Brainstorming
Discuss the following questions in your group:
1) Whats the title of your favourite film or series? Why are you fond of it?
2) Do you think that making a screen version of a book is a good idea? How many successful screen versions of novels do you know?
3) To your mind whats the most promising film genre in Russia/the UK/the USA?
Vocabulary
| action film - adventure film comedy - crime film drama - horror film - musical- mute film science fiction film - thriller , tragedy - western ( ) fantasy - screen version (of the novel) blockbuster () | independent film black-and-white film - colour film feature film art house documentary film educational film historical film full-length film short-length film (40-50) 3D / 3-D (3-dimensional) 2D / 2-D (2-dimensional) Cartoon series (TV series) |
1. In the table below you can see the age-rating systems ( ) of the UK, the USA and Russia. Discuss them with a partner pointing out the following things:
- any similarities of the three systems;
- peculiarities of each one;
- which one of them is the most efficient to your mind, give reasons to your answers.
| THE UK |
| U (Universal) One cannot predict what might upset a particular child; a U film should be suitable for audiences aged 3 and older. PG (Parental Guidance) General viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. 12A (12 Accompanied) Recommended for 12 years and older. People under 12 years must be accompanied by an adult. Nobody younger than 12 may rent or buy a 12 rated video. 15 Suitable only for 15 years and older. Nobody younger than 15 may see a 15 film in a cinema, rent or buy it. 18 Suitable only for adults. Nobody younger than 18 may see an 18 film in a cinema, rent or buy it. These films may contain extreme gore (), violence () or sexually explicit c o ntent. R18 (Restricted 18) To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas and to adults that are older than 18 years old. These films contain pornographic content. |
| THE USA |
| G (General Audiences) All ages admitted. These films may not contain rude language. PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) These films are generally inappropriate for young children and may contain milder swear words (), crude or suggestive humor, infrequent horror moments or mild violence. PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned) Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. These films may contain explicit language, drug innuendo, suggestive humor, political themes, long horror moments, blood. R (Restricted) Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. These films may contain strong violence often with blood and gore, strong horror scenes and explicit drug use. NC-17 (No One 17 and Under Admitted) These films are adult and children are not admitted. These films may contain strong graphic violence with a large amount of blood or other elements that are strictly prohibited from viewing by minors (). |
| RUSSIA |
| (0+) (Film allowed for any age) All ages are admitted. No age restrictions. (6+) , 6 (Film for those above 6) Unsuitable for children under 6. (12+) 12 (Film allowed for children under 12 if theyre accompanied by parents) Parental guidance under 12 years. (16+) 16 (Film for those above 16) Unsuitable for children under 16. Film has violence, fear or excessive blood shed. (18+) 18 (Film for those above 18) Unsuitable for children under 18. Film has discrimination, violence or bare bodies. , (Refused classification) Banned (). |
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Choose the word that fits the content of the sentence best.
1) That horror /crime film really messed me up ( -)! It was so gripping () and even scary at times, and until the very end I could not believe they were going to catch the killer, but it all ended well, the clever detective saved the day ( , ). 2) I just cant stand such films, alright. During the whole film I was waiting for something mat u re, some problem maybe, which would have made me think about life, instead of the never ending car-chase and shooting, but well what did I expect from a thriller /an action film. 3) Oh my! This new film in the cinema was just splendid, Ive never seen a western/ musical before, and all the singing and dancing was really to my taste. 4) Im not a big fan of thrillers/ science fiction, but this time the tension in the film even told on me, up to the last fifteen minutes I was convinced that the government was behind the whole thing! 5) It was the first 3-D film Ive watched, and only later I found out that it was a screen version /science fiction. And although I was convinced that the original was a waste of time I still took the time to read it. 6) I never expected a comedy/ TV-series to be my cup of tea, really. I always thought that plots of such kind are very easy to come up with, but I was utterly wrong. Having watched it, seeing how well the humor is presented Ive fallen in love with the genre. 7) I heard that independent films are/ art-house is not for every viewer, that it is an experimental genre rather than entertaining, but to my surprise there are many people who like it. 8) Compared to the Hollywood blockbusters, which are devoid of soul ( ), art-house/ independent films tacklemore mature and acute topics and are not limited by ratings and box-office.
Match the columns.
| 1. Crime film 2. Blockbuster 3. Fantasy 4. Documentary film 5. Full-length film 6. Western 7. Thriller 8. Musical | a)a film of standard or customary length; b)a film with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or e spionage; c)a film, about cowboys in western North America, set especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; d)a film in which singing and dancing play an essential part; e)a film that is very popular and successful, usually because it is very exciting; f)a film which focuses on the lives of criminals; dealing with crime and its detection; g)a genre of imaginative fiction involving magic and adventure, especially in a setting other than the real world; h)a film that provides a factual report on a particular subject. |
F, 2 - e, 3 - g, 4 -h, 5 -a, 6 - c, 7 - b, 8 - d
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4. Paraphrase the following sentences using the active vocabulary from Lesson 1, Lesson 2 and Lesson 3.
1) The music in the film (the musical score of the film) was breathtaking; moreover it matched the atmosphere of the film where the main character faces a series of challenges (drama), with lots of shooting scenes. Surely they must have added something after the film was shot with the help of the computer graphics (during the edit), but the cameramans choice of shots, like that one where the cameraman followed the main character (like tracking shot) during the car-chase, were brilliant. 2) A person who writes a script for a film (A script writer) probably does the hardest thing in the filmmaking process. Theres no denying that the process of getting a crew together, choosing the actors to play the main parts (casting the actors), getting it all on camera (shooting it) is no easy one, but to compose a plot, to think of an interesting twist at the end, creating complex, round characters, writing scene directions like to use the man-made light (artificial light), its position is the monumental work, the crucial one. If done negligently the whole output is ruined. 3) That movie was shot with the help of technology simulating the effect of depth by presenting slightly different views of a scene to each eye (in 3-D); you people really cannot imagine what Ive experienced. Even though it was just a film about a criminal and a clever detective (a crime film), some shots were really impressive. But on the whole the amount of computer graphics (special effects) added after the shooting had been finished was not huge. 4) Despite the fact that this film was shorter than the average film (it was a short-length film), plus was not funded by any large company (it was not financed by a big company) it still evoked some deep feelings in me. And Ive nearly forgotten to mention that it was not a colored film (it was a black-and-white film). 5) Petes never watched anything longer than a standard film, that is why watching a set episodes which have the same title (a TV-series) was so thrilling for him. Moreover, he had pointed out that the written form of the plot (a script) was well-structured, and all the actors playing the main characters (starred in the film) were doing their utmost. So, the end result (a final cut) produced a powerful effect on him. 6) Nowadays too many scenes are shot in studios, using a special screen (a green/blue screen) in order to substitute the actual background with computer generated one later (to obscure the image). But when I compare todays blockbusters to some films shot in the 20th century I cannot say which ones have more value. Even the background music (the original soundtrack)I s more original in some instances. 7) When I watched the series of extracts from this film used to advance publicity (a trailer to this movie) to this scary movie (horror film)I was overjoyed. I truly believed it would meet my expectations. But in reality when the list with acknowledging contributors role (credit titles) were finally displayed at the end of a film I gave out a sigh of relieve. 8) When Mike saw some kids trying to shoot their own film he was inspired by them. So he went to the shop and bought a device to record video (a camera)and a three-legged stand for supporting that device (and a tripod) and wanted to shoot a film with the main plot being a quest for lost continents (shoot a fantasy). But as it turned out without a good crew he was unable to fulfill his dream.
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Reading
5. What do you know about the film genres? Match the titles of the popular films from the left column (1-10) with the proper genres from the right column (a-j).
| 1. Pulp Fiction (1994); 2. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (2001); 3. Die Hard (1988); 4. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993); 5. The Phantom of the Opera (2004); 6. Fight Club (1999); 7. Back to the Future (1985); 8. Breaking Bad (2008); 9. Silent Hill (2006); 10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). | a)action film; b)adventure film; c)horror film; d)crime film; e)musical; f)fantasy; g)series; h)drama; i)cartoon; j)science fiction film. |
1 - d, 2 - f, 3 - a, 4 - i, 5 - e, 6 - h, 7 - j, 8 - g, 9 - c, 10 b
6. Divide into 3 groups and read one film review by Roger Ebert, a famous film critic and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1975), choosing from Text 3, Text 4 or Text 5:
- do 3 exercises given after the text youve chosen;
- make up 3 questions for your group-mates based on the text;
- prepare a summary (see Appendix 1).
