The 12-Hour Film Expert: Everything You Need to Know about Movies

by Noah Charney, James Charney

Overview

The only book you need to become an expert on film history, technique, and appreciation. This "gateway book will deepen readers’ appreciation of milestone movies." (Library Journal)

If you are looking at this book, then you probably love watching movies and television shows. Who doesn’t? But most of us do so as passive entertainment—to wind down, relax, and escape into alternative worlds. Pay close attention though, and you can enhance your movie-watching experience and deepen your appreciation for the art of film. This book will show you how.

In The 12-Hour Film Expert, Noah Charney and James Charney offer readers all they need to know about how films are made and how to watch them in a more thoughtful way. Through twelve chapters covering a wide array of genres and periods, the authors highlight key films in each area of focus and explore important figures and more recent films to help readers develop their core understanding of films, ranging from comedies to silent films, noirs to romances, and everything in between.

Most importantly though, readers will learn how to truly watch movies. The 12-Hour Film Expert asks essential questions: What did the key films do differently? How did they push the envelope, establish new precedents? The result is a capsule-sized “course” in film appreciation. The only book readers need to master their grasp of film history, technique, and appreciation, it is perfect for movie lovers of all ages. Grab the popcorn and settle in!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538173428
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/18/2024
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Noah Charney, PhD is the internationally best-selling author of more than a dozen books, translated into fourteen languages, including The Collector of Lives: Giorgio Vasari and the Invention of Art, which was nominated for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Biography, and Museum of Lost Art, which was the finalist for the 2018 Digital Book WorldAward. He is a professor of art history specializing in art crime, and has taught for Yale University, Brown University, American University of Rome, and University of Ljubljana. He is founder of ARCA, the Association for Research into Crimes against Art, a ground-breaking research group, and teaches on their annual summer-long Postgraduate Program in Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection. He writes regularly for dozens of major magazines and newspapers, including The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Observer,and The Art Newspaper. His other books published by Rowman & Littlefield include The Devil in the Gallery: How Scandal, Shock and Rivalry Shaped the Art World ; Making It: The Artist’s Survival Guide; The 12-Hour Art Expert: Everything You Need To Know About Art in a Dozen Masterpieces; and Gold Wine. He lives in Slovenia with his wife, children and their hairless dog, Hubert van Eyck. Learn more at www.noahcharney.com.

James Charney, MD has loved movies since taking the first class in film history offered at Columbia College. He became the very definition of an amateur: a self-taught lover of film, film history, and film craft and ultimately developed a popular seminar at Yale College called Madness at the Movies. He has given talks on film history and taught courses and workshops based on the Yale seminar at The American University in Rome, Arcadia University in Rome, The University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, and the Yale Alumni College, and it is the basis of his first book, Madness at the Movies (2023). He and his wife, Diane, spend half the year in New Haven, Connecticut, where he continues to teach in the Medical School at Yale, and half the year at their home in Umbria, Italy, to be near their son, Noah, and his wife and 2 daughters who all share his passion for the movies.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Invention of the Movies

A Trip to the Moon, The Great Train Robbery

Chapter 2: The Golden Age of Silent Movies

The Gold Rush, Sunrise, or A Song of Two Humans

Chapter 3: Classic Hollywood

Casablanca, Citizen Kane

Chapter 4: The Western

Stagecoach, The Searchers, Red River

Chapter 5: Film Noir

Double Indemnity, Out of the Past, Touch of Evil, Chinatown

Chapter 6: Comedy

Bringing Up Baby, Airplane!, When Harry Met Sally

Chapter 7: Musicals

Top Hat, Singing in the Rain, Moulin Rouge

Chapter 8: Suspense

The Wages of Fear, The Birds, The Italian Job

Chapter 9: Horror

Cat People, Halloween, The Babadook

Chapter 10: Action

The Bourne Identity, Nobody, Run Lola Run

Chapter 11: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Superhero Films

X-Men, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Chapter 12: International Art House

Bicycle Thieves, Seven Samurai, Nostalghia

The Movie Playlist

Behind the Scenes Movie Job Titles

Recommended Reading

Notes

Index

About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

The best and most practical companion to cinema that I've read.

Franc Roddam

After 25 years in the film business, I found Noah Charney and James Charney’s book an enjoyable and informative walk-through motion picture history. Recommended reading for anyone wanting to learn about the origins and evolution of cinema.

James Clayton

Orson Welles famously told Dick Cavett “the whole bag of movies can be learned in about a day and half.” Well, perhaps for Orson Welles. But I do believe one can quickly learn cinema history and this book is a wonderful introduction to the magic of movies, giving a great foundation for any aspiring Cinephile.

Joseph Greco

This book is a great tool against the know-it-all mentality prevailing on social media. Read it and you will know what you are talking about when you talk about film.

Miha Mazzini

How long does it take to read a book that comes in at a smidge less than 250 pages? The father-and-son team of James and Noah Charney want you to know that their cinematic primer, The 12-Hour Film Expert; Everything You Need to Know about Movies, will clock in at the appointed time. At which point, you’ll be ready to win friends and influence people with your knowledge about critical flicker fusion.

New York Sun

Finally! I've always wondered why there isn't a book with a brief history of film, as a textbook for beginners and at the same time a guide for connoisseurs. And now my wish came true! Thanks to the Charneys for filling that gap. Whether the reader is a film consumer or a creator, this book is a useful treat. I swallowed it myself in one gulp, certainly in less than twelve hours.

Branko Ðuric

The perfect introduction for anyone interested in a comprehensive guide to the entertainment industry. An enjoyable blend of informative history that both illuminates and engages Hollywood enthusiasts. Level up on how to watch, understand, and enjoy film.

Adam Alcabes

Finally! I've always wondered why there isn't a book with a brief history of film, as a textbook for beginners and at the same time a guide for connoisseurs. And now my wish came true! Thanks to the Charneys for filling that gap. Whether the reader is a film consumer or a creator, this book is a useful treat. I swallowed it myself in one gulp, certainly in less than twelve hours.

Branko Djuric