This module introduces you, via the detailed examination of one mainstream film, to the complex aspects of film production, distribution, marketing, and reception. In other words, it is a module that is about the analysis of the context of a film - everything around and about it - except the finished film, or
text, itself. Pre-production, production, post-production, marketing, and exhibition of the film in question are scrutinised in order to ascertain the nature of the mainstream film industry as an economic and industrial institution. The reception to the chosen film, by audiences and critics, is also analysed. The module's main theme is the miraculous nature of film production given the chaotic circumstances in which the industry functions.

You will participate in a weekly three-hour (3 hour) session, which will incorporate a variety of activities. These will include: screenings of relevant documentary or film material; small group research or analysis exercises; student feedback on research undertaken between sessions, either in groups or individually; and discussions of module issues.

The Film Theatre, including its surround sound system and high quality digital VHS/DVD projection
facility.
The Blackboard virtual learning environment will be available (where relevant) to support this module. Details will be supplied in the module handbook.

Books about the Film Industry, Specific Productions, or Individual Producers, Writers, or Directors
Peter Bart: The Gross, London: St. Martin's Press 1999
Peter Bart: Shoot Out, London: Faber and Faber 2003
William Goldman: Which Lie Did I Tell? London: Bloomsbury 2001
Thomas Schatz: The Genius of the System (about the 'Golden Age' of Hollywood) London: Random House 1989
Magazines, Newspapers, and Periodicals
Empire
The Guardian (on Fridays)
Screen International
Variety
The Internet Movie Database
MODULE WEBSITE: www.staffs.ac.uk/cinema

AN EMPIRICAL AND CRITICAL SURVEY OF A REVIEW AND PUBLIC CINEMA SCREENING OF A CURRENT FILM RELEASE