Criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of
films. In general, these works can be divided into two categories;
academic criticism by film scholars, and journalistic film
criticism that appears regularly in newspapers and other media.
Film critics working for newspapers, magazines, and broadcast
media mainly review new releases. Normally they only see any
given film once and have only a day or two to formulate opinions.
Despite this, critics have an important impact on films, especially
those of certain genres. Mass marketed action, horror, and
comedy films tend not to be greatly affected by a critic's
overall judgment of a film. The plot summary and description
of a film that makes up the majority of any film review can
still have an important impact on whether people decide to
see a film. For prestige films such as most dramas, the influence
of reviews is extremely important. Poor reviews will often
doom a film to obscurity and financial loss.
The impact of a reviewer on a given film's box office performance
is a matter of debate. Some claim that movie marketing is
now so intense and well financed that reviewers cannot make
an impact against it. However, the cataclysmic failure of
some heavily-promoted movies which were harshly reviewed,
as well as the unexpected success of critically praised independent
movies indicates that extreme critical reactions can have
considerable influence. Others note that positive film reviews
have been shown to spark interest in little-known films.
Conversely, there have been several films in which film companies
have so little confidence that they refuse to give reviewers
an advanced viewing to avoid widespread panning of the film.
However, this usually backfires as reviewers are wise to the
tactic and warn the public that the film may not be worth
seeing and the films often do poorly as a result.
It is argued that journalist film critics should only be known
as film reviewers, and true film critics are those who take
a more academic approach to films. This line of work is more
often known as film theory or film studies. These film critics
attempt to come to understand how film and filming techniques
work, and what effect they have on people. Rather than having
their works published in newspapers or appear on television,
their articles are published in scholarly journals, or sometimes
in up-market magazines. They also tend to be affiliated with
colleges or universities.
|
