Closely Watched Films

"In Closely Watched Films revered Film teacher Marilyn Fabe brings to life on the page the many lessons proffered in her legendary courses at U.C. Berkeley, in which she has taught successive generations of film students the art, and the magic, of film."--Linda Williams, Director of Film Studies, University of California, Berkeley

"I am deeply impressed by this book, and in awe of its scope. It imparts its wisdom about film with such seeming effortlessness, illuminating the ways that films work. Closely Watched Films is very lucidly and smoothly crafted, and Fabe writes with astonishing ease about a group of very complex and heterogeneous films. It is a extremely informed book and an extraordinary achievement."--Madelon Sprengnether, University of Minnesota, author of Crying at the Movies

"Fills a real need, educating the literate moviegoer into an awareness of how film works. Writing in a clear prose that is nevertheless based on a complex awareness of film history, criticism, and technique, Fabe takes us through the diverse film strategies of exemplary classic directors who have significantly shaped the history of film and made it into a potent cultural force. At the same time, she provocatively elaborates the political and aesthetic concerns of a number of contemporary films to indicate the new directions in today's motion pictures."--Claire Kahane, SUNY-Buffalo, author of Passions of the Voice: Hysteria, Narrative, and the Figure of the speaking Woman, 1850-1915

"This text fills a real niche--the scholarship is superior, and Fabe approaches her material in an original and stimulating manner. The writing is fluid and down to earth, yet also addresses relevant issues."--Tim Shively, De Anza College

Marilyn Fabe is Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.