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stripe_la's review against another edition
2.0
One of those books where you feel you have to go read up on any film which is mentioned if you don’t know it - which I hate doing and don’t plan on getting up from a comfortable seat to go over to my computer just to understand one reference and move into the next page.
Titled as an introduction to film, but it’s really not. As mentioned in another review, focused on lots of philosophical stuff rather than… an introduction to film? If this was an introduction to film philosophy it may have been better. An ok read but because I hadn’t seen a lot of the films mentioned and it was all philosophy of said unseen films, couldn’t really get into it.
Titled as an introduction to film, but it’s really not. As mentioned in another review, focused on lots of philosophical stuff rather than… an introduction to film? If this was an introduction to film philosophy it may have been better. An ok read but because I hadn’t seen a lot of the films mentioned and it was all philosophy of said unseen films, couldn’t really get into it.
zain832's review against another edition
3.0
Just goes to show the impossibility of writing about film at large in a condensed medium. Constantly, if not excessively rambling, Michael Wood comes off well-intended but frequently misguided in his teachings about 20th century film. A last-minute take-away could surmise film is some tangible yet not tangible cosmic force of nature to whom even, self-admittedly, a million and one words couldn't serve a proper ode to.
fdes_817's review against another edition
3.0
Learned a lot from this book. I think it does stimulate a lot of interest in film and the different ways of thinking about film. I found the "Around the World in 80 Films" in the back a fascinating touch that I will surely follow up on.
I do think the organization and presentation is a bit scattered. I felt the author's thesis disappeared and reemerged at weird spots. It didn't feel like a thread that wove the the work together.
I enjoyed this book. It was a nice 115 page break from a lot of the theological tomes I have to read for school.
I do think the organization and presentation is a bit scattered. I felt the author's thesis disappeared and reemerged at weird spots. It didn't feel like a thread that wove the the work together.
I enjoyed this book. It was a nice 115 page break from a lot of the theological tomes I have to read for school.
annagrac's review against another edition
2.0
I very much enjoy the VSI series from OUP, but felt this wasn't as good as many others of the series. This book doesn't structure itself around a history or a clear thematic approach, instead it drifts from topic to topic.
lilyofthevalley's review against another edition
2.0
ok, confession: i didn't actually finish this. about 40 pages in i gave up. i feel like there's some good points trying to be made here, but they're buried under the author talking himself in circles about his personal experiences with film instead of Introducing It Like He's Supposed To - plus it was telling me things i already know. there's some good quotes though, and a list of films from around the world at the back that i'd like to check out.
worldwidewouter's review
3.0
Decent read, but it felt more like a summary of a handful of films than an introduction to film as a concept, which is what I had hoped to be the case
directorscut's review against another edition
2.0
I would not recommend this as anyone's introduction to film. The author is too wound up in answering the pointless and boring question "What is film?" A question any non-pretentious reader could answer in about five seconds with an acceptable degree of accuracy.
You would expect a short introduction to film to give you an overview of the history of cinema and a look at the important players in that history. But the author here spends a ridiculous amount of time talking about obscure films that even the most ardent and well-viewed fans of cinema haven't heard of, and haven't left a discernible mark on cinema.
You would expect a short introduction to film to give you an overview of the history of cinema and a look at the important players in that history. But the author here spends a ridiculous amount of time talking about obscure films that even the most ardent and well-viewed fans of cinema haven't heard of, and haven't left a discernible mark on cinema.
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