Second Takes: A Fresh Look at Classic World Cinema: Essays

Gain a Fresh Perspective on Classic World Cinema Without Getting Lost in Theories

Imagine applying proven film criticism principles to any movie you watch, enriching your experience exponentially.

"Second Takes" is a collection of fifty essays, each of which delves into the cultural, artistic, and technical aspects that make these films enduring masterpieces, providing readers with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the art of cinema. Readers will learn how to analyze films more thoughtfully, uncovering hidden themes, stylistic nuances, and cultural implications. Also included are overlooked or rarely discussed films, expanding your cinematic knowledge beyond the obvious.

Naser Mojtahed, an accomplished movie critic with a deep understanding of the medium, guides you through the captivating world of film criticism. Imagine having a curated list of vast resources at your fingertips, allowing you to deepen your understanding of the art of cinema even further.

In this book, you will discover:

• How our primary emotional response to what we see on the screen shapes our intellectual reaction.
• The composition of a scene, including camera movements and the relationship between characters and the camera, known as mise en scène, works together to guide the viewer's focus and convey underlying themes.
• How our primary emotional response to what we see on the screen shapes our intellectual reaction.
• American cinema, often regarded as mere entertainment, possesses a profound aesthetic depth that is frequently underestimated by audiences.
• Why do critics often consider American cinema to be an entertainment with no artistic value?
• Identifying distinctive directorial signatures and how the masters of cinema leave their mark on their films.
• Understanding different movements in film history and how they left their impact on other filmmakers not involved with the movement.
• What was the role of Auteur theory in introducing a new perspective in film criticism?
• How did the prominent European directors struggle to make movies in Hollywood?
• Extensive chapters on Bunuel, Renoir, and Japanese cinema, featuring Ozu and Mizoguchi, provide an excellent perspective for further study of these great filmmakers.

Pick up a copy of the book today and begin your fascinating journey in the world of film criticism.

"Naser Mojtahed’s film criticism is lively, eclectic, and well-informed on film history and aesthetics. His is a bright new voice ranging widely through the world of cinema past and present, analyzing films shrewdly, often provocatively, and always in a generously open way that encourages dialogue with the reader. Second Takes is a rewarding and insightful intellectual journey." —Joseph McBride, author of Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge, Frankly: Unmasking Frank Capra, John Ford, and Hawks on Hawks

“Second Takes is a first-rate discourse on the enduring gems of world cinema and the directors who made them by a writer who packs a great deal of insight and information into short supple essays. Naser Mojtahed is deeply familiar with the scholars and critics who preceded him, benefitting for example from those who led to the reappraisal of so many of the American films. But the essays are all his own, fresh and personal and a delight to any lover of film.” —Molly Haskell, celebrated film critic and author