Description
Book SynopsisWarren Buckland provides a clear and accessible introduction that explains how narrative and narration work using straightforward language. He distills the basic components of cinematic storytelling into a set of core concepts.
Trade ReviewA masterful summary of the discoveries that have made narrative theory one of the most intellectually powerful paradigms in film studies. One of the great pleasures in reading Buckland's clear and concise book are the acute analyses he provides of a range of popular films, readings that illustrate the strengths of the method—and the strengths of the author. Genuinely illuminating. -- Robert Burgoyne, author of
The Hollywood Historical FilmBuckland’s book encompasses a vast array of issues concerned with film narration. It expounds principal theories, the most pervasive narrative modes in the history of cinema, basic notions and categories, as well as providing exemplary analyses of carefully chosen films. Lucid, concise, and competent,
Narrative and Narration constitutes a perfect introduction to the field. -- Miroslaw Przylipiak, University of Gdansk
Narrative and Narration provides a brilliant survey of a tricky and sometimes confusing field. Warren Buckland covers an extensive range of concepts and approaches to narrative and narration, while also clearly defining the differences between these terms. Excellent cinematic examples are utilized, and the book is written with a precision that makes difficult concepts easy to understand. -- Richard Rushton, Lancaster University
The book is an astute synthesis of film narratology, and it is extremely useful for university courses in film semiotics. * New Review of Film and Television Studies *
Table of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgments
Part I. The Basics1 The Emergence of Narrative, Narration, and Narrative Agents in Early Cinema (
The Gay Shoe Clerk)
2 Narrative Structure in Classical and Contemporary Hollywood (Hitchcock and James Bond)
3 Narration (
Gone Girl, beDevil, and
Jurassic Park)
4 Enunciation and Reflexivity (
The Grand Budapest Hoteland
Marnie)
Part II. Types of Storytelling5 Feminism, Narrative, Authorship (
Gone Girland
Orlando)
6 Art Cinema Narration (
Alice in the Citiesand
Inland Empire)
7 Unreliable Narration and Puzzle Films (
You Only Live Once, Stage Fright, and
The Butterfly Effect)
8 Videogame Logic (
The Fifth Element, Inception, and
Source Code)
Coda
Works Cited
Index
