Film Analysis Teacher Resources

The narrator of a film criticism episode on Sofia Coppola's bittersweet Lost In Translation asks viewers to consider the many aspects of relationships that Coppola suggests are lost in translation.

Beasts of No Nation, a gripping tale of child soldiers, is the focus of an analysis that examines the techniques director Cary Joji Fukunaga uses to create his horrifying yet deeply compassionate film.

What's your favorite movie? Citizen Kane (1941) leads off a playlist on film criticism playlist that examines films that hold up due to their historical context and/or quality and deserve a spot on a best films list.

The 1939 Oscar-winning Gone with the Wind, is the focus of an informational packet designed to be used with a viewing of the film. As part of their analysis, media students respond to a series of discussion points about the influence of...

In this, the third in a series of four resources that use Robert Wise's 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still as the core text, young film makers examine the language of film including shot composition, camera angle, lighting,...

How are films made? As part of their study of film, middle schoolers investigate the pre-production, production, and post-production process and consider the role of the director, the screenwriter, production designer, cinematographer,...

How important are sound effects in films? In stage plays? In radio programs? To gain an understanding of the impact of these special effects, class members watch a short video spoof of the sound in a scene from Star Wars: A New...

Some of the boldest films in history have been documentaries or experimental films. Explore non-narrative cinema and its avant-garde techniques with a short video about a creative faction in film history. Additionally, the video...

Everybody's a critic—even your pupils! Using the included resources as a guide, screen films related to social justice and ask film enthusiasts to critique them. Publish the reviews for your school community or develop a film festival...

New ventures and new technologies require new ways of referring to things. In stepped Edwin S. Porter, whose films Life of an American Fireman and The Great Train Robbery used parallel action and cross-cutting to develop his narratives....

The formulaic films that once thrilled audiences in the early part of the 20th century now seemed stale after the stark reality of World War II. Foreign films and American independent cinema answered the call for authenticity, leading to...

Hollywood is the place to go if you want to make movies—right? Not necessarily. A fascinating video about the history of 20th century Asian cinema discusses the reflections of Japanese culture in the works of directors Yasujiro Ozu,...

The 2014 film Selma is the focus of a film criticism video.  The narrator examines how director Ava DuVernay brought to the screen the story of the voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama and how she uses the tools of...

Guillermo del Toro's beautiful and bloody Pan's Labyrinth, a fantasy adventure/political drama, is the focus of the ninth episode of a film criticism playlist. The narrator looks at the film through two interpretative lenses: as a story...

Steven Soderbergh's The Limey may seem like a strange choice for one of the top ten films in a playlist on film criticism. The narrator makes clear that the story is a simple tale of revenge, but it is Soderbergh's filmmaking techniques...

Warning or prediction? Nineteen Eighty Four is the anchor text for a series of tasks that ask readers to compare the novel to the film as well as current events to those pictured in George Orwell's dystopian classic.

Did movies save America during the Great Depression? Or did the Great Depression save movies? Learn more about the Golden Age of Hollywood with a video that covers the five major film studios, the colorization of big budget movies, and...

Explore the rich history of African, Middle Eastern, and South American cinema with a video summary of the most prominent filmmakers from these regions in the 20th and 21st centuries. It discusses Egyptian filmmakers Asmaa El-Bakry and...

Lois Weber's ground breaking Where Are My Children is the focus of a film criticism video that explores not only Weber's treatment of the subject of abortion but also the techniques she developed to enhance the impact of her tale.

English-speaking viewers don't need to read the subtitles to understand Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood For Love. The colors, the music, and the framing of the shots so beautifully express the emotions of the characters that dialogue, in any...

An episode of a film history playlist looks at camera technology and the roles of the various operators. The narrator presents an overview of different types of film camera lenses, apertures, shutter speed, frame rates, ISO, and codex....

Sometimes the book is better than the movie; other times, the movie comes out on top. A video discusses the topic of novels and their film adaptations, pointing out specific texts and how the tale translated to the big screen. The...

Persistence of Vision? The Phi Phenomenon? Zoetropes? Camera Obscura? Kinetograph? What part do these concepts and inventions play in the history of movies? Find out with a short video that launches an informative playlist on film history.

Home movies have come a long way from projecting 8mm film onto a wrinkled sheet on the living room wall. Learn about the ways home movie technology has evolved alongside the film industry with a video that covers techniques such as the...