Film Moments

?'What is a film moment? This is a book that answers this question in a series of vivid, inspirational fragments. A stellar cast of contributors and a riveting set of examples help confirm that this is indeed a book whose own moment has well and truly come.' Alastair Phillips, University of Warwick 'Certain moments in films stay with us, and often we don't know why. Here is an array of such memorable moments, with an array of notable critics and scholars endeavoring to tell us why. Concise like the moments that inspired them, the essays gathered here open our eyes in various ways to the meaning of moving images. This is a book full of insights into the details that make all the difference.' Gilberto Perez, Sarah Lawrence College, New York '...a terrific collection of short essays which each address a specific sequence in a movie...' - Illuminations

Film Moments brings together specially commissioned essays by leading international scholars to provide a close analysis of key films of world cinema, including The Wizard of Oz, United 93, 8 1/2, Wild Strawberries and Magnolia. The essays represent a range of critical approaches to and concepts in film studies.Film is made of moments. In its earliest form, the cinema was a moment: mere seconds recorded and projected into the darkness. Even as film has developed into today's complex and intricate medium, it is the brief, temporary and transitory that combines to create the whole. Our memories of films are composed of the moments we deem to be crucial: touchstones for our understanding and appreciation. Moments matter.

The 38 specially commissioned essays in Film Moments examine a wide selection of key scenes across a broad spectrum of national cinemas, historical periods and genres, featuring films by renowned auteurs including Alfred Hitchcock, Jean Renoir and Vincente Minnelli and important contemporary directors such as Pedro Costa, Zhang Ke Jia and Quentin Tarantino, addressing films including City Lights, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, The Night of the Hunter, Wild Strawberries, 8 1?2, Bonnie and Clyde, Star Wars, Conte d'été, United 93 and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

Film Moments provides both an enlightening introduction for students to the diversity of approaches and concerns in the study of film, and a dynamic and vibrant account of key film sequences for anyone interested in enhancing their understanding of cinema.