The human face was said to be rediscovered with the advent of motion pictures, in which it is often viewed as expressive locus, as figure, and even as essence of the cinema. But how has the modern, technological, mass-circulating art revealed the face in ways that are also distinct from any other medium? How has it altered our perception of this quintessential incarnation of the person? The archaic powers of masks and icons, the fashioning of the individual in the humanist portrait, the modernist anxieties of fragmentation and de-figuration-these are among the cultural precedents informing our experience in the movie theatre. Yet the moving image also offers radical new confrontations with the face: Dreyer's Passion of Joan of Arc, Donen's Funny Face, Hitchcock's The Wrong Man, Bresson's enigmatic Au hasard Balthazar, Antonioni's Screen Test, Warhol's filmic portraits of celebrity and anonymity are among the key works explored in this book.
Directing with the Michael Chekhov Technique
This workbook details the use of the Michael Chekhov Technique in directing, acting, and teaching, to build a more collaborative process through play analysis and rehearsal. Following the author's process during the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream from conception through performance, it explains the elements of the composition of a play, using archetypes in casting, creating the ensemble, establishing shared terminology, using psychological gesture as action, creating character relationships, working on soliloquies, physical characterization, scenes and blocks with multiple characters, and tempo/rhythm and atmosphere. Exercises (with some accompanying videos) and teaching tips are provided throughout.
Heroes and Happy Endings
A highly anticipated examination of the popular film and fiction consumed by Britons in the 1920s and 1930s. Departing from a prevailing emphasis on popular culture as escapist, Christine Grandy offers a fresh perspective by noting the enduring importance of class and gender divisions in the narratives read and watched by the working and middle classes between the wars.
Beyond the Bottom Line
This is a collection of original critical essays devoted to exploring the misunderstood, neglected, and frequently caricatured role played by the film producer. The editors' introduction provides a conceptual and methodological overview, arguing that the producer's complex and multifaceted role is crucial to a film's success or failure.
