Abstract
The paper looks at how Andre Bazin, in his discussion of how the cinematic and photographic media relate to the crisis of realism in Western art in the 19th and 20th centuries, argues that the popular belief that these media objectively reproduce reality gives these media a "credibility" among the general public that transcends that of the other arts. The paper explains the opposing views of Theodore Adorno, who argued that the origins of cinema in industrial production is of prime concern in analyzing the products and effects of this medium, Bazin contends that the "ideal" of the cinematic medium takes precedence over the incidental fact that it was developed by industrialists and business interests. The paper argues that while it is undeniable that film is created in the context of a cultural industry, Bazin's insights regarding the origins of its psychological power over the mass audience are critical to our appreciation of how film can function as a vehicle of both commercial and popular interests. The paper shows, however, how the theoretical perspectives of both Bazin and Adorno are flawed in not considering the complex relationship between cinema and "realism" in terms of style, aesthetics and the role of the author.

From the Paper
"This production by automatic means has radically affected our psychology of the image. The objective nature of photography confers on it a quality of credibility absent all other picture making. . . . (Bazin "Ontology" 13) Andre Bazin, in his discussion of how the cinematic and photographic media relate to the crisis of realism in Western art in the 19th and 20th centuries, argues that the popular belief that these media objectively..."

Tags:film, realism, theory

From the Paper
"Andre Bazin's concept of realism varied from a mere appreciation of the medium of cinema to an ideal encompassing the
whole of cinematic imagery. on the one hand, he emphasized the reality of the photographic image with its seeming ability to "copy" the visual aspect of the world. on the other, he very nearly worshipped the ability of some films and of some film makers to generate an illusion of a reality of which the camera appears to be a neutral spectator. The former is a physical realism founded in the literal transparency of film itself, and the other a rhetorical realism based in social criticism and psychological observation. Working between these two poles, Bazin outlines a bold theory of film that in being revealing is likewise open to attack.
Fundamental to Bazin's approach is a view of cinema as.."

Abstract
This paper explores, compares, and contrasts the theories of Eisenstein and Bazin, two of the most prominent figures in film theory. Specifically, the author examines how the two approach the use of montage (editing) to construct meaning in the mind of the viewer.

From the Paper
"The groundbreaking contributions Sergei Eisenstein and Andre Bazin made to film theory cemented this pair's place in history as two of the field's most prolific figures. These men's ideas changed the face of cinema and their influence on subsequent generations of filmmakers cannot be denied. One area that dominates the theoretical musings of both writers is the idea of montage. While the two essentially agree on the definition of this abstruse concept, they diverge on how it works to construct meaning in the spectator's mind. Each theorist's discourse certainly has its intrinsic merit however, Bazin's theory proves itself superior to that of his Russian counterpart due to his desire to surmount the limitations of traditional, "analytical" montage and restore what the Frenchman terms "ambiguity of expression"to the cinema. Eisenstein, on the other hand, is so preoccupied with montage's effect on the viewer that he ignores other essential elements, such as Bazin's conception of the "image," that also play an important role in interpreting what is shown on the screen."

Tags:bazin, eisenstein, film, movies, theory

Abstract
This paper discusses the evolution and success of the western genre of filmmaking. It discusses Andre Bazin's "The Western: Or the American Film Par Excellence" in which he analyzes this genre. It describes Bazin's arguments, as well as his comparison of the western to the courtly romances of the medieval era in their focus on the chaste woman and his comparison of them to the Russian revolutionary genre.

From the Paper
"To Bazin, the only other modern epic cinema was the Russian revolutionary genre, which had some parallels to the western: both showed a new society undergoing its tumultuous birth pangs, imposing a new order and morality upon a vast canvas of human activity during a fleeting historical moment. Bazin concludes that, like the mythologized history of the Russian revolution, the story of the American west would have been relegated to much lesser international prominence were it not for the power of the moving image to universalize human experience."

Tags:epic, cinema, historical

Abstract
This paper looks at the theories of Andre Bazin and Theodore Adorno about the human condition in modern film. The author contends that, while it is undeniable that film is created in the context of a cultural industry as Adorno suggests, Bazin's insights regarding the origins of its psychological power over the mass audience are critical to the appreciation of how film can function as a vehicle of both commercial and popular interests. The paper shows how the theoretical perspectives of both Bazin and Adorno are flawed in not considering the complex relationship between cinema and "realism" in terms of style, aesthetics and the role of the author.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Divergent Views on Cinema, Its History and Functions
The Human Factor - Cinema and Realism

From the Paper
"This argument is flawed in two respects: first, it ignores the fact that Welles was an "outsider" of the Hollywood system from the earliest days of his career, and far from being "forgiven" he was persecuted by the industry and its major business backers such as Randolph Hearst; and second, the problem of the "auteur" is not isolated to Welles or even a handful of cinematic innovators. Indeed, the history of cinema - even Hollywood cinema in the era of the major studios - is one of extraordinary creativity, innovation and dynamism."

Tags:audience, studio system, aesthetics symbolism welles

Abstract
This paper consist of four parts, each exploring a different genre of film. The first section gives a summary and analysis o fAndre Bazin's "The Western." This is followed by a comparative profile of the gangster and the Western hero. Next, the paper discusses a summary of film noir as an Intellectual Category. Finally, the paper analyzes an article entitled "Three Critical Approaches to The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum" by Volker Schlondorff and Margarethe Von Trotta.

From the Paper
"Summary of Andre Bazin's "The Western: Or the American Film Par Excellence" (1953) Bazin states that the western is the only genre whose origins can be traced to the start of cinema, and which is still thriving to this day. He admits that the quality of westerns may legitimately be disputable, but that the success of the genre has been steady and thus a measure of its health (Bazin 74). Bazin recognizes that the western genre, like all others, is subject to natural evolution and outside influences including various social dynamics, though he qualifies this admission by stating that such..."

Tags:film, analysis, theory

Abstract
The paper relates that the art in Italy during the 13th century was still under the strong influence of the Byzantine tradition. The paper explains that the artists were working in two dimensions thus neglecting all reality of three-dimensional space, and the figures lacked reality of expression and were treated in Bazin's words "like a playing card" (7). The paper discusses how within this heritage, Giotto di Bondone started his career creating an opus that would change the Italian as well as European art forever. Despite the fact that only a few works out of dozens are generally accepted as Giotto's, there seems to be little doubt among scholars that he initiated the revolution (Debres and Sandona 2).

From the Paper
"The art in Italy during the 13th century was still under the strong influence of the Byzantine tradition. The artists were working in two dimensions thus neglecting all reality of three-dimensional space. The figures lacked reality of expression and were treated in Bazin's words "like a playing card" (7). Within this heritage Giotto di Bondone started his career creating an opus that will change the Italian as well as European art forever. Despite the fact that only a few works out of dozens are generally accepted as Giotto's, there seems to be little doubt among scholars that he initiated the revolution (Debres and Sandona, 2)."

Tags:giotto, arena chapel, renaissance

Abstract
In this paper, the author focuses on two scenes from "The Bicycle Thief:" The restaurant scene and the final scene in which Antonio attempts to steal a bicycle. By focusing on these scenes, Bruno's role in the film as an ethical counterpoint to Antonio is made clear.

From the Paper
"In Victor de Sica's The Bicycle Thief (1948), the main character is Antonio, a working-class Italian living in Rome after the end of WWII and trying to support his family. However, equally important to the story is Antonio's son, Bruno. Throughout the film, there are many events, but it is through Bruno and the relationship between him and his father that they are given value and meaning. In some ways, de Sica uses Bruno as a "barometer of the condition of Antonio's spirit as he pursues his agonizing search for the lost bicycle (http://www.enl.umassd.edu/InteractiveCourse/Ethompson/bicyclethieves.html).""

Tags:andre, antonio, bazin, bruno, cinema, film, italian, italy, movie, neo, realism, victor, vittorio

Abstract
Championed by directors Jean Luc Godard and Fran ois Truffaut, the French directors were seeking to justify their own individualism as an answer to the lifting of the quota on American Films after World War II, which led to a flood of big budget Hollywood films into French movie houses. The paper shows that the French directors, unable to compete with the flash and panache of Hollywood, pointed out that individualism made their films stronger. They therefore anointed John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock and Hawks as the patron saints of the auteurs. This paper examines how Hawks' films, use of actors and apolitical emotions made him worthy of the French title.

From the Paper
"Hawks refused to be limited by labels, he refused to succumb to functional fixity. His most serious films have bits of humor and he was not adverse to turning a drama into a comedy or for that matter into a musical. During his career, though he got a "feel-good" award for lifetime achievement, he received few nominations and no Oscars during his career. Yet, he was one of the few directors who, productive and successful before the Second World War, remained commercially and artistically successful after the war. And when it comes to crossing genres his success to date is unparalleled. He was equally at home in comedy, westerns, aviation films and war dramas."

Tags:Andr?, Bazin, Alexandre, Astruc, Mary, Pickford, Carey, Grant

Abstract
An analysis of two genre films and two art films - Antonioni's "Blow Up," Kelly/Donen's "Singin' in the Rain", Truffaut's "The 400 Blows", and Sirk's "All That Heaven Allows". The validity of both genre and art film criticism are examined.

From the Paper
"By its failure to accommodate the excess generated by its subject matter, All That Heaven Allows is not only critiquing the genre of melodrama, it also exposes the contradictions and conflicts present in American bourgeois society (Bourget, 1995, 45). However the subversive excess and contradictions present in the film prevent it from being "just another melodrama". Sirk worked within yet against the constraints of the Hollywood studio system to subvert the genre, and although the film is superficially a generic 1950s Hollywood melodrama, Sirk's characteristic stylistic technique marks him as an auteur, a position usually associated with the art rather than the genre film."

Tags:Andr?, Bazin, Robert, Warshow, Lawrence, Alloway, Hollywood