CHIRIMBU

SEBASTIAN DESPINA

BRIEF ENCOUNTER
WITH
WORLD CINEMA

English Practical Course

Editura DOCUCENTER,
Bacău 2011
 Despina CHIRIMBU este absolventă a Facultăţii de Limbi Străine, Institutul de Limbi
Germanice (secţia engleză-germană) a Universităţii din Bucureşti şi ulterior a Facultăţii de
Comerţ Exterior. Cu o bogată experienţă (39 ani) în domeniul traducerilor şi al limbii engleze
specializate, în prezent este cadru didactic universitar asociat al Facultăţii de Arte din cadrul
Universităţii „Hyperion” din Bucureşti. Este autoare de manuale şi cursuri de limba
engleză în domeniul instituţiilor europene, afacerilor internaţionale, statistică dar şi studii
shakespeariene. A publicat diverse articole despre discursul politic şi economia europeană.

Sebastian CHIRIMBU este absolvent al Facultaţii de Limbi şi Literaturi Străine şi doctor în

Filologie. Cu o experienţă didactică de 12 ani atât în învăţământul preuniversitar cât şi
universitar, este specialist în terminologie comunitară europeană, în prezent fiind lector
universitar la Departamentul de Limbaje Specializate (LLS) şi mentor-formator de programe
CNFPA (managementul proiectelor educaţionale şi culturale). Este autor de manuale şi
cursuri universitare (în domeniul financiar-bancar, instituţional sau diplomatic), a publicat
poezii dar şi articole în domeniul globalizării culturale şi lingvistice.

Lucrarea Brief Encounter with World Cinema este un curs interesant de limba engleză care se
adresează studenţilor cu specializarea Arte-Cinema-Regie care doresc să îşi perfecţioneze limba
străină; aceasta se referă nu doar la comunicarea personală în limba engleză, ci şi la cea legată de
profesiune. Cursul oferă, în primul rând, noţiuni lexicale importante, numeroase aplicaţii , dar şi un
vocabular alfabetic cu 49 termeni specifici inventariaţi.
Conf. univ. dr. Niculina Vârgolici
Facultatea de Litere (UB)

Un curs de limba engleză ce abordează etape semnificative în evoluţia artei cinematografice,

readucând în atentie noţiuni de gramatică de dificultate medie sau superioară în discurs precum:
Phrasal Verbs sau construcţiile pasive. Inventarul de termeni specializaţi permite cunoaşterea şi
aprofundarea acestora într-o limbă de circulaţie internaţională.
Lect. univ. dr. Silvia Pistol-Raşcu
Facultatea de Limbi si Literaturi Străine (USH)

___________________________________________________________________________

ISBN 978-606-8246-16-1
BRIEF ENCOUNTER WITH WORLD CINEMA

English Practical Course

2011
Redactor: Adina Mihaela Barbu
Coperta: Sebastian Chirimbu
Tehnoredactare: Despina Chirimbu

Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României

CHIRIMBU, SEBASTIAN
Brief encounter with the world cinema : english practical course /
Chirimbu Sebastian, Chirimbu Despina. - Bacău : Docucenter, 2011
Bibliogr.
ISBN 978-606-8246-16-1

I. Chirimbu, Despina

811.111

Toate drepturile rezervate. Nicio parte a acestei cărţi nu poate fi reprodusă sau
transmisă sub nicio formă şi prin niciun mijloc, electronic sau mecanic, inclusiv prin
fotocopiere, înregistrare sau prin orice sistem de stocare şi accesare a datelor, fără acordul
scris al autorilor şi al editurii.
 Dedicăm această lucrare în primul rând studenţilor noştri de la facultatile cu profil cinematografic
(Regie, Imagine), aceasta fiind concepută pentru un nivel intermediar- avansat de cunoastere al limbii engleze
cu accent pe vocabularul specific acestei arte.
Fiecare din cele 16 unităţi descrie pe scurt o etapă semnificativă în evoluţia artei cinematografice :
regizori, filme, trăsături specifice acelei epoci. Textul este urmat de definirea în engleza a noţiunilor - cheie
utilizate (Key Concepts) şi de un vocabular minimal (Lexical Input).
Secţiunea de exerciţii (Learn How To Use The Vocabulary) are un scop multiplu:
- să familiarizeze studentul cu cuvinte specifice (exercţiile de tip Match…, Insert… sau Fill in…) şi cu
structuri complexe (substantiv + verb sau verb + obiect/ complement);
- să readucă în atentie chestiuni de gramatică de dificultate medie sau superioară în discurs (Phrasal
Verbs, construcţii pasive, propoziţii interogative; la acest tip de exerciţii profesorul poate relua definirea acelor
noţiuni de gramatică care par a nu fi însuşite complet sau corect;
- să fixeze informaţii de specialitate prin exerciţii de tip grilă ;
- să verifice integrarea structurilor în discurs (retroversiuni, traduceri).
Lucrarea se doreşte a fi nu numai un manual de limba engleză care se bazează pe un discurs lingvistic,
ci şi un ghid minimal de informatii de profil. El vine în completarea cursului de istorie a cinematografiei ţinut,
însă, în limba română. Faptul că studenţii se întâlnesc cu descrierea valorilor artei cinematografice în limba
română şi in limba straină le facilitează asimilarea.
Lucrarea a fost concepută la sugestia şi cu ajutorul studenţilor noştri. Reacţiile acestora la ediţia pilot a
textelor şi exerciţiilor ne-au ajutat sa corectăm deficienţele acestui demers, deficienţe inerente unui lucru care
nu a mai fost făcut.
Le mulţumim pentru feed-back-ul sincer şi competent studenţilor noştri din anii precedenţi, colegilor
noştri pentru documentaţia interesantă şi completă, care a stat la baza redactarii lucrării “Brief Encounter
with World Cinema”.
Mulţumim de asemenea familiei noastre pentru sprijinul şi răbdarea demonstrată dar mai ales pentru
încurajările de a duce la bun sfârşit şi publica această lucrare.

Autorii
Februarie 2011
 CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Cinema between art and industry 07

Chapter 2 Ancient History.Ancient art.The invention of the movie 12
Chapter 3 Genre Cinema (I) 17
- The Western
- The Musical
Chapter 4 Genre Cinema (II) 22
- Animation
- Comedy
- Documentary
- Crime Movie
- The Fantastic
Chapter 5 The Birth of the American Film Industry 30
D.L. Griffith
Ch. Chaplin
The Studio System
Early Movie Stars
Other Great Directors
Chapter 6 European Cinema in the Silent Era 36
- Early French Cinema
- Silent Film in Italy
- Silent film-making in England
- The Cinema in Scandinavia
- The Cinema in Russia
- Early German Film
Chapter 7 The Hollywood Studio System 42
- Star System
- Women’s Pictures in the 1930s and 1940s
- W. Disney
- Other Cartoons
- Hollywood during World War II
Chapter 8 International Cinema through World War II 48
- Sound Film in France and England
- Germany and the Nazi cinema
- Fascist Italy
- Japanese Film-making during World War II
- Soviet Wartime Cinema
- India
766Chapter Major Changes After World War II 54
9 - Neorealism
- The Rise of Television
- American Western
- Musicals
- Fifties Fatalism
- Science Fiction
Chapter 9 European Cinema in the 1950s 60
- Italy, England and France
- The Eastern Europe Bloc
Chapter 10 European Cinema in the 1960s 66
- The French New Wave.
- Swedish Cinema. Italian Cinema
Chapter 11 English & American Cinema in the 1960s. East European 72
Sixties
- England
- The Hollywood New Wave
- The American Code Seal
- The New American Cinema
- The Eastern Europe New Wave
Chapter 12 West European Cinema from the 1970s to the Present 79
(Part I) -
Italy. England. France. Germany. Belgium
Chapter 13 East – European Cinema from the 1970s to the Present 84
(Part II)
- The Soviet Union
 - Central European Cinema
Chapter 14 Asian Cinema from the 1970s to the Present (Part III) 90
- Hong Kong. China. Taiwan. Korea. India. Iran. Turkey
- The Rules of the DOGME Movement
Chapter 15 World Cinema from the 1970s to the Present (Part IV) 97
- Australia. New Zealand. Canada. Africa. Latin America
Chapter 16 American Cinema after the 1970s 103
- Scorsese, Spielberg, Lucas
- Hollywood Independents
Twenty-first Century Style

Glossary of Film Terms 110

Bibliography 113
 GLOSSARY OF FILM TERMS

BLIMP = a sound-eadening housing designed for movie cameras to ensure that they are quiet during
filming and that the motor cannot be heard on the set.

CAMERA OPERATOR = the person who operates the camera on the set, under the instructions of the
director and director of photography.

CINEMA VERITE = a style of filmmaking in which the camera simply documents the action in front
of it, without interfering with the actors, as in a documentary. There is no narration (in England, direct cinema).

CGI = Computer Generated Images, used today in films to depict crowd scenes, huge buildings, and
other special effects that would be too costly or impossible to do otherwise.

CLOSE-UP =a shot that takes in the acotr from the neck upward, or an object from a similarly close
position.

CRANE = a piece of apparatur that can lift the camera vertically in the air.

DIGITAL PRODUCTION = shooting a movie entirely on digital video, post-producing it entirely

using video editing methods, and then projecting the finsal image onto the screen with a high intensity projector.
Completely eliminates traditional 35 mm film.

DIRECTOR = the person who is responsible for staging the action in a film, directing the acotrs,
supervising the director of photography, and making sure that the performances and visuals of the film are
effective.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY = the person who is responsible for the look of the film,
supervisingcamera placement, lighting, and camera movement.

DISSOLVE = a gradual transition from one shot into another, so that at a ceratin point both images
overlap and are visible simultaneously. Often used to suggest the passage of time.

EDITING = splicing together a series of shots to create a scene in a film

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER = the person who arranges the financing for a film, and/or packages the
stars, screenwriter, and other key elements of a film.

FADE IN = a device used at the begiunning of a sequence, where the image gradually lightens from
complete darkness.

FADE OUT = used at the end of a sequnece, where the i8mage gradually darkens to complete
blackness.

FILM GAUGE = the width of a motion picture film used in the camera. The standard gaiges are :
- 35 mm for theatrical features
- 16 mm for documentary and student films
- 8 mm for home movies. Only 35 mm is still used regularly today; digital video has replaced 16
mm and 8 mm films.

FILM NOIR = a style of filmmaking, popular in the unioted States after World War II, which used
harsh shadows, flashbacks, and voiceovers, and typically presented a downbeat, fatalistic view of society.

FILM RIP = the film breaking in the projection gate during the screening of a film, or in the camera
during the photography of a film.

FAST MOTION = a camera device whereby the movement of the action is speeded up, generally used
for comic effects.
 FLASHBACK = occurs when the film’s forward narrative is interrupted by an event from the past,
usually introduced by a character remiscing about past events.

FOLEY = sound effects added in post-production to enhance the visuals, eg gunshots, footsteps,or
explosions.

FREEZE = an optical effect whereby one image is held for a time and the action seems to become a
still photgraph.

GAFFER = the head electrician on amovie set.

GENRE FILM = a film that follows a predictable plot pattern, such as a horror film, a western, or a
musical.

GRIP = a person on a film set who lays dolly tracks, sets up lights, and generallty does the hard
physical work

HIGH ANGLE SHOT = a shot from above that points down on the action.

INSERT = an inserted shot, usually a close-up,used tyo reveal something in greater detail.

INTERCUT SHOTS = a series of shots that are alternated to create suspense, usually of two different
events happening at the same time; eg a plane about to crash into the ground while horrified spectators in close-
up look on.

IRISING = gradual opening up or closing down of the image from or toa a small point of light.

JUMP CUTS = an abrupt cut from one scne to the next, or within a scene, to compress time and make
the film move more quickly.

LONG SHOT = shot taken from some distance.

MASK = a device for covering part of the screen with blackness used to create the effect of looking
through binoculars or a keyhole.

MONTAGE = the structure of editing withing a film.

OFF-SCREEN= action or dialogue that occurs outside the area viewed by the camera.

OVERLAP = dialogue in which two or more characters speak simultaneously.

PANORAMIC SHOT (PAN) = a horizontal and circular movement of the camera on its pivot.

POST-PRODUCTION = the editing, musical scoring, and final completion of a film after shooting.

POST-SYNCHRONIZE (ADR = Automatic Dialogue Replacement) = to make a recording of the

sound track for a film in a sound studio with the actors speaking their lines in accompaniment to the projected
film.

PRODUCER = the peron who supervises the production of the film, arranges the financing,hires the
cast, director, and crew, and is responsible for keeping the film on the schedule.

REVERSE MOTION = a trick effect that reverses the movements of the characters and objects.

SHOCK CUTS = the abrupt replacement of one image by another for dramatic effect.

SHOOTING SCRIPT = the final script used by the director, technicians,and actors with the complete
breakdown of the scenario into separate shots.

SHOT = the smallest unit in the grammar of film.

 STUDIO SYSTEM = in Hollywood from the 1920s to the late 1950s, the system by which each film
studio had a roster of actors, directors, composers, cameramen, costume designers on regular salary, under
contract, to create their films on an assembly-line basis.

TRACK IN, TRACK BACK = a movement of the camera on a dolly (a tracking or a travelling shot)
toward or away from the object or character.

UNDEREXPOSED = producing a dim, indistinct image.

VOICEOVER = narration or dialogue presented on the sound track of a film to explain the film’s
action, plot, or characters.

WIDE-ANGLE LENS = a lens with a wide range of field, which exaggerates depth and perspective.

WIPE = a device by which a line moves across the screen, replacing one image and introducing
another.

ZOOM = a lens of variable focal length; it can by gradually magnifying or reducing the image, give the
effect of moving closer to or farther away from an object
 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. R.Altman (1987):The American Film Musical – London BFI

2. T. Balio: Grand Design- Hollywood as a Modern Business Enterprise 1930 – 1939 New York
Scribner 1983
3. T. Balio (1993): History of the American Cinema , New York – Charles Scribner’s Sons
4. A.Bazin (1971): The Evolution of the Western, University of California Press
5. J.Baxter (1994) : Luis Bunuel. London : Fourth estate
6. M.Bellis (1990) : The History of the Motion Picture (online edition:
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmotionpictures.htm)
7. R.Bresson (1977): Notes on Cinematography, New York Urizen Books
8. P.Brunette (1988): The Films of Michelangelo Antonioni, Cambridge; Cambridge University
Press
9. P.Burns, (1999): The History of the Discovery of Cinematography (online edition
http://www.precinemahistory.net)
10. L. Cassvan (1976): Mituri si legende din lumea filmului, Ed.Eminescu
11. D.Chirimbu, S.Chirimbu (2007): Institutional Discourse, Ed. Fundaţiei România de Mâine,
Bucureşti
12. S.Chirimbu, A.Barbu (2010): English – it`s up to you (manual de limbă şi civilizaţie engleză),
Docucenter, Bacău
13. W.W.Dixon, G.A.Foster (2003): A Short History of Film. Rutgers University Press, New
Brunwick, New Jersey
14. S.Eisenstein (1959): Notes on a Film Director. London: Lawrence & Wishart
15. T. Gallagher. J. Ford (1986) : The Man & His Films. Berkeley : University of California Press
16. T. McCarthy, H. Hawks (1997) : The Grey Fox of Hollywood. New York : Grove Press
17. C.Musser (1994): The Emergence of Cinema, University of California Press
18. G.Nowell Smith (1996): The Oxford History of World Cinema. Oxford University Press, US
19. History of cinema , wordiq.com (online edition :
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/History_of_cinema)
20. D.Parkinson (1995): History of Film. New York Thames & Hudson
21. K.Schuyler (1997): Charlie Chaplin & His Times. New York : Simon & Schuster
22. F.Truffaut (1985): Hitchcock. Rev.ed. G.Scott. New York : Simon & Schuster