Updated and expanded for a new edition, this is the perfect starter text for students of film studies. The book illustrates basic film concepts in context and in depth. It addresses techniques and terminology used in film production and criticism, emphasizing thinking and writing critically and effectively. Organized in three parts, the text focuses on the fundamentals of film analysis before moving on to more complex topics. Parts I and II teach students to recognize how the components of film - narrative, mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound - work together to produce meaning within an individual film text. Part III introduces readers to interpretive frameworks that treat cinema as a cultural institution. This section encourages readers to move beyond textual analysis and consider the relationship between film and culture. Readers learn to form sophisticated arguments about film in cultural, historical and economic contexts.

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Maria Pramaggiore is the Professor of Film Studies at North Carolina State University, and has written numerous articles on film as well as on gender and women's issues. Tom Wallis is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at North Carolina State University.