Film Analysis
To truly understand a novel, you need to read it, comprehend
the words, and imagine the world the author is creating.
To truly understand a film, you need to view it, comprehend
the story, and imagine what the director is trying to get you to think about.
This is actually quite tricky.
When watching a film for comparison to a novel or to another
version of the movie, there are many things to consider.
- When was the film made? (You can use Internet Movie
Database <IMDB.com> to find this information.)
- How did when the film was made affect
how the film was made?
- Who were the director, the writer, and the main stars of
the film? (You can use Internet Movie Database <IMDB.com>
to find this information.)
- Who was the intended audience of the film? Of the
novel?
- How did the intended audience affect
how the director presented the film?
- What was left out of the film?
- What was added in to the film that wasn't originally there?
- Did the film director use unusual camera angles (really
high up looking down, really low to the ground looking up, tilting the camera)? If so, why?
- Did the director use bright/dark lighting and/or vivid/dull
colors to enhance or detract from certain scenes?
- How did the music in the film (if any) add to or take away
from the story?
- Why do you think the director chose the actors that were in
the film?
- What interesting or unusual choices by the actors made you
see the story differently?
- If you were the director, what would you have done
differently?
Use these
basic film terms
to help you analyze the movie. You can also view more terms
here.