An Introduction to Film Studies has established itself as one of the leading textbooks for students of cinema. This completely revised and updated third edition guides students through the key issues and concepts in film studies and introduces some of the world`s key national cinemas including British, Indian, Soviet and French. Written by experienced teachers in the field and lavishly illustrated with 129 film stills and production shots, it will be essential reading for any student of film.

Table of Contents
List of illustrations
Notes on contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction to the third edition
Pt. 1 Institutions and Audiences 1
Ch. 1 Cinema as institution 3
Pt. 2 Approaches to Studying Film Texts 51
2 Film form and narrative 53
3 Spectator, audience and response 91
4 Critical approaches to Hollywood cinema: authorship, genre and stars 129
Pt. 3 Genre Forms - Realism and Illusion 185
5 The documentary form: personal and social `realities` 187
6 Animation: forms and meanings 213
Pt. 4 Representation of Gender and Sexuality 239
7 Gender and film 241
8 Lesbian and gay cinema 279
Pt. 5 National Cinemas 319
9 Marking out the territory: aspects of British cinema 321
10 Indian cinema 359
11 The Soviet montage cinema of the 1920s 389
12 The French New Wave 421
Glossary 451
Bibliography 469
Index 483

Author:

Jill Nelmes is a senior lecturer at the University of East London. Her research interests include gender and film and screenwriting. She recently spent two years studying screenwriting at UCLA and working in the film industry in Los Angeles.