MTU Library Catalogue

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More than a method : trends and traditions in contemporary film performance / edited by Cynthia Baron, Diane Carson, and Frank P. Tomasulo.

Contributor(s): Baron, Cynthia A | Carson, Diane | Tomasulo, Frank P.
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookSeries: Contemporary approaches to film and television series.Publisher: Detroit : Wayne State University Press, c2004Description: xi, 355 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.Content type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 0814330797; 9780814330791; 9780814330784.Subject(s): Motion picture acting | Acting techniques | Films, cinemaDDC classification: 791.4302 MOR Summary: Twelve essays analyse performance in post-1950s film, addressing distinct questions about the working relationships between actors and directors and discussing the interplay between performance and cinematic techniques. The book explain the context for performance analysis as they address an international array of film genres, actors, and genres.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Barcode
General lending MTU Kerry North Campus Library First Floor Main 791.4302 MOR (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 38888000540132
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

More Than a Method provides the reader with a historical perspective on film performance theory and explains the importance and relevance of analyzing acting. The essays are divided into three sections: modernism, neo-naturalism, and postmodern film performance. The authors clearly define terms relating to acting and acting styles and provide brief overviews of the significant themes and predominant visual styles of each director. The volume's essays share a cohesive focus on the art and craft of acting, each emphasizing performance as it is presented on-screen, challenging the idea that the best (or only) way to categorize performance is by training or working method. Through dynamic and sophisticated analyses of a wide range of acting styles and choices, More Than a Method fills an important gap in today's film scholarship.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Twelve essays analyse performance in post-1950s film, addressing distinct questions about the working relationships between actors and directors and discussing the interplay between performance and cinematic techniques. The book explain the context for performance analysis as they address an international array of film genres, actors, and genres.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • List of Illustrations (p. vii)
  • Acknowledgments (p. xi)
  • Introduction: More Than the Method, More Than One Method (p. 1)
  • Part 1. Analyzing Film Performance: Logic and Methods
  • 1. Why Study Film Acting? Some Opening Reflections (p. 23)
  • 2. Screen Performance and Directors' Visions (p. 42)
  • Part 2. Modernism and Film Performance
  • 3. Performance in the Films of Robert Bresson: The Aesthetics of Denial (p. 71)
  • 4. "The Sounds of Silence": Modernist Acting in Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up (p. 94)
  • 5. Resisting Reality: Acting by Design in Robert Altman's Nashville (p. 126)
  • Part 3. Developments in Neonaturalist Film Performance
  • 6. Playing with Performance: Directorial and Performance Style in John Cassavetes's Opening Night (p. 153)
  • 7. Plain and Simple: Masculinity through John Sayles's Lens (p. 173)
  • 8. Passionate Engagement: Performance in the Films of Neil Jordan (p. 192)
  • Part 4. Postmodern Film Performance
  • 9. Acting Prima Donna Politics in Tomas Gutierrez Alea's Strawberry and Chocolate (p. 219)
  • 10. Kidman, Cruise, and Kubrick: A Brechtian Pastiche (p. 247)
  • 11. Thinking through Jim Carrey (p. 275)
  • 12. Suiting Up for Postmodern Performance in John Woo's The Killer (p. 297)
  • Contributors (p. 331)
  • Index (p. 335)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

(Wayne State University Press, 2013). Frank P. Tomasulo teaches cinema history and theory courses at The City College of New York, CUNY, and Pace University, as well as on-line graduate seminars for National University. He has published extensively on the films of Michelangelo Antonioni and Steven Spielberg, among many other media-related subjects.