Writing A Movie Review printable pdf download

WRITING A MOVIE REVIEW

BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO WRITE YOUR REVIEW

SEE THE FILM, and then immediately note your responses. Your analysis will be



based on your memory of the film and it is important to get some notes on paper

so you don't forget vital details. Memorable scenes should be listed. They may

turn out to be key points of discussion for your paper. You also need to write

down your initial overall impressions of the film. How did it make you feel? Try as

well to figure out why you responded that way. That is the beginning of your

critical response.

SEE THE FILM AGAIN if possible. This time you need to be more analytical. Pay



close attention to the scenes which impressed you before, and try to figure out

how they work. Watch the film with the following subjects in mind:

characterization, setting, types of film techniques. If your response to the movie

changes on a second viewing, note how and why.

LIBRARY RESEARCH (if required)

Look up the film's credits (if you don't have them in your



notes). You may want to refer to the director, producer,

writer, cast, etc. in your review. Background information

on these people may also be available in reference

books or periodicals.

If the film is based on a real person or event, you may want to compare the



reality to the filmed version. In that case, you may want to consult an

encyclopedia or other reference books.

If you want the definition of any technical terms, consult a film dictionary. e.g.



DICTIONARY OF FILM TERMS by F. E. Beaver - REF PN 1993.45 B4 1983. Some of the

techniques with which you should be familiar are: montage; long shot; zoom;

close-up; panorama; middle-distance; slow motion; sharp focus; tracking; fade;

dissolve; fixed camera.

If you want help in actually writing your review, you could consult: WRITING



THEMES ABOUT LITERATURE by E.V. Roberts - PE 1408 R593 1983 - Chapter 15 and

17. (One copy of this book is kept at the Reference Desk, and there others in the

regular book stacks.)

ANALYZING SETTING

Note the setting of the film, its TIME and PLACE. Be specific. What details



revealed the setting - costumes? sets? props? makeup? Does the film specifically

state a time and place?

Is the film in color or black and white or both? Any reason why? Is it important?



Writing A Movie Review

Related Articles

Related forms

Related Categories