Publisher: University of California Press, 2000. 332 pages. Language: English.Through informative discussions of dozens of classic and contemporary films — from Bringing Up Baby to Terms of Endearment, from Stagecoach to Reservoir Dogs — this lively book provides the first full-length study of the use of dialogue in American film.
Sarah Kozloff shows why dialogue has been neglected in the analysis of narrative film and uncovers the essential contributions dialogue makes to a film's development and impact. She uses narrative theory and drama theory to analyze the functions that dialogue typically serves in a film.
The second part of the book is a comprehensive discussion of the role and nature of dialogue in four film genres: westerns, screwball comedies, gangster films, and melodramas. Focusing on topics such as class and ethnic dialects, censorship, and the effect of dramatic irony, Kozloff provides an illuminating new perspective on film genres.Contents:Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Study of Filmic Speech
Part One. General Characteristics
The Functions of Dialogue in Narrative Film
Structural and Stylistic Variables
Integration
Part Two. Dialogue and Genre.
Verbal Frontiers: Dialogue in Westerns
Word Play: Dialogue in Screwball Comedies
Words as Weapons: Dialogue in Gangster Films
Misunderstandings: Dialogue in Melodramas
Conclusion
Notes
Select Filmography
Bibliography
Index
