Bringing together twenty-five years of work on what he has called the "historical poetics of cinema," David Bordwell presents an extended analysis of a key question for film studies: how are films made, in particular historical contexts, in order to achieve certain effects? For Bordwell, films are made things, existing within historical contexts, and aim to create determinate effects. Beginning with this central thesis, Bordwell works out a full understanding of how films channel and recast cultural influences for their cinematic purposes. With more than five hundred film stills, Poetics of Cinema is a must-have for any student of cinema.

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This text-specific tutorial CD-ROM helps to clarify and reinforce specific concepts addressed in the text through the use of film clips (1-2 per chapter), a corresponding commentary for each film clip, and a quiz for students to take to test their understanding of the material. The CD-ROM is available for separate purchase (ISBN 0-07-732993-7) or packaged with a new text at no additional cost. (To order the package of the text and CD-ROM, use ISBN 0-07-739643-X.)...