
Film Discussion Group:
Event Calendar and Film Resource Guide
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Since January 2004, Homewood Public Library has offered a film
discussion group for the community to share its views of film,
filmmakers, performers, cinematic and cultural trends.
Each
program focuses on the discussion of a selected film and includes
supporting study materials, including discussion questions, cultural
context, film history, bibliographies, and other recommendations
prepared by the group’s moderator.
As the film group is
oriented toward the discussion of the program materials, the selected
films are not screened in their entirety; however, in some cases,
excerpts are shown. Group members are encouraged to obtain copies of the
film through the library, the Metropolitan Library System
interlibrary-loan program or other means, and view at home before the
group is scheduled to meet.
The group is open to the public, with meetings to be held at 7:00 pm
on the first Wednesday of each month, in the library's meeting room.
Dates, times and film titles are advertised in the library’s newsletter,
the monthly calendar, and this website. Please check back regularly for
updates.
June 4, 2008 -- Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Film Discussion: Darjeeling Limited
July 2, 2008 -- Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Film Discussion: Jacob's Ladder
August 6, 2008 -- Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Film Discussion: The Searchers
The following articles are the program notes for each film discussed by the Film Group. Included in these pages are discussion questions, film history, movie posters and stills, recommended viewing, lists of supplemental readings, and other related information. If you were unable to attend the discussion, this material may help you to better appreciate each respective film.
Note: In order to view these items, you will need Adobe Reader.
If you do not already have this program, download the reader free of charge.
The following list of title suggestions is merely intended to
generate interest in the film series and to stand as a list of films
to get the group started in thinking about films for discussion. Group
members choose the course of the series, either from this list or
their own interests.
Note: Links in this list lead to each film's entry at
Allmovie.com, and will open in a new window.
For further information on the films in this series, or film in
general, we’ve assembled the following list of electronic resources.
Before heading off to visit these sites, please take a moment to
read this disclaimer.
Links checked and new sites added September 17, 2007.
Allmovie.com
One of the most comprehensive, searchable databases of
movie-related information. Users can search by title, cast, plot and
keyword descriptors, as well as browse sections devoted to movie
news, new releases, glossary of terms, essays and more. Constantly
being updated, today it covers over 260,000 films, 380,000 actors,
25,000 star biographies, with 1,170,000 cast credits, and 870,000
production credits.
http://allmovie.com/
American Film Institute
"The American Film Institute (AFI) is the preeminent national
organization dedicated to advancing and preserving film, television
and other forms of the moving image. AFI's programs promote
innovation and excellence through teaching, presenting, preserving
and redefining this art form." Look for their irresistible and provocative series of
lists commemorating over a century of the finest in American Film.
http://www.afi.com/tv/movies.asp
Cinema: How Hollywood Films are Made
An interactive opportunity to explore the various aspects of
moviemaking, from screenwriting, directing, and producing to acting
and editing. Here you can try your hand at writing a movie scene or
managing a film, and learn about framing camera shots and all that
mysterious movie
jargon.
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/cinema/
Film 100
The authors of the Film 100 gathered a list of film's most
important visionaries whose works both directly and indirectly
created changes in the way films were made, seen, distributed, and
preserved. Each entry offers detailed context to a film’s making and
background, with character analysis, and a clear, scene-by-scene
synopsis, with copious descriptions of action and long segments of
dialogue included.
http://www.filmsite.org/film100.html
The Film Site: The Greatest Films
This site specializes in classic Hollywood films, with
detailed overviews of many of the “greatest films" in cinematic
history. Features 100 selected greatest films including greatest
moments, famous scenes, a famous film quotes quiz & hundreds of
vintage movie posters. Features a special section on film genres and
links to major film search engines.
http://www.filmsite.org/
The Internet Movie Database
An international volunteer effort covering nearly 420,000
movies and TV programs, this searchable database includes
filmographies; plot summaries; character names; movie ratings; movie
trivia; quotes; goofs; soundtracks; genres; production companies;
reference literature; a glossary of movie terminology; detailed
technical data; and Academy Award information.
http://us.imdb.com/
The Movie Review Query Engine
A vast index of movie reviews from a broad variety of
sources. All reviews are available in full text, and each movie is
also linked to the appropriate page in the Internet Movie Database.
http://www.mrqe.com/
Senses of Cinema
"Senses of Cinema is an online journal devoted to the serious and eclectic discussion of cinema. [We are] primarily concerned with ideas about particular films or bodies of work, but also with the regimes (ideological, economic and so forth) under which films are produced and viewed, and with the more abstract theoretical and philosophical issues raised by film study. Our readership is a genuinely diverse group, bringing together people from a wide range of backgrounds, professions and interests but bound by a single common element: an informed, passionate and serious attitude toward cinema as an art. We recognise that an art as ephemeral and ethereal as cinema continues to fascinate, provoke, inspire, turn on, and evolve. Above all, we seek to facilitate approaches to cinema that present new possibilities for exploring, experiencing and imagining the world we live in."
http://www.sensesofcinema.com/