Cinematic Overtures

How to Read Opening Scenes

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Film, History & Criticism, Performing Arts
Cover of the book Cinematic Overtures by Annette Insdorf, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Annette Insdorf ISBN: 9780231544061
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: November 7, 2017
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Annette Insdorf
ISBN: 9780231544061
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: November 7, 2017
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

A great movie’s first few minutes provide the key to the rest of the film. Like the opening paragraphs of a novel, they draw the viewer in, setting up the thematic concerns and stylistic approach that will be developed over the course of the narrative. A strong opening sequence leads the viewer to trust the filmmakers. Other times, opening shots are intentionally misleading as they invite alert, active participation with the film. In Cinematic Overtures, Annette Insdorf discusses the opening sequence so that viewers turn first impressions into deeper understanding of cinematic technique.

From Joe Gillis’s voice-over in Sunset Boulevard as he lies dead in a swimming pool to the hallucinatory opening of Apocalypse Now, from the stream-of-consciousness montage as found in Hiroshima, mon amour to the slowly unfolding beginning of Schindler’s List, Cinematic Overtures analyzes opening shots from a range of Hollywood as well as international films. Insdorf pays close attention to how the viewer makes sense of these scenes and the cinematic world they are about to enter. Including dozens of frame enlargements that illustrate the strategies of opening scenes, Insdorf also examines how films explore and sometimes critique the power of the camera’s gaze. Along with analyses of opening scenes, the book offers a series of revelatory and surprising readings of individual films by some of the leading directors of the past seventy-five years. Erudite but accessible, Cinematic Overtures will lead film scholars and ardent movie fans alike to greater attentiveness to those fleeting opening moments.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A great movie’s first few minutes provide the key to the rest of the film. Like the opening paragraphs of a novel, they draw the viewer in, setting up the thematic concerns and stylistic approach that will be developed over the course of the narrative. A strong opening sequence leads the viewer to trust the filmmakers. Other times, opening shots are intentionally misleading as they invite alert, active participation with the film. In Cinematic Overtures, Annette Insdorf discusses the opening sequence so that viewers turn first impressions into deeper understanding of cinematic technique.

From Joe Gillis’s voice-over in Sunset Boulevard as he lies dead in a swimming pool to the hallucinatory opening of Apocalypse Now, from the stream-of-consciousness montage as found in Hiroshima, mon amour to the slowly unfolding beginning of Schindler’s List, Cinematic Overtures analyzes opening shots from a range of Hollywood as well as international films. Insdorf pays close attention to how the viewer makes sense of these scenes and the cinematic world they are about to enter. Including dozens of frame enlargements that illustrate the strategies of opening scenes, Insdorf also examines how films explore and sometimes critique the power of the camera’s gaze. Along with analyses of opening scenes, the book offers a series of revelatory and surprising readings of individual films by some of the leading directors of the past seventy-five years. Erudite but accessible, Cinematic Overtures will lead film scholars and ardent movie fans alike to greater attentiveness to those fleeting opening moments.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book The Columbia Guide to Social Work Writing by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book The Liberal State on Trial by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book Time and the Generations by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book Love in Motion by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book The Elements of Academic Style by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book The Best Business Writing 2013 by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book The City Trilogy by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book The Beach Book by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book Across the Lines of Conflict by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book Journalistic Authority by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book Capital and the Common Good by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book The First Modern Japanese by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book Cinema in the Digital Age by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book Religion in America by Annette Insdorf
Cover of the book Atlas by Annette Insdorf
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy