Film Fourth Edition: A Critical Introduction

Updated and expanded for a new edition, this is the perfect starter text for students of film studies. Packed full of visual examples from all periods of film history up to the present, Film: A Critical Introduction illustrates film concepts in context and in depth, addressing techniques and terminology used in film production and criticism, and emphasizing thinking and writing critically and effectively.

With reference to 450 new and existing images, the authors discuss contemporary films and film studies scholarship, as well as recent developments in film production and exhibition, such as digital technologies and new modes of screen media.

New features in the fourth edition:

Expanded discussion of changing cultural and political contexts for film and media industries, including #MeToo, #TimesUp, and #OscarsSoWhite

Updated examples drawing from both contemporary and classic films in every chapter highlight that film studies is a vibrant and growing field.

New closing chapter expands the book's theoretical framework, linking foundational concepts in cinema studies to innovative new scholarship in media and screen studies.

Thoroughly revised and updated discussions of auteur theory, the long-take aesthetic, ideology in the superhero film and more.


About the Author
Maria Pramaggiore is Professor of Media Studies and Dean of Graduate Studies at Maynooth University, Ireland. She has written widely on film and media studies addressing topics in gender and sexuality, Irish film and documentary.

Tom Wallis is Senior Lecturer and Assistant Director of Film Studies at North Carolina State University. He has written on Ken Russell, Lynne Ramsay and John Alton.