The Red and Black

Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: Variety

Media Credit: LAUREN GRUNDHOEFER David Bordwell speaks to students in the SLC Tuesday. [Click to enlarge]

David Bordwell, film theorist and writer, is all too familiar to some University students.

Those studying film examine movies by analyzing the cinematography and direction with technical vocabulary, and they learn the terms from Bordwell's writings.

"Film Art: An Introduction," written by Bordwell and his wife Kristin Thompson, is the most widely used introductory textbook for the field in the United States.

Richard Neupert, a film studies professor, studied under Bordwell for his Ph.D at Wisconsin. He asked Bordwell to come to the University this week in conjunction with the release of his new book, "Poetics of Cinema."

"He is a dynamic speaker and, frankly, the most important film scholar in the world," Neupert said.

Bordwell focuses on auteur studies, Hong Kong cinema and narrative theory and lectured to a packed room Tuesday at the Student Learning Center about the CinemaScope.

"Constraints can spur creativity. If you're a filmmaker, composer or painter it's good to have limitations," Bordwell said, beginning his lecture.

"When filmmakers face problems, it spurs them to be creative. This is the invention and fusion of CinemaScope."

The discussion focused on the invention and application of the technology to revive the film industry and difficulties filmmakers had implementing it.

"The number of admissions today are falling," Bordwell said. "So what's the answer? Well, 3-D is coming back big and showing regular theatrical releases in IMAX format. James Cameron is convinced that 3-D is the future of cinema."

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