Film Language Glossary

The Film Language Glossary has been made available for public use. Developed in 2005 by the Center for New Media Teaching and Learning at Columbia University, the website provides definitions of essential terms used in basic and advanced film courses. The terms are supplemented by film clips, animations, images and/or commentary to enhance the understanding of these terms.


Click here for full announcement.

My Oscar Picks!

BEST PICTURE
Will win: “Argo”
Should win: “Lincoln”

BEST ACTOR
Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis (“Lincoln”)
Should win: Daniel Day-Lewis (“Lincoln”)

BEST ACTRESS 
Will win: Jennifer Lawrence (“Silver Linings Playbook”)
Should win: Emmanuelle Riva (“Amour”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will win: Alan Arkin ("Argo")
Should win: Alan Arkin ("Argo")

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS 
Will win: Anne Hathaway (“Les Misérables”)
Should win: Helen Hunt (“The Sessions”)

BEST DIRECTOR 
Will win: Steven Spielberg (“Lincoln”)
Should win: Steven Spielberg (“Lincoln”)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Will win: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola (“Moonrise Kingdom”)
Should win: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola (“Moonrise Kingdom”)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 
Will win: Chris Terrio (“Argo”)
Should win: Tony Kushner (“Lincoln”)

See Professor Insdorf's predictions published in the Spectator. 

Wiley Blackwell History of American Film

This excellent volume is now available as an e-book.

From the publisher --

"The Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film provides a chronological portrait of American film history from its origins to the present day. Taken as a whole, the essays in this collection represent a comprehensive and nuanced overview of American film history from the intersecting perspectives of industry, audiences, aesthetics, culture, politics, issues, and ideology."
 
The 90 essays are available in PDF format. The volume is illustrated with over 200 images.

The title is accessible by title search in CLIO.

Pride and Prejudice

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Celebrated on February 14th each year, Valentine's Day is a holiday long associated with romantic love -- my recommendation for great viewing is the six-episode version of Pride and Prejudice. Produced by the BBC and first broadcast in 1995, this excellent adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel stars Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Set in early 19th century England, the story focuses on Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's five unmarried daughters, including Elizabeth, after the wealthy and eligible Mr. Bingley and his status-conscious friend Mr. Darcy arrive in town. Watch the sparks fly between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.

There have been numerous television and film adaptations of the novel -- this made-for-television version was highly successful with audiences and received mainly positive critical response. Other Jane Austen novels adapted for the screen in 1995 and 1996 -- Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility and Emma.

The Letter

There were several film versions of The Letter which was adapted from the play by W. Somerset Maugham. The play was adapted from a short story by Maugham and opened in New York in 1927.

The story involves adultery, murder, and revenge. The setting is a rubber plantation in the East Indies. The film opens with the murder of Geoffrey Hammond by Leslie Crosbie, the wife of the British rubber planter. She claims she shot him in defense of her honor but her story is questioned in light of an incrementing letter.


In 1929, Jean De Limur directed Jeanne Eagels in the lead role. Eagels, who died suddenly at the age of 39 shortly after completing this film, was posthumously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1931, Paramount released Spanish, German, French and Italian -language versions. 
Warner Brothers released a film version in 1940 which was directed by William Wyler and starred Bette Davis as Leslie Crosbie. Herbert Marshall, who had played Geoffrey in the 1929 film, was cast as Robert Crosbie with Gale Sondergaard playing Mrs. Hammond. Howard Koch wrote the screenplay. The film, nominated for 7 Academy Awards, was described as "a superbly crafted melodrama."

Warner Brothers made another version in 1947, called The Unfaithful, starring Ann Sheridan. 

Check out the DVDs from Butler Media. 

The Letter (1929) -- DVD24465
The Letter (1940) --  DVD10505

20th Century North American Drama

From the publisher... 

"This edition of Twentieth Century North American Drama contains 2,059 plays by 434 playwrights, together with detailed, fielded information on related productions, theaters, production companies, and more. The database also includes selected playbills, production photographs and other ephemera related to the plays.More than 150 of the plays are published here for the first time, including a number by major authors."

Search the database from Columbia University Libraries. 

Audio Drama: The L.A. Theatre Works Collection

Audio Drama the L.A. Theatre Works from Alexander Street Press now contains 302 plays delivered in streaming audio. The plays are some of the most significant dramatic works written in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries and are performed by an international roster of actors. Here are a few highlights from the collection.


Alan Ayckbourn (Henceforward, Man of the Moment, Round and Round in the Garden, Table Manners)
Anton Chekhov (Three Sisters)
Susan Glaspell (Trifles)
Henrik Ibsen (A Doll's House)
David Ives (Long Ago and Far Away, New Jerusalem, Time Flies)
David Mamet (Bobby Gould in Hell, Reunion, The Shawl)
Jean-Baptiste Moliere (Tartuffe, The Bungler)
Clifford Odets (Awake and Sing!)
Yasmina Reza (The Unexpected Man)
William Shakespeare (Hamlet, Macbeth)
Sam Shepard (Buried Child)
Richard Sheridan (The Rivals, The School for Scandal)
Neil Simon (California Suite)

Notable actors include Anne Heche (Henceforward), Jane Leeves (Round and Round in the Garden), Lisa Bonet (Say Zebra), Alfred Molina (Copenhagen), Ed Asner (New Jerusalem), Ed Begley, Jr. (Time Flies), Hank Azaria (It's Not a Fair World), Steve Carell (Sin), Marilu Henner (Bobby Gould in Hell), Richard Kind (Awake and Sing!), Kathleen Turner (The Graduate), Walter Matthau (The Hole in the Top of the World) among others.

Seven Days a Week!

MoMA Plans to be Open.

 See related article from the New York Times.

Arts Administration Resources

Here are a few resources for researching topics in arts administration.

• Gale Virtual Reference Library -- includes encyclopedias on small business and information on managing non-profits.

• Foundation Directory  -- search grants for theater

• Factiva  -- full-text business information including non-profits 

• ABI  -- citations and full-text for business journals -- part of the ProQuest family of databases

• International Index to Performing Arts -- citations and full-text for popular and scholarly journal articles on the performing arts -- also part of the ProQuest family of databases

• EBSCO -- includes Art Index, International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance, Humanities Full Text, Film and Television Literature Index -- you can search across all or selected EBSCO databases

• ProQuest  -- includes extensive current and historical newspapers, ABI, International Index to the Performing Arts, Vogue, and more -- you can search across all or selected ProQuest databases

Sample keywords 

• arts administration
• arts management 
• trends performing art* salaries
• arts funding 
• public support arts 
• government support arts 
• foundation support arts 

It's a new academic year!

Welcome all new Columbia students and best wishes for a wonderful academic year!