1998
Short essays on aspects of film (such as the text, acting, music), critical approaches (e.g., semiotics, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism, feminism), and history (American, European, world).

Film Study: an Analytical Bibliography. Ref. PN1994.Z99 M34 1990
A comprehensive four-volume survey of cinema "through a study of representative genres, stereotypes, themes, comparative media, periods, and film history".

Check the Library Catalog for newer editions of these titles.

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (online)

A few titles to get you started:

Apocalyptic Dread: American Film at the Turn of the Millennium. Stacks: PN1995.9.H6 T47 2007

Hibakusha Cinema: Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Nuclear Image in Japanese Film.. Stacks: PN1993.5.J3 H53 1996

Film in Australia: an Introduction. Stacks: PN1993.5.A8 M64 2006

General References on Genres and Themes

Blockbusters: a Reference Guide to Film Genres. Stacks: PN1995 .G663 2006

Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings, and Series . Ref. PN1997.8 .A762 2001

A Guide to Apocalyptic Cinema. PN1993.5.S7 T76 2003

This examination and comprehensive assessment of apocalyptic film studies fifty films that illustrate the variety, range and different categories of the genre. Apocalyptic films are those that depict, on screen as part of the story, an event threatening the extinction of mankind. A brief overview identifies seven major categories of apocalyptic films: the religious or supernatural, celestial collision, solar or orbital disruption, nuclear war and radioactive fallout, germ warfare or pestilence, alien device or invasion, and scientific miscalculation. Film scholars and those with a special interest in apocalyptic cinema will appreciate the overview and detailed analysis of the films.

Atomic Bomb Cinema: the Apocalyptic Imagination on Film Stacks: PN1995.9.W3 S53 2002

Unfathomably merciless and powerful, the atomic bomb has left its indelible mark on film. In Atomic Bomb Cinema, Jerome F. Shapiro unearths the unspoken legacy of the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and its complex aftermath in American and Japanese cinema.
According to Shapiro, a "Bomb film" is never simply an exercise in ideology or paranoia. He examines hundreds of films like Godzilla, Dr. Strangelove, and The Terminator as a body of work held together by ancient narrative and symbolic traditions that extol survival under devastating conditions. Drawing extensively on both English-language and Japanese-language sources, Shapiro argues that such films not only grapple with our nuclear anxieties, but also offer signs of hope that humanity is capable of repairing a damaged and divided world. (From the Publisher).

Readings on Course Reserves.

WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)

Procedure Note:

1. Verify if Tufts Library has the book you need.

2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.

Prev Next

Path of Discovery in the Catalogs

1. Find a title/author (assigned readings/Course Reserves);

2. Note the descriptive language of the Catalog record.

3. Use that language in further searches

e.g. Click on subject/author in the record to see further results and related topics.

Author	Shapiro, Jerome F.
Title	Atomic Bomb Cinema : the Apocalyptic Imagination on Film .
Publisher	New York: Routledge, 2002.
Subject	Horror films -- United States -- History and criticism.
	Disaster films -- United States -- History and criticism.
	Science fiction films -- United States -- History and criticism.
	Apocalypse in motion pictures .

Typical Subject Searches

Note the language pattern
(Click on the Searches for real time results in the Catalog.)

Motion pictures Japan (a country)

motion pictures Australia

motion pictures Europe (a region)

Miyazaki, Hayao (a filmmaker; last name first)

Themes

Note the language pattern
(Click on the Searches for real time results in the Catalog.):

Apocalypse in motion pictures

Nuclear warfare in motion pictures

Advanced Keyword Search, limiting to books:

(apocalyptic* or warfare*) and (film* or cinema* or "motion pictures")

Tips:

1. include "and" in between keywords;
2. Or and ( ) to search either or both words;.
3. " " around phrases, e.g. "motion pictures";
4. apocalyptic* searches for all forms of the word, e.g. apocalyptic, apocalyptical.

Some Key Sources:

Film & Television Literature Index

Academic OneFile

Project Muse (current years only); JSTOR (earlier years only).

Film Literature Index 1976-200. (2002-04:Ref. [HUM] Z5784.M9 F45)

Film review index (1882-1985.) Ref. [HUM] PN1995 .F467 1986

Index to Critical Film Reviews. (1923-1971) Ref. Z5784.M9 B64

Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals, 1930-1971.

Browse some of the film studies journals here:

Click on the number to pause the slide.

Additional Sources:

Bibliography of Asian Studies

MLA (literary studies)

Historical Abstracts

Finding Full Texts

1. Click on the button to these three options:

a. link to the full text of the article when available digitally;

b. link to a Library Catalog search for the journal in print that contains your article.

c. link to ILliad for requesting the article when the above two options are negative.

2. Search for a journal directly here:

a.Tufts Library Catalog (including e-journals)
b. Electronic journals list
c. Use ILliad to request your article, if Tufts does not have your journal.

Movie Reviews in Magazines & Newspapers:

Film & Television Literature Index

Academic OneFile

Book, Movie, Music, Play, And Video Reviews in LexisNexis

Factiva
Many foreign language press.

Time Magazine (1923-Present)

New York Times Historical Archive, (1851-3 yrs before current date; current years in LexisNexis)

Times Digital Archive (1785 - 1985)

Film Statistics

Academic OneFile
Tip: Search for "Statistics" box office and other keywords.

ABI/INFORM
Tip: search for "statistics" "ticket sales" and other keywords.

JSTOR
Tip: Search for "Statistics" and other keywords.

Also use sources under the Reviews Tab

Web Sites

BFI Statistics on film and television
UK film production, academy awards, box office, etc.

The Hollywood Reporter: Charts
Movie sales, box office, production budgets, etc.

KORDA
Database on public funding for the film and audiovisual sector in Europe.

Lumiere
Database on admissions for films released in Europe.

MERLIN
Database on legal information relevant to the audiovisual Sector in Europe.

Nielsen EDI
A Web based system that allows our clients to instantly access real-time film performance on a global, nationwide, regional, local or theatre level.

The Numbers
The largest freely available database of movie industry information on the Web.

World Wide Box Office
Current international box office numbers.

Sample Searches in the Catalog for Scripts (screenplays):

1. Click on the search for real time results in the Catalog:
1. motion picture plays
1. screenplay and "All quiet on the western front"

2. Published radio, television, and film scripts: a bibliography. Ref. Z7223.S3 P68 (only up to 1975)

3. The Drama Scholars' Index to Plays and Filmscripts. Ref. Z5781 .S17 (1974-1980 only.)

4.Search Play Index for radio and television plays.

WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)

Procedure Note:

1. Verify if Tufts Library has the book you need.

2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.

Script Writing

Alternative Scriptwriting: Successfully Breaking the Rules. PN1996 .D36 2002

Creating Unforgettable Characters. PN1689 .S44 1990

How Scripts Are Made. PN1996 .K24 1990

Writing Short Scripts. PN1996 .P58 1999

Storytelling in the New Hollywood: Understanding Classical Narrative Technique. PN1996 .T46 1999

The Art of the Storyboard: a Filmmaker's Introduction.PN1995.9 .P7 H42 2008

Filmmaking: Narrative & Structural Techniques.PN1995.9.P7 F63 1992

How to Shoot a Movie and Video Story: the Technique of Pictorial Continuity. Oversize: TR850 .G367 1985

Click on the search for real time results in the Catalog:
1. motion picture plays technique

Recommended: