Questions for Review
- How is movie acting today different from
movie acting from the 1930s through the
1960s?
- Why is the relationship between the actor and
the camera so important in making and look-
ing at movies?
- How did the coming of sound influence movie
acting and actors?
- What’s the difference between movie stars
and movie actors? Why do some critics
emphasize that movie stars are a commodity
created by the movie industry?
- What factors influence the casting of actors in
a movie?
- How are naturalistic and nonnaturalistic
movie acting different?
- What is improvisational acting?
- How do framing, composition, lighting, and
the long take affect the acting in a movie?
- Given the range of techniques available to
movie actors, why do we say that their most
basic skill is understanding how to reveal
themselves to the camera during the close-up?
- What do you regard as the most important
criteria in analyzing acting?
Movies Described or Illustrated in This Chapter
About Schmidt(2002). Alexander Payne, director.
Apocalypse Now (1979). Francis Ford Coppola,
director.
Applause(1929). Rouben Mamoulian, director.
Avatar (2010). James Cameron, director.
The Big Trail(1930). Raoul Walsh, director.
Birth(2004). Jonathan Glazer, director.
Blow(2001). Ted Demme, director.
Blue Valentine(2010). Derek Cianfrance, director.
Broken Blossoms(1919). D. W. Griffith, director.
Burn after Reading(2008). Ethan Coen and Joel
Coen, directors.
Carrie(1976). Brian De Palma, director.
Chinatown(1974). Roman Polanski, director.
Chocolat(2000). Lasse Hallström, director.
Citizen Kane(1941). Orson Welles, director.
Coal Miner’s Daughter(1980). Michael Apted, director.
Collateral(2004). Michael Mann, director.
Donnie Brasco (1997). Mike Newell, director.
East of Eden(1955). Elia Kazan, director.
Edward Scissorhands(1990). Tim Burton, director.
Ed Wood(1994). Tim Burton, director.
Eyes Wide Shut(1999). Stanley Kubrick, director.
Fargo(1996). Joel Coen, director.
Finding Neverland(2004). Marc Forster, director.
Giant(1956). George Stevens, director.
The Godfather(1972). Francis Ford Coppola, director.
Henry V(1944). Laurence Olivier, director.
The Hudsucker Proxy(1994). Joel Coen, director.
DVDThe tutorials for this chapter examine two
influences on both actors’ performances and our
perception of those performances: persona and film
editing.
MOVIES DESCRIBED OR ILLUSTRATED IN THIS CHAPTER 337
StudyspaceGo to wwnorton.com/movies
to test and expand your knowledge of the key con-
cepts in this chapter.
