Thinking About Movies, Third Edition is a comprehensive introduction for students and movie lovers who want to learn how to watch movies critically and analytically. Intended for the beginner, the text offers the crucial building blocks required to understand film as an important narrative and cultural form.

Guiding readers through basic film concepts - narrative structure, authorship, genre, actors, and stars - as well as more complex analyses of race, class, gender, film theory, audience, and reception, Thinking About Movies offers an intelligent and lively introduction to the ways in which movies are constructed, achieve their effect, and convey their powerful messages. This third edition has been fully revised and updated to cover new developments in filmmaking, including the powerful impact of globalization, new technology. and recent movie releases. It also discusses the emerging trend of big budget fantasy films being produced in New Zealand; the proliferation of elaborate multi-character narratives, like Crash and Syriana; and the convergence of the powerful entertainment and technology industries.

Including extensive illustrations and discussions of a diverse selection of important films, from Citizen Kane to Sin City, this is the ideal textbook to get students thinking about this important medium. The text is accompanied by a website at http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/lehman featuring resources for both academics and students.