General Questions for all of the following links: How does an analysis differ from a review? Why is it important to read different reviews and analyses when considering a film? Which one is more valid? Which one do you put more trust in? Which one is more likely to influence you? Why are there so many reviews and analyses? Why do you think they are so different even though they are about the same film? What does it take to become a film critic and/or scholar? Does critical and/ or scholarly commentary, reviews, or analyses influence the way you feel about a film? What validates our opinions of a critic/ scholar's credibility? Why is their opinion considered valid? Is your opinion just as valid? Why or why not? How important to the film industry and to academic scholarship are film reviews, commentary, and analyses?
Analysis of His Girl Friday Sample review of His Girl Friday Analysis of His Girl Friday Which of the reviews is most helpful to you as a film student? As a film scholar? As an film viewer? Which one shapes your opinion of the film the most? Which one is most effective as a review? Which one is least effective? What are the similarities of the reviews? How do the critics opinions differ? Which one is the most valid? How does the information surrounding the world of the film (events of the year, celebrities born that year, other popular films of the time, etc.) in the filmnight.org review of the film change the way you view the film? Is it important to know the history of the world surrounding the making of the film? How does knowing the historical background influence the way you view the film? How does it aid your understanding of themes and of the film?
Analysis of North By Northwest Sample review of North By Northwest Sample review of North By Northwest How important to you is it that a review give a detailed plot summary? The filmsite.org review includes quotes and a very detailed synopsis, where the centerstage.net review is a shorter summary. Which is more effective? Are photos of the film helpful to your desire to see a film? What elements are important in a film review? The movie-reviews.colossus.net review includes commentary on design, directing, acting, and plot elements. Are all of these necessary? Do they influence whether or not you will see a film? Is knowing too much about a film detrimental to your initial viewing of a film?
Sample review of Do The Right Thing Roger Ebert's review of Do The Right Thing Analysis of Do The Right Thing How does the star rating system work? Does how many stars a film has influence the way you view a film? Why is the star rating system used? What other standard methods are used by critics? Why is a standard rating method necessary? Does the look of a website review affect the way you perceive the film or influence your opinion of the review? Compare the cinepad.com and the suntimes.com websites. Would you be more likely to read one opinion over another based on the look of the website? How does the length of the article affect your reading? How does the fact that one review is written by the foremost American critic influence your opinion about the film?
Analysis of Breathless (A Bout de souffle) Overview of the Godard's work in Breathless Analysis of Breathless (A Bout de souffle) - link does not work Review of Breathless (A Bout de souffle) New historical criticism is considered a valid scholarly method of analysis. Standard film critic's analyses are not always considered valid. Examine the ruspoli.com and combustiblecelluloid.com reviews. Does the fact that one utilizes new historical criticism make you view the credibility of the author's opinion any differently? What is New Historical criticism? How is it used in the film industry? Why is it an important method to know as a film student? The three reviews of Breathless are written from separate lenses. What are those three lenses? What audiences do you think each one is targeted towards. How does your understanding or lack of understanding of certain methods of criticism influence the way you read these reviews? Even though they are reviewed from different lenses, how do they paint the same picture of the film? How does reading their opinions influence the lens you will have when you view the film? Which one did you find most important to your understanding of the film?
Review of Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari) Review of Ozu's films, including Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari) Review of Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari) Why do you think the reviews for Tokyo Story are more of a review and analysis of the works of the director and not so much about the film itself? What does this tell you about the author's view of the director? What other director's are considered unique or different enough that a review of their film would merit a discussion of the director over a discussion of the film? How does knowing information about a director influence the way you view the film? Is it important to know about the director in order to understand the film? The filmref.com website contains a section on the director, followed by discussions and reviews of all his films. Are sites like this one more or less effective in shaping your opinion about one film than a website just devoted to the film itself? Why would a website such as filmref.com be a good resource for film students and scholars?
Review of Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s kinoapparatom) Analysis of Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s kinoapparatom) Analysis and historical background of Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s kinoapparatom) Examine the websites for Man with a Movie Camera. The reviews are vastly different, from academic analysis to detailed plot summary. Which review do you find most helpful to fostering a desire to learn more about the film. Do you agree or disagree that a film review with a plot synopsis should reveal the entire story or entire material contained in the film? Is knowing a lot about a film influence your decision to see a movie more than knowing very little about it? Frequently, film reviews contain the author's opinion (this was a delightful film, this film was horrible, etc.). How important to your appreciation of a film is an author's opinion.? Would you prefer to read unbiased reviews? Can a film review be unbiased? Which of the three reviews is the least biased? Which is the most? How does that influence the way you feel about the film?
Review of The Thin Blue Line Interview with the director of The Thin Blue Line, Errol Morris. Web site for the director Errol Morris. Includes reviews and production information about The Thin Blue Line. The errolmorris.com website contains biographical, filmographical, interviews, photos, and other information about the director. Yet the home page is a comic letter written to Errol Morris. What does reading the letter do to your understanding of the sorts of films Errol Morris makes? What does it tell you about the sort of man he is? What does it tell you about the influence producers have on directors? Does knowing about a person's character affect the way you view a film? Read the bedfordstmartins.com and a few of the errolmorris.com interviews about The Thin Blue Line. What insight into the film do each of the interviews give? Does the director provide the same information in each interview? How do the answers of the director vary depending on the venue and the interviewer? What information does Errol Morris want the readers of each interview to know about the film? Are his answers pretty consistent between interviews?
Review of Meet Me in St. Louis Why is Meet Me in St. Louis considered one of the best musicals of all time? Does the review reveal this? Does the review tell you it is with the expectation you will watch the film and decide for yourself? How much of the review is plot summary? How much is analysis? How do you feel about the in-depth plot synopsis that reveals all of the events of the film?
Roger Ebert's review of Raging Bull. Review of Raging Bull. Review of Raging Bull Review of Raging Bull. Is knowing about the historical accuracy of a film important? Do you prefer to know about the actual events before attending a film such as Raging Bull that is recreating historical events? Does knowing what actually happened influence the way you feel about a film? Should films portray events as accurately as possible or are loose portrayals acceptable as well? How does knowing about the real Jake LaMotta determine your opinion of the film? Roger Ebert's review includes information about how the film was made. How does movie trivia (such as knowing how long it took to film a specific scene in the play) affect your viewing experience? Does knowing what went into a film affect your opinion of a film?
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