>Having used both the Bordwell-Thompson book (Film Art: An Introduction) >and the Giannetti book (Understanding Movies), I would suggest the latter. >It's been my experience that students find the former dry and hard to >relate to, in that it uses films they've never heard of as examples (of >camera angles, sound techniques, etc.); the latter uses more current >movies (Titanic, etc.) and seems to connect film technique to issues the >students care about. That's where we step in as instructors. What I do is show students clips from the films *Film Art* also uses, so that they can make a connection between what they read at home and what they see in class. >While it's important to introduce students to "the classics" in a film >*history* class, in a intro to film class different issues are often at >center stage. For my money, it's much more effective to use a James >Cameron film as an example of a long take than "Magnificent Ambersons", at >least to a group of restless freshmen.... >Best, > Daniel Isaac Humphrey I believe this strategy can lead to developing the notions about what film studies is all about described below. This is a recent message I received from one of my students, regarding the final paper. I am convinced that thinking of film primarily in terms of *Titanic* (the flick coming soon to a theater near you) rather than *Magnificent Ambersons* (the film analyzed in a scholarly journal) could be one of the reasons for the pervading anti intellectual stance that is so pervasive among film students these days. Furthermore, notice the mode of address and the salutation. Hey Gloria, I have decided i will be writing my final paper about the Teen Comedy Genre, using American Pie as a basis for my thesis: That critics, and scholars expect way too much intellectually when it comes to these films. I think that the over analysis of teen films has gotten out of hand, but i do plan to analyze the film myself, in my own unique way, without trying to read TOO hard between the lines. You should enjoy it Thanks alot. Gloria Monti ______________________________ gloria monti, ph.d. lecturer program in film studies 223 humanities instructional building university of california, irvine irvine, CA 92697-2435 phone: 949-824-6576 e-mail: [log in to unmask] 3/9/1990: Dr. Antonia Novello was sworn in as surgeon general, the first woman and the first Hispanic to hold the job. ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu