The End by Richard Newpert
Given the importance that spectators grant to the final moments of a motion picture, it is surprising to find so little written on how films end and how audiences interpret those closing moments. This study investigates endings in film and the lively role they play in how and why viewers make sense of movies. Relying upon contemporary literary criticism and film theory, the author analyses narrative strategies in films ranging from the classical Hollywood motion picture to the more modern European art cinema. To assist readers in understanding the various functions of endings, the films are divided into four critical categories: the Closed Text film, typical of classical works; the Open Story films; the Open Discourse film; and the Open Text film which struggles to defy story resolution. Detailed textual analysis of sample films reveal how all of the devices of filmic narration - from mise-en-scene to soundtracks - direct a viewer's perception, comprehension and interpretation of closure in films. Among the sample films that are featured as test cases for studying endings are The Quiet Man (Ford, 1950), The 400 Blows (Truffaut, 1959), Weekend (Godard, 1967), Tout va bien (Godard, 1972), and Earth (Dovzhenko, 1930). To round out his informative study of endings in films, Neupert also examines a host of diverse titles, including Do the Right Thing (Lee, 1989), Open City (Rossellini, 1945) and The Graduate (Nichols, 1967).
Richard Neupert is Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Film Studies at the University of Georgia. He is the author of The End: Closure and Narration in the Cinema and his translations include Aesthetics of Film and French New Wave: An Artistic School.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780814325254 |
| ISBN 10 | 0814325254 |
| Title | The End |
| Author | Richard Newpert |
| Series | Contemporary Film And Television S |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Wayne State University Press |
| Year published | 1995-02-01 |
| Number of pages | 208 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |