Download Movie Analysis

Movie Analysis
Topics and Areas of Films to Evaluate
Theme
O What is the unifying, central idea of the film?
O Emotional effect or mood
O Character development/motivation
O Style/structure
O Moral implications
O Human Nature
O Social Problems
O Complexity of Human relationships
“Citizen Kane”
O Love
O Control/Obsession
O Youth
O Money can’t buy happiness
“Vertigo”
O Obsession
O Love
O Fear
“Casablanca”
O Love
O Fear
O War
O Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons
Plot
O Story must be credible
O Story must be interesting
O Story should be simple and complex
O Story handles emotional material with
restraint
O Significance of the title
O Plot structure
O Conflict
“Citizen Kane”
O Story of a boy who comes into an
inheritance
O Lots of money, but not a success story
O Based on a true story
O Story told from different POV
“Vertigo”
O Story of a man and his physical issues
O Falls in love
O Mystery
O Dramatic Irony
“Casablanca”
O Multiple characters introduced very quickly
O Love story
O War/political story
O Emotional and unexpected ending
Visual Design
O Color vs Black and White
O Production design/Mise en Scene
O Costume and make up
O Lighting/use of colors
O Symbolism
O Camera work/points of view
O Framing Shots—Wide shots, medium shots,
close ups, extreme close ups
Visual Design
O Camera movements
O Dolly-zoom 
O Panning
O Focus
O Tracking
O Hand-held shots
Editing
O Jump cuts
O Transitions
O Pacing of the film
O Montage
O Mise En Scene—emphasizes the content
from a single frame, opposite of montage
Genres
O Suspense
O Coming of Age
O Drama
O Comedy
O Rom-Com
O Action
Creating a Thesis
O Where do I begin??
O What do the movies have in common?
O What are the strong, creative points about
the film?
O Is there a characteristic about the director
that shows up in his/her films?
O What stands out about the films to you?
O These things will help you develop subtopics!
Things to remember…
O ANALYZE, DON’T SUMMARIZE!!!
O Talk about what scenes MEAN, don’t just
write about what happened.
O How does it apply to your thesis?
O How does it apply to the overall creativity and
artistry of the film??