This introduction to the methods and terminology of film study covers the main topics encountered in film courses such as narrative, cinematography, stardom, the auteur, "mise en scene" and spectatorship. It also explains how we study film and genres and how we develop a deeper understanding of films in different contexts.
Drawing on film examples ranging from Stagecoach and Casablanca to Raiders of the Lost Ark and Pulp Fiction, it encourages the reader to actively study films and develop an understanding not only of the text but also of the institutional and social context within which it is situated.