How Movies Work

by Bruce F. Kawin

This ambitiously titled text on the art and craft of the cinema actually lives up to its name. Kawin, a film historian and Faulkner scholar who teaches film and English at the University of Colorado, has compiled a wealth of information on filmmaking, film aesthetics, and the film industry today between these covers. Kawin manages to explain and define the most important terms and techniques used in filmmaking and criticism. At the same time, he embarks on complex yet highly readable analyses of milestones by such directors as Hitchcock and Coppola -- as well as the independent film of pioneers like Stan Brakhage and Maya Deren. From start to finish, from The 400 Blows to Flashdance, Kawin’s book is immersed enthusiastically in the endless possibilities of the cinema.
DEEP FOCUS (formerly The Flicker Archive)
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Reviews by Bryant Frazer
bryant@deep-focus.com