A selection of essays written by a leading film critic, this 1996 volume examines theoretical aspects of film and television through penetrating analyses of such genres as soap opera, documentary, comedy, and such topics as 'sight gags', film metaphor, point-of-view editing, and movie music. Throughout, individual films are considered in depth. Carroll's essays, moreover, represent the cognitivist turn in film studies, containing in-depth criticism of existing approaches to film theory.
Inside Soviet Film Satire is a lively collection of sixteen original essays by Soviet, American and Canadian scholars and film commentators. It is the first indepth examination of an important genre within the Soviet film tradition. From its origins, humour and satire have been closely linked in Soviet cinema. Nowhere in this tradition is there the pure comic genre typified in the West in films by Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton; by contrast, Soviet comedy can best be described as 'laughter with a lash'. Films made during the early years of the communist regime depicted characters and situations at a moment when the promise of socialism had yet to be realised. By the final years of totalitarian rule, filmmakers had found ways to create satirical films that powerfully indicted communism itself.
Originally published in 1988, The "I" of the Camera has become a classic in the literature of film. This second edition includes fourteen new essays, as well as a new foreword. Offering alternatives
