Screen-L subscribers: I want to bring your attention to a new book Overhearing Film Dialogue by Sarah Kozloff from University of California Press. It just appeared in paper as well as cloth. Kozloff analyzes the general characteristics of screen dialogue in Hollywood films and then explores its practice in four genres -- the Western, screwball comedy, gangster film and melodrama. Her understanding displays insight into the mechanics of screenwriting as well as the function of movie talk -- its almost uncanny ability, when well-executed, to assume the colloquial sound of normal conversation while being carefully shaped to construct plot, reveal character and excite our emotions. In addition the book is fluently written, well-illustrated and peppered with evocative examples from both classical and contemporary Hollywood films, from Wuthering Heights to Reservoir Dogs. Kozloff offers plenty of ideas for working screenwriters as well as displaying a thorough and perceptive sense of how film dialogue functions for the critic or film scholar. Overhearing Film Dialogue manages to avoid being either a manual of screenwriting tips or a theoretical treatise reserved for academics. If you love the movies and enjoy reading about them, this book will provide an engaging experience. Overhearing Film Dialogue is a valuable tool for any screenwriting instructor and an excellent text to add to the reading list. For those in film studies this is an important addition to the literature on film sound, as far as I know there is no work that deals in a comparable manner with the structure, design and impact of screen dialogue. I recommend it hardily for summer reading and future reference. Sincerely, Leger Grindon Professor of Film Studies Middlebury College ---- To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]