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Reading the Silver Screen: A Film Lover's Guide to Decoding the Art Form That Moves
From the New York Times bestselling author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor comes an indispensable analysis of our most celebrated medium, film.
No art form is as instantly and continuously gratifying as film. When the house lights go down and the lion roars, we settle in to be shocked, frightened, elated, moved, and thrilled. We expect magic. While we’re being exhilarated and terrified, our minds are also processing data of all sorts—visual, linguistic, auditory, spatial—to collaborate in the construction of meaning.
Thomas C. Foster’s Reading the Silver Screen will show movie buffs, students of film, and even aspiring screenwriters and directors how to transition from merely being viewers to becoming accomplished readers of this great medium. Beginning with the grammar of film, Foster demonstrates how every art form has a grammar, a set of practices and if-then propositions that amount to rules. He goes on to explain how the language of film enables movies to communicate the purpose behind their stories and the messages they are striving to convey to audiences by following and occasionally breaking these rules.
Using the investigative approach readers love in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster examines this grammar of film through various classic and current movies both foreign and domestic, with special recourse to the “AFI 100 Years-100 Movies� lists. The categories are idiosyncratic yet revealing.
In Reading the Silver Screen, readers will gain the expertise and confidence to glean all they can from the movies they love.
No art form is as instantly and continuously gratifying as film. When the house lights go down and the lion roars, we settle in to be shocked, frightened, elated, moved, and thrilled. We expect magic. While we’re being exhilarated and terrified, our minds are also processing data of all sorts—visual, linguistic, auditory, spatial—to collaborate in the construction of meaning.
Thomas C. Foster’s Reading the Silver Screen will show movie buffs, students of film, and even aspiring screenwriters and directors how to transition from merely being viewers to becoming accomplished readers of this great medium. Beginning with the grammar of film, Foster demonstrates how every art form has a grammar, a set of practices and if-then propositions that amount to rules. He goes on to explain how the language of film enables movies to communicate the purpose behind their stories and the messages they are striving to convey to audiences by following and occasionally breaking these rules.
Using the investigative approach readers love in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster examines this grammar of film through various classic and current movies both foreign and domestic, with special recourse to the “AFI 100 Years-100 Movies� lists. The categories are idiosyncratic yet revealing.
In Reading the Silver Screen, readers will gain the expertise and confidence to glean all they can from the movies they love.
12 pages, Audio CD
First published April 29, 2014
75 people are currently reading
907 people want to read
About the author
Thomas C. Foster
20books359followersThomas C. Foster is Professor of English at the University of Michigan, Flint, where he teaches classes in contemporary fiction, drama, and poetry as well as creative writing and composition. Foster has been teaching literature and writing since 1975, the last twenty-one years at the University of Michigan-Flint. He lives in East Lansing, Michigan.
In addition to How to Read Novels Like a Professor (Summer 2008) and How to Read Literature Like a Professor (2003), both from HarperCollins, Foster is the author of Form and Society in Modern Literature (Northern Illinois University Press, 1988), Seamus Heaney (Twayne, 1989), and Understanding John Fowles(University of South Carolina Press, 1994). His novel The Professor's Daughter, is in progress.
Foster studied English at Dartmouth College and then Michigan State University, moving forward from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the twentieth in the process. His academic writing has concentrated on twentieth-century British, American, and Irish figures and movements—James Joyce, William Faulkner, Seamus Heaney, John Fowles, Derek Mahon, Eavan Boland, modernism and postmodernism. But he reads and teaches lots of other writers and periods: Shakespeare, Sophocles, Homer, Dickens, Hardy, Poe, Ibsen, Twain.
Author photograph courtesy of HarperCollins.
In addition to How to Read Novels Like a Professor (Summer 2008) and How to Read Literature Like a Professor (2003), both from HarperCollins, Foster is the author of Form and Society in Modern Literature (Northern Illinois University Press, 1988), Seamus Heaney (Twayne, 1989), and Understanding John Fowles(University of South Carolina Press, 1994). His novel The Professor's Daughter, is in progress.
Foster studied English at Dartmouth College and then Michigan State University, moving forward from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the twentieth in the process. His academic writing has concentrated on twentieth-century British, American, and Irish figures and movements—James Joyce, William Faulkner, Seamus Heaney, John Fowles, Derek Mahon, Eavan Boland, modernism and postmodernism. But he reads and teaches lots of other writers and periods: Shakespeare, Sophocles, Homer, Dickens, Hardy, Poe, Ibsen, Twain.
Author photograph courtesy of HarperCollins.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
September 19, 2017
Where to begin. This book was given to me as a Christmas gift because it's a known fact that I'm a big movie guy. The gift was well-appreciated and looked like a delectable read that I was eager to get into. Fast forward four months and I am just polishing it off. Not the norm for me, even with books that only catch eyes when I'm on the toilet.
Now it's not to say that this is a bad book. Thomas C. Foster clearly loves movies more than most of us. He has a way of picking them apart and breaking them down and explaining the methods to us lesser film beings. He accomplished his goal but the book just draaaaagged on and on sometimes.
I think it's important to have seen the films he talks about. When he broke them down and gave examples, I was able to visualize and appreciate what he had to say. When he broke down and gave examples of movies I hadn't seen, I felt like I was left in the dark and try as he may, his interpretations are rather poor when he is breaking down a foreign (in the sense that it's never been seen, not oui oui foreign) movie. I was on the edge of my seat for 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' but scratching holes in my head over 'Argo.' Some movies I had seen and loved were arduously stripped down, i.e. five-six pages on the opening scene to 'Once Upon a Time In The West.' We get it: "hand closing door," "hand holding revolver," "eyes shifting," "eyes shifting," "hand holding revolver....."
I will not fault the author's passion for film but it seems that he anticipates his readers to have the same passion and catalog that he has. While the passion may be there for many readers, without knowing the movies he references (and knowing them well), a lot is lost. I can't imagine a casual movie observer picking this up and managing to finish.
To best sum it up, I'll use some of the author's own words near the end of the book: "If you've reached this part, I have nothing but respect for your perseverance and generosity of spirit...you've probably wanted to throw the book across the room a time or two, had your own view on certain films or actors or themes. I get that. But it doesn't change the fact that the conversation has been a little one-sided."
Indeed, sir. Indeed.
Now it's not to say that this is a bad book. Thomas C. Foster clearly loves movies more than most of us. He has a way of picking them apart and breaking them down and explaining the methods to us lesser film beings. He accomplished his goal but the book just draaaaagged on and on sometimes.
I think it's important to have seen the films he talks about. When he broke them down and gave examples, I was able to visualize and appreciate what he had to say. When he broke down and gave examples of movies I hadn't seen, I felt like I was left in the dark and try as he may, his interpretations are rather poor when he is breaking down a foreign (in the sense that it's never been seen, not oui oui foreign) movie. I was on the edge of my seat for 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' but scratching holes in my head over 'Argo.' Some movies I had seen and loved were arduously stripped down, i.e. five-six pages on the opening scene to 'Once Upon a Time In The West.' We get it: "hand closing door," "hand holding revolver," "eyes shifting," "eyes shifting," "hand holding revolver....."
I will not fault the author's passion for film but it seems that he anticipates his readers to have the same passion and catalog that he has. While the passion may be there for many readers, without knowing the movies he references (and knowing them well), a lot is lost. I can't imagine a casual movie observer picking this up and managing to finish.
To best sum it up, I'll use some of the author's own words near the end of the book: "If you've reached this part, I have nothing but respect for your perseverance and generosity of spirit...you've probably wanted to throw the book across the room a time or two, had your own view on certain films or actors or themes. I get that. But it doesn't change the fact that the conversation has been a little one-sided."
Indeed, sir. Indeed.
September 30, 2023
Thomas C. Foster is still chasing the success of How to Read Novels Like a Professor (2008), a work that frequently makes appearances in high school advanced placement courses. His practical guides vary widely in quality. This one is definitely on the lower end along with How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor. This partially reflects the pace at which he's now turning these out (every two years since 2016).
Although my experience with film criticism is probably beyond the level of the target audience, I still think I should have been able to glean more from this book. But Reading the Silver Screen is a chaotic jumble. It doesn't make for the engaging and compelling reading experience that a hand-holding basic guide to film analysis should. Foster jumps back and forth between different modes (criticism, analysis, instruction, narration) too quickly. The films of reference are all over the places jumping between titles likely to be completely unknown to most of the target audience to contemporary films that hardly warrant attention, let alone scrutiny, at all. This work would have been better served by taking a small subset of canonical films and returning to them variously over the course of the work to make various points about the methods of film analysis and criticism. Plus, the instruction on methods is simply too basic and his efforts to show analysis-in-action try one's patience. The frame-by-frame break downs are overkill most of the time and his point could be easily illustrated in other ways. Anyone could log on YouTube and probably find better demonstrations of film analysis in seconds.
This is a book worth skipping, especially because there is already a robust set of alternatives one could reach for in this space. Just go read the critical works of major film critics. A lot of it can be found for free online too.
Although my experience with film criticism is probably beyond the level of the target audience, I still think I should have been able to glean more from this book. But Reading the Silver Screen is a chaotic jumble. It doesn't make for the engaging and compelling reading experience that a hand-holding basic guide to film analysis should. Foster jumps back and forth between different modes (criticism, analysis, instruction, narration) too quickly. The films of reference are all over the places jumping between titles likely to be completely unknown to most of the target audience to contemporary films that hardly warrant attention, let alone scrutiny, at all. This work would have been better served by taking a small subset of canonical films and returning to them variously over the course of the work to make various points about the methods of film analysis and criticism. Plus, the instruction on methods is simply too basic and his efforts to show analysis-in-action try one's patience. The frame-by-frame break downs are overkill most of the time and his point could be easily illustrated in other ways. Anyone could log on YouTube and probably find better demonstrations of film analysis in seconds.
This is a book worth skipping, especially because there is already a robust set of alternatives one could reach for in this space. Just go read the critical works of major film critics. A lot of it can be found for free online too.
February 28, 2018
This book was written by a Dinosaur—in 2016.
Foster, while extremely knowledgeable in certain areas, has a myopic view of cinema. His lengthy discussions focus almost exclusively on movies made by white men (there is a brief mention of Nora Ephron and her RomComs) While there is no doubt that the films that he repeatedly celebrates are wonderful, the shockingly narrow focus of the collection compromises his credibility--as well as that of his editor. I would have loved to see Foster discuss films made by a richer mix of directors--men, women, people of color, etc -and demonstrate that great art is made by all kinds of people. Instead, he chose irresponsibly to perpetuate the “boys club� mentality, ignoring the many other wonderful stories out there .....and that is not good for anyone.
Foster, while extremely knowledgeable in certain areas, has a myopic view of cinema. His lengthy discussions focus almost exclusively on movies made by white men (there is a brief mention of Nora Ephron and her RomComs) While there is no doubt that the films that he repeatedly celebrates are wonderful, the shockingly narrow focus of the collection compromises his credibility--as well as that of his editor. I would have loved to see Foster discuss films made by a richer mix of directors--men, women, people of color, etc -and demonstrate that great art is made by all kinds of people. Instead, he chose irresponsibly to perpetuate the “boys club� mentality, ignoring the many other wonderful stories out there .....and that is not good for anyone.
October 7, 2024
Before reading this I had read "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" which I thought was an interesting and helpful guide. I didn't like this book nearly as much and found a lot of it to be quite repetitive and difficult to get through in comparison.
November 23, 2018
The sub-title of this book should be "How to turn an enjoyable pastime into something dry, cold and over-thought".
I am an immense movie fan, having watched over 5,000 of them, including all the Best Picture Oscar winners, most of the year-end IMDB Top 250s and basically all the best (and some of the worst) movies ever made. I have written reviews for over 2,200 of those movies. While I appreciate the skill, art and creativity that goes into making a movie, and can recognise clever directorial tricks, it is the overall finished product that matters. It is in hindsight that I figure out why I enjoyed a movie or did not.
Here the author is telling us what we should look for in a movie in order to enjoy it. Quite patronising of him, don't you think? It's as if we can't enjoy or judge a movie without him telling us how to do it!
Furthermore, the book is largely just him title-dropping, just to show how many movies he knows. What's worse, some of them aren't even that good! (I've seen every film he mentioned).
This whole "Trust me, I'm an expert, here's how you should enjoy and judge an art form" might work for books (though I'm not even sure about that - sounds too much like the prescriptive appreciation I was taught in English classes at school), especially as this is the authors specialty. However, it doesn't work for films, which are a much more accessible, easily immersive and subjective medium.
It's not all bad though. Some of the behind the scenes information on some of the movies is quite interesting. Every now and again the author does make me think about a certain movie in a different way or appreciate a scene more.
Which brings me to another problem � you need to have seen all the movies he mentions to be able to relate to his points. I have, but most people won’t have.
I am an immense movie fan, having watched over 5,000 of them, including all the Best Picture Oscar winners, most of the year-end IMDB Top 250s and basically all the best (and some of the worst) movies ever made. I have written reviews for over 2,200 of those movies. While I appreciate the skill, art and creativity that goes into making a movie, and can recognise clever directorial tricks, it is the overall finished product that matters. It is in hindsight that I figure out why I enjoyed a movie or did not.
Here the author is telling us what we should look for in a movie in order to enjoy it. Quite patronising of him, don't you think? It's as if we can't enjoy or judge a movie without him telling us how to do it!
Furthermore, the book is largely just him title-dropping, just to show how many movies he knows. What's worse, some of them aren't even that good! (I've seen every film he mentioned).
This whole "Trust me, I'm an expert, here's how you should enjoy and judge an art form" might work for books (though I'm not even sure about that - sounds too much like the prescriptive appreciation I was taught in English classes at school), especially as this is the authors specialty. However, it doesn't work for films, which are a much more accessible, easily immersive and subjective medium.
It's not all bad though. Some of the behind the scenes information on some of the movies is quite interesting. Every now and again the author does make me think about a certain movie in a different way or appreciate a scene more.
Which brings me to another problem � you need to have seen all the movies he mentions to be able to relate to his points. I have, but most people won’t have.
July 6, 2024
Only a good read if you’ve seen all the movies
The meat of the book rests on previous knowledge of every example he talks about.
For example, he offers a shot by shot breakdown of a fight scene in The Bourne Identity early on. However, having not seen the movie beforehand, it’s a burden to follow and comprehend the on paper descriptions of each shot. If you haven’t seen the film any conclusions drawn are rendered futile.
For the average cinephile, Foster touches on a few blockbusters like Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Matrix but here is a brief list of what I’d consider the most frequent films he discusses:
Once Upon a Time in the West
American Sniper
The Bourne Identity
Lawrence of Arabia
Annie Hall
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Casablanca
A Clockwork Orange
Mad Max Fury Road
Dollars Trilogy
The Great Gatsby
Schindler’s List
Shane
North By Northwest
Psycho
Singin in the Rain
Stagecoach
The Sting
In addition the back of the book has a suggested watch list of every film mentioned
The meat of the book rests on previous knowledge of every example he talks about.
For example, he offers a shot by shot breakdown of a fight scene in The Bourne Identity early on. However, having not seen the movie beforehand, it’s a burden to follow and comprehend the on paper descriptions of each shot. If you haven’t seen the film any conclusions drawn are rendered futile.
For the average cinephile, Foster touches on a few blockbusters like Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Matrix but here is a brief list of what I’d consider the most frequent films he discusses:
Once Upon a Time in the West
American Sniper
The Bourne Identity
Lawrence of Arabia
Annie Hall
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Casablanca
A Clockwork Orange
Mad Max Fury Road
Dollars Trilogy
The Great Gatsby
Schindler’s List
Shane
North By Northwest
Psycho
Singin in the Rain
Stagecoach
The Sting
In addition the back of the book has a suggested watch list of every film mentioned
September 14, 2016
Foster (whose previous lit-crit-lite books I have enjoyed) has turned in a superficial, scattershot attempt at film-crit-lite. It is very heavy on the white Hollywood dudes (Nora Ephron gets a paragraph, Kurosawa gets a mention, and Beasts of the Southern Wild has several paragraphs), art house and foreign cinema are generally ignored (he likes Westerns and Woody Allen). If you know absolutely nothing about film studies, this book might work. However, I have a really sold and reasonably wide-ranging film education (for someone who isn't in the industry or a professional critic or anything) and I got more mileage out of 10 Bad Dates with de Niro than I did Foster's book.
dnf
January 11, 2025I don't know who this book is for, but it's certainly not for me. I feel like the author hates me specifically and is doing everything he can not to make sense while also wasting my time. DNF after 4 chapters because my vocal cords can no longer handle the amount of ranting I've done about this book.
September 20, 2022
I liked this one. Foster is best known (I think) for his work unpacking written forms (literature, the novel, non-fiction), but he treats the movies in much the same way, showing us how to 'read' films for their tropes and motifs.
I approve of any book that makes us think more about the media we consume, even if (maybe especially if) we are consuming that media as entertainment.
I approve of any book that makes us think more about the media we consume, even if (maybe especially if) we are consuming that media as entertainment.
May 11, 2018
Like many people, after seeing a movie I am often drawn to learn more about how the movie was made, and how it made me feel the way it did. Be it a comedy or drama or something else, beyond entertainment, they beg many questions. I remember going to some talks about movies held by a local priest. I remember in those talks the priest said that everything in the movie was there for a reason, every shadow, every note of music, every product on a shelf in a scene. While I’m sure that’s overstating the case, people making movies are making the scenes, and they have control of many aspects, and can tell a story underneath the surface story. That’s what this book is about, at least in the second half. In the first half, Foster presents definitions of scenes, sequences, and so on. I didn’t find this part very interesting. After the definitions, Foster really meanders through the movies, examining many different aspects such as timing, music, color themes, and the like. For his examples, Foster uses many of the most popular movies of the past 50 years. I appreciated this, as I have seen many of these movies and could quickly grasp the concepts being presented. I found the audiobook interesting, like hanging out with a friendly guide.
April 1, 2017
A good intro for the clueless, and probably annoying for anyone else. The writing is clear and simple (too simple, or simplified, much of the time) and enthusiastic (waaaaaay too enthusiastic). Although it's a quick and easy read with a lot of good information, the friendly enthusiasm really starts to grate. I have an aversion to the Dummies guide style anyway, so after awhile the fun started to feel like forced teaming and I was eyeing the exits. I stuck with because it was helpful with the cluelessness and gave me directions on where to go next to achieve my goal of art house snobbery.
December 15, 2016
I loved the author's books on reading literature/novels but think film is too complex and involves too many of the senses to be crammed into one book. I felt overwhelmed even though I read it in short bursts rather than in one go. Did pick up a few tips that I will watch for next time I see a movie. Maybe if I could have immediately viewed the film examples things would have been clearer. Perhaps I'll reread this one day when I feel less distracted.
April 19, 2019
PRO: Příjemně a jednoduše napsané, bez intelektuální nadutosti, která je tak častá mezi kritiky.
PROTI: Kde má člověk vzít čas na sledování tolika zajímavých filmů a autorů, kteří se v knize mihly?
PROTI: Kde má člověk vzít čas na sledování tolika zajímavých filmů a autorů, kteří se v knize mihly?
December 18, 2023
Big difference between merely looking at something--and really "seeing" all that is there. Too many reviews & comments are by people who miss a great deal of what a film or book is meant to convey.
Those without any formal training, or who aren't particularly perceptive or knowledgeable on topic might benefit from reading or listening to eye-opening book READING THE SILVER SCREEN. Another helpful book introducing symbolism in storytelling is Foster's earlier book, HOW TO READ LITERATURE LIKE A PROFESSOR.
Forster's guide books are intended to provide some tips & clues to understanding books, films & maybe even other arts, NOT be an all-inclusive & exhaustive encyclopedia of film or literary history & criticism.
See "Pensando" blog for other examples of interpreting works rich with meaning. Post titled "Crash course in telenovelas" includes insight missed by many reviewers of book mentioned below:
"For those who flunked Literary Appreciation 101, try hilarious novel UNBEARABLE BOOK CLUB FOR UNSINKABLE GIRLS by Julie Schumacher, brilliantly creating modern versions of 3 young Jane Austen protagonists, plus girl genius teenage writer of FRANKENSTEIN, one of books by women read for AP class taught by Ms. Radcliffe (see MYSTERIES OF UDOLFO in Jane Austen's NORTHANGER ABBEY), transforming spa pump room in Bath, England into public swimming pool in Delaware."
Blog post titled "Disney's ENCANTO--Harry Potter with more color", is another sample of many viewers "looking" yet not perceiving. On the other hand, 2021 Disney film does include references to 1994 classic Colombian telenovela CAFE CON AROMA DE MUJER (see review of book edition of story proposal before scripts were written) which might lead some to watching original version on Vix.com
See also reviews of novel ENCHANTED HACIENDA pointing out more than coincidental likenesses to 2021 telenovela about Hollywood screenwriter born in Mexico who strayed from his cultural roots & family values (to find, "search review text" for keyword "Hollywood") Lovers of classic films can enjoy spotting references in series to wide variety of classic & recent films--from Brazilian DONA FLOR & HER TWO HUSBANDS and BLACK ORPHEUS, to STAR WARS and WIZARD OF OZ or AMORES PERROS in this bilingual series currently streaming on You Tube with English subtitles, or Spectrum with Spanish subs.
(PALF might also riff on less familar Audrey Hepburn movie based on a French film--do some research & play detective.)
Quote from book READING THE SILVER SCREEN that might also apply to me: "no one takes more pleasure from reading than do professors of literature. True, they may seem to have smoke coming off their overheated brains as they consider 5 or 6 dozen different meanings, implications, and levels of significations simultaneously, but what may seem from the outside like the gnashing of gears sounds on the inside like a very contented hum. Far from spoiling your fun, you'll likely double or triple it."
Those without any formal training, or who aren't particularly perceptive or knowledgeable on topic might benefit from reading or listening to eye-opening book READING THE SILVER SCREEN. Another helpful book introducing symbolism in storytelling is Foster's earlier book, HOW TO READ LITERATURE LIKE A PROFESSOR.
Forster's guide books are intended to provide some tips & clues to understanding books, films & maybe even other arts, NOT be an all-inclusive & exhaustive encyclopedia of film or literary history & criticism.
See "Pensando" blog for other examples of interpreting works rich with meaning. Post titled "Crash course in telenovelas" includes insight missed by many reviewers of book mentioned below:
"For those who flunked Literary Appreciation 101, try hilarious novel UNBEARABLE BOOK CLUB FOR UNSINKABLE GIRLS by Julie Schumacher, brilliantly creating modern versions of 3 young Jane Austen protagonists, plus girl genius teenage writer of FRANKENSTEIN, one of books by women read for AP class taught by Ms. Radcliffe (see MYSTERIES OF UDOLFO in Jane Austen's NORTHANGER ABBEY), transforming spa pump room in Bath, England into public swimming pool in Delaware."
Blog post titled "Disney's ENCANTO--Harry Potter with more color", is another sample of many viewers "looking" yet not perceiving. On the other hand, 2021 Disney film does include references to 1994 classic Colombian telenovela CAFE CON AROMA DE MUJER (see review of book edition of story proposal before scripts were written) which might lead some to watching original version on Vix.com
See also reviews of novel ENCHANTED HACIENDA pointing out more than coincidental likenesses to 2021 telenovela about Hollywood screenwriter born in Mexico who strayed from his cultural roots & family values (to find, "search review text" for keyword "Hollywood") Lovers of classic films can enjoy spotting references in series to wide variety of classic & recent films--from Brazilian DONA FLOR & HER TWO HUSBANDS and BLACK ORPHEUS, to STAR WARS and WIZARD OF OZ or AMORES PERROS in this bilingual series currently streaming on You Tube with English subtitles, or Spectrum with Spanish subs.
(PALF might also riff on less familar Audrey Hepburn movie based on a French film--do some research & play detective.)
Quote from book READING THE SILVER SCREEN that might also apply to me: "no one takes more pleasure from reading than do professors of literature. True, they may seem to have smoke coming off their overheated brains as they consider 5 or 6 dozen different meanings, implications, and levels of significations simultaneously, but what may seem from the outside like the gnashing of gears sounds on the inside like a very contented hum. Far from spoiling your fun, you'll likely double or triple it."
October 23, 2019
Foster delivers another lively and engaging book on making sense out of storytelling. The focus of this book is on analyzing movies and much like his previous books ( and ), Foster wants readers (and listeners) to realize that analysis is not that hard to do and often is rewarding by enhancing one's experience. In that way, his tone, easy-going manner, and willingness to take on popular texts makes his book valuable for anyone wanting to teach or learn about these subjects. Even if you've read previous books of his, this one still has some gems and will likely build upon those previous books than just repeat them. What I particularly like about this book is that it forgoes the traditional "let's start with the history of movies" and just picks a handful of films to focus in on, which are accessible to the reader/listener and likely, easy to find. Within those films and others routinely referenced, he tries to break down what can be gained by looking a little bit past the initial viewing. He does this with everything from Mad Max: Fury Road to Star Wars to The Maltese Falcon to American Sniper. In doing so, he shows how these things work throughout a range of genres, styles, and times in cinematic history. And while he's a bit strong Woody Allen fan, which can feel a little less admirable at this juncture (the book was published prior to 2014), he commands a firm grasp of how to guide readers in unpacking films by moving from the shot to the genre and everything in-between. Foster's work proves helpful for those looking to get more out of their films or just get a sense of what film critics talk about when offering reviews.
June 12, 2022
honestly there is something about the writing style that makes me feel he's talking to nine year old
the way he has these forced unrealistic discussions between movie watchers is cringeworthy in every way
i just want to see his list of classic films chronologically
and then i'll listen to his 'opinion'
so far, his opinions ain't so fun
---
a much more generous criticism is this Amazon review
Disappointing
This book was a disappointment, although I did learn a few things about how movies are constructed. Much of the book consists of detailed descriptions of particular films in great detail. If you have seem these movies, the descriptions may help you appreciate them more, and point out details you may have missed. But if you haven't seen the the film, you learn little if anything.
The author is very stingy about telling you which films he loves or hates, which would have been helpful even if you had different opinions.
He makes the following rather empty statement on page 276. "The point is, you need to learn what you like about movies and in movies. We've established by now that you really do like them and want to learn more about them. I just think you should do it in a way that makes the most sense for you."
Thomas R. Corwin
the way he has these forced unrealistic discussions between movie watchers is cringeworthy in every way
i just want to see his list of classic films chronologically
and then i'll listen to his 'opinion'
so far, his opinions ain't so fun
---
a much more generous criticism is this Amazon review
Disappointing
This book was a disappointment, although I did learn a few things about how movies are constructed. Much of the book consists of detailed descriptions of particular films in great detail. If you have seem these movies, the descriptions may help you appreciate them more, and point out details you may have missed. But if you haven't seen the the film, you learn little if anything.
The author is very stingy about telling you which films he loves or hates, which would have been helpful even if you had different opinions.
He makes the following rather empty statement on page 276. "The point is, you need to learn what you like about movies and in movies. We've established by now that you really do like them and want to learn more about them. I just think you should do it in a way that makes the most sense for you."
Thomas R. Corwin
August 31, 2020
This did provide some useful pointers to keep in mind when talking about movies. Most importantly (for me) is that there isn’t a right way to “get� a film because each of us brings their own experience to the viewing. Also that the film itself is the piece of art. It’s not what the script “meant� or what the actors were thinking when they played the part, it’s the actual moving image that matters and that is it.
I took away some great tidbits that will hopefully illuminate my Letterboxd. HOWEVER this book did fall into a very “WatchMojo�-y pool of movies for its examples and never really recovered. I get it, the author wants to be accessible. He’s not going to cite my favorite indie director when he’s describing different cuts. But even deep into this book we were still talking about westerns, talkies, and film noir. Again this is probably just a personal gripe but even when he talked about contemporary movies he cited lots of Harry Potter and Marvel. I love movies, but I also hate movies.
I took away some great tidbits that will hopefully illuminate my Letterboxd. HOWEVER this book did fall into a very “WatchMojo�-y pool of movies for its examples and never really recovered. I get it, the author wants to be accessible. He’s not going to cite my favorite indie director when he’s describing different cuts. But even deep into this book we were still talking about westerns, talkies, and film noir. Again this is probably just a personal gripe but even when he talked about contemporary movies he cited lots of Harry Potter and Marvel. I love movies, but I also hate movies.
May 23, 2022
Foster's writing style, which mostly worked in , turns against him in this book. That "look, it's just us here and I promise this really does not have to be scary" helped shift very famous, complicated prose into somewhat approachable art -- but movies don't suffer from audience awe. Rather the opposite.
I'm pretty convinced (and have been for years) that the very tired argument on how the book is always better than the movie is rooted, at least partially, in the fact that most of us don't know how to "read" film like we do prose. Visual storytelling has its own format with its own ways to communicate, and we don't learn them in school.
So, theoretically, my Venn diagram of movie convo content is pretty similar to Foster's... still noped out halfway. Alas.
I'm pretty convinced (and have been for years) that the very tired argument on how the book is always better than the movie is rooted, at least partially, in the fact that most of us don't know how to "read" film like we do prose. Visual storytelling has its own format with its own ways to communicate, and we don't learn them in school.
So, theoretically, my Venn diagram of movie convo content is pretty similar to Foster's... still noped out halfway. Alas.
November 12, 2021
I've read a few different movies about how movies are made from the point of view of people who make movies including "Making Movies" by Sidney Lumet, "Adventures in the Screen Trade" by William Goldman and (my favorite) "Hitchcock" by Truffaut and I really enjoyed those but they concentrated on the point of view of film maker and how to make a good movie or their creative process and ideas.
This book rather steps back and treats movies as a literary form and concentrates on analyzing the output and recognizing some of the key features.
I thought I was a fairly keen movie goer but it really did open up my eyes to some things I'd never noticed in terms of how directors achieve certain effects.
I also generally enjoy Foster's writing style, he covers a lot of territory while always being very accessible.
I definitely plan to read this again.
This book rather steps back and treats movies as a literary form and concentrates on analyzing the output and recognizing some of the key features.
I thought I was a fairly keen movie goer but it really did open up my eyes to some things I'd never noticed in terms of how directors achieve certain effects.
I also generally enjoy Foster's writing style, he covers a lot of territory while always being very accessible.
I definitely plan to read this again.
November 16, 2023
Rádoby lidový a velice ukecaný úvod do filmových studií. Oceňuji autorovo rozhodnutí zaměřit se (vedle klasiky) na současné blockbustery (např. Avengers), čímž látku skutečně přibližuje širokým masám čtenářů. Fajn je také množství konkrétních příkladů (někdy jich na mě bylo až příliš). V čem se však autor zcela minul, je volba tónu a stylu přednesu. Jenže rétorická pozice "já jsem hodný profesor a ty, milý čtenáři, jsi takový naivní debílek, kterému teď všechno polopatě vysvětlím a občas se blahosklonně pousměji nad tvou nedovtipností" je opravdu obtížně snesitelná pro... no, vlastně asi jakéhokoliv čtenáře s trochou sebeúcty. Nehledě na to, že tento typ vysvětlování trvá opravdu dlouho a zas až tak moc nového se z něj nedozvíte. Takže kdybych měl příště na výběr mezi touhle knihou a suchopárnými skripty "Film studies 101" poloviční délky, volím skripta.
December 7, 2016
I received this through the ŷ Giveaway club. This is the first book I've read by T.C. Foster.
I requested it because my husband took a 'film' class at USC and always talks in great depth whenever he sees a movie he finds especially memorable. I can see him sitting down with Mr. Foster and discussing the finer points of so many of the movies discussed in this book!
This book has opened my eyes to so many movies and what the directors were aiming for when they filmed them. Many (72 to be exact) that I've already seen but now want to go back and watch with fresh eyes.
A great read for anyone who loves movies!
I requested it because my husband took a 'film' class at USC and always talks in great depth whenever he sees a movie he finds especially memorable. I can see him sitting down with Mr. Foster and discussing the finer points of so many of the movies discussed in this book!
This book has opened my eyes to so many movies and what the directors were aiming for when they filmed them. Many (72 to be exact) that I've already seen but now want to go back and watch with fresh eyes.
A great read for anyone who loves movies!
August 2, 2019
Finally got around to finishing this audiobook! If the next time we talk about movies and I’m even more obnoxious about them, you can blame this book. #sorrynotsorry Wonderful breakdown of the various parts of film and how to analyze it. Foster loads the books with hundreds of examples to illustrate his points. More than anything, I have a greater appreciation for film and all the myriad of decisions that go into the making thereof. Fascinating!
If you are into movies, I would also recommend FILMISH by Edward Ross or THE BEST OLD MOVIES FOR FAMILIES: A GUIDE TO WATCHING TOGETHER by Ty Burr.
If you are into movies, I would also recommend FILMISH by Edward Ross or THE BEST OLD MOVIES FOR FAMILIES: A GUIDE TO WATCHING TOGETHER by Ty Burr.
February 29, 2024
If you love movies, and whether or not you're looking to become an expert at analyzing them, I highly recommend this book. For the casual viewer or die-hard film buff, this volume is both a trip down memory lane of your favorites, and an enticement to watch the titles you've heard of but never seen. Along the way, Foster offers painless pointers and endless examples of how to enhance your movie viewing by focusing on certain key elements. As if all that weren't enough, reading this book is like having an extensive conversation with your favorite film friend.
December 31, 2019
Foster has a definite voice, prominent in both of his previous enjoyable works which focus on literature. Here, he tackles the movies, and here his quips seem less fun and more annoying. He spends a lot of the text breaking down particular scenes in detail to analyze, but the analysis is lacking a certain depth I was hoping to find.
The book does work well enough for an introduction to certain aspects of film even if sections could have used more edits.
The book does work well enough for an introduction to certain aspects of film even if sections could have used more edits.
August 4, 2020
I teach his "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" and love film, so was excited for this one! Not quite as mind-blowing as "Lit", but still a fun analysis of many movies I love and some that I've now added to my "watch list". Most interesting commentary was on one makes film different than novel or plays and the choices that have to be made because of this.
January 27, 2021
Thomas C. Foster covers all the bases in respect to film patterns and techniques without belaboring on details too much. There were however long winded segments in which he put the onus on the reader to engage with his persona as the author. All in all, if you want to dive into the mysteries and magical realms of film in a digestible manner, I recommend this book.
August 1, 2022
Started off interestingly enough, but after this author, a Professor of English turns his hand from literary criticism to film criticism, I have to wonder what his qualifications are. He tends to use a handful of big, Hollywood-minded films as his examples, and uses them repeatedly. While the book is an easy and sometime interesting read, ultimately I found it a bit simplistic and disappointing.
September 20, 2022
I liked this one. Foster is best known (I think) for his work unpacking written forms (literature, the novel, non-fiction), but he treats the movies in much the same way, showing us how to 'read' films for their tropes and motifs.
I approve of any book that makes us think more about the media we consume, even if (maybe especially if) we are consuming that media as entertainment.
I approve of any book that makes us think more about the media we consume, even if (maybe especially if) we are consuming that media as entertainment.
March 12, 2025
I picked up this book to learn more about films. I definitely learned more about films. I’d say it’s hard to follow this book if you haven’t watched the movies referenced, which is what I didn’t do. Overall, I would recommend if you enjoy watching films for their technical aspects, or even just for fun.
March 23, 2019
The narration is entertaining and often informative particularly when discussing how a film is constructed. His opinion on what films and filmmakers are worthy of discussion is obviously not going to meet with automatic agreement from his listeners but they are well worth listening to nevertheless.
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