Film Discussion Group:
Event Calendar and Film Resource Guide


About   |   Calendar   |   Film Guides   |   Film List   |   Links


Homewood Public Library Film Group

About


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.

Calendar


June 4, 2008 -- Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Film Film Discussion: Darjeeling Limited

July 2, 2008 -- Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Film Film Discussion: Jacob's Ladder

August 6, 2008 -- Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Film Film Discussion: The Searchers

Top of Page

Film Guides

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.

January 2, 2008 The Circle
December 5, 2007 Fanny and Alexander
November 7, 2007 The Candidate
October 3, 2007 Children of Men
August 29, 2007 The Triplets of Belleville
August 1, 2007 The Lower Depths
June 6, 2007 Nashville
May 2, 2007 Crash
April 4, 2007 Tampopo
March 7, 2007 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
February 7, 2007 Little Miss Sunshine
January 3, 2007 Winter Light
December 6, 2006 Spring Summer Fall Winter... and Spring
November 1, 2006 The African Queen
October 4, 2006 The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
September 7, 2006 Memento
August 2, 2006 The Constant Gardener
June 7, 2006 Murderball
May 3, 2006 Mystery Train
April 5, 2006 Cinema Paradiso
March 1, 2006 Perfumed Nightmare
February 1, 2006 Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
January 4, 2006 Auggie Wren's Christmas Story
December 7, 2005 Casablanca
November 2, 2005 An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
October 5, 2005 Passion Fish
September 7, 2005 Touch of Evil
August 3, 2005 Adaptation
June 8, 2005 Bagdad Cafe
May 4, 2005 Fellini's 8 1/2
April 6, 2005 The Seventh Seal
March 2, 2005 Stagecoach
February 2, 2005 Visions of Light
December 1, 2004 The Third Man
November 3, 2004 Dr. Strangelove
October 6, 2004 The Conversation
September 1, 2004 Rear Window
August 14, 2004 Bowling for Columbine
July 10, 2004 Mindwalk
June 12, 2004 Koyaanisqatsi
May 26, 2004 My Man Godfrey
April 28, 2004 Wild Strawberries
March 24, 2004 Grand Illusion
February 25, 2004 Modern Times
January 28, 2004 Manhattan

Top of Page

Film List

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.


Top of Page

Film Links

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/

Top of Page