Observations on Film Art
Criterion Channel original series in which the film scholars David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, and Jeff Smith — authors of Film Art: An Introduction — present short video essays that analyze a formal aspect of a single film.
Rock and Roll Style: Costumes and Props in QUADROPHENIA
Quadrophenia (1979)
Motifs of Destruction in DAISIES
Daisies (1966)
Associative Editing in THE SWEET HEREAFTER
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Reflections in and on YI YI
Yi Yi (2000)
Beyond the Costume Picture: THE TAKING OF POWER BY LOUIS XIV
The Taking of Power by Louis XIV (1966)
Aspect Ratio in VIVRE SA VIE
Vivre sa vie (1962)
Flash Cuts and Long Takes in LE BONHEUR
Le bonheur (1965)
Paths and Roads in PATHER PANCHALI
Pather Panchali (1955)
The Viewer Who Knew Just Enough: Point of View in BLOOD SIMPLE
Blood Simple (1984)
Telling Details in Steve McQueen’s HUNGER
Hunger (2008)
Language and Power in BLACK GIRL
Black Girl (1966)
Visual Strategies in LA CIÉNAGA
La Ciénaga (2001)
Ozu’s Space Adventures: Editing in PASSING FANCY
Passing Fancy (1933)
Musical Motifs in THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
In the Service of Horror—The Lyrical Cinematography of PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
VAMPYR: The Genre Film as Experimental Film
Vampyr (1932)
Feminist Mise-en-scène in MY BRILLIANT CAREER
My Brilliant Career (1979)
Withholding and Revealing in AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE
An Angel at My Table (1990)
Comedy, Suspense, and Three-Point Lighting in TO BE OR NOT TO BE
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
The Long Take in SHOCK CORRIDOR
Shock Corridor (1963)
Plotting in VAGABOND
Vagabond (1985)
Spontaneous Play in PARADE
Parade (1974)
Games of Vision in STREET OF SHAME
Street of Shame (1956)
The Revolutionary Subjectivity of MEMORIES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT
Memories of Underdevelopment (1968)
LYDIA and the Power of Flashbacks
Lydia (1941)
Widescreen Composition in SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER
Shoot the Piano Player (1960)
Mutations of Memory: Editing in HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR
Hiroshima mon amour (1959)
Dissolves in THE LONG DAY CLOSES
The Long Day Closes (1992)
Continuity Editing in THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER
All That Money Can Buy (a.k.a. The Devil and Daniel Webster) (1941)
Color Motifs in BLACK NARCISSUS
Black Narcissus (1947)
Staging and Performance in IVAN THE TERRIBLE, PART 2
Ivan the Terrible, Part II (1958)
Narrative Symmetry in CHUNGKING EXPRESS
Chungking Express (1994)
The Darkness of War in WOODEN CROSSES
Wooden Crosses (1932)
Genre Play in THE PLAYER
The Player (1992)
GIRL SHY: Harold Lloyd Meets Classical Hollywood
Girl Shy (1924)
Flashbacks in THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE
The Phantom Carriage (1921)
BRUTE FORCE: The Actor’s Tool Kit
Brute Force (1947)
Mastering a New Medium: Sound in M
M (1931)
The Stripped-Down Style of ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Chaplin’s Comedy of Murders
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
Offscreen Sound in LA CÉRÉMONIE
La cérémonie (1995)
Staging in THE RULES OF THE GAME
The Rules of the Game (1939)
Camera Movement in THREE COLORS: RED
Three Colors: Red (1994)
THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE: A Child’s Point of View
The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
The Restraint of L’AVVENTURA
L’avventura (1960)
Abbas Kiarostami: The Character of Landscape, the Landscape of Character
Taste of Cherry (1997)
Quicker Than the Eye: Editing in SANSHIRO SUGATA
Musical Motifs in FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
Foreign Correspondent (1940)