Questions for Review
- What is the difference between narration and
narrator? - What are the differences between omniscient
and restricted narration? - What are the differences between (a) the cam-
era narrator and a first-person narrator and
(b) a first-person narrator and a third-person
narrator? - Can a major character be flat? Can a minor
character be round? Explain your answer. - What is the climax, and how does it relate to
the protagonist’s pursuit of the goal? - How (and why) do we distinguish between the
story and the plot of a movie? - What is meant by the diegesis of a story?
What is the difference between diegetic and
nondiegetic elements in the plot? - What are major and minor events each sup-
posed to do for the movie’s plot? - Which of the following is the most common
relationship of screen duration to story dura-
tion: summary relationship, real time, or
stretch relationship? Define each one. - What is the difference between suspense and
surprise? Which one is more difficult for a
filmmaker to create?
Movies Described or Illustrated in This Chapter
The Apartment(1960). Billy Wilder, director.
Badlands(1973). Terrence Malick, director.
Battleship Potemkin (1925). Sergei Eisenstein,
director.
The Big Lebowski(1988). Joel Coen, director.
The Birds(1963). Alfred Hitchcock, director.
Black Swan(2010). Darren Aronofsky, director.
Blade Runner(1982). Ridley Scott, director.
Blue Velvet(1986). David Lynch, director.
Citizen Kane (1941). Orson Welles, director.
Days of Heaven(1978). Terrence Malick, director.
District 9(2009). Neill Blomkamp, director.
Dog Day Afternoon(1975). Sidney Lumet, director.
Dogville(2003). Lars von Trier, director.
Double Indemnity(1944). Billy Wilder, director.
An Education(2009). Lone Scherfig, director.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off(1986). John Hughes, director.
The Fighter(2010). David O. Russell, director.
Funny Games(2007). Michel Haneke, director.
Gladiator(2000). Ridley Scott, director.
Great Expectations(1946). David Lean, director.
Great Expectations(1998). Alfonso Cuarón, director.
The Hurt Locker(2008). Kathryn Bigelow, director.
Iron Man(2008). Jon Favreau, director.
Irréversible(2002). Gaspar Noé, director.
Kung Fu Panda(2008). Mark Osborne and John
Stevenson, directors.
The Last Emperor (1987). Bernardo Bertolucci,
director.
The Last Laugh(1924). F. W. Murnau, director.168 CHAPTER 4 ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE
DVDThe tutorials for this chapter cover
narration, narrators, and narrative; diegetic and
nondiegetic elements; and suspense and surprise.StudyspaceGo to wwnorton.com/movies
to test and expand your knowledge of the key con-
cepts in this chapter.