Cinema is one of the most influential forms of artistic expression
in the modern world. It tells stories through images, sound, movement,
performance, editing and technology. Literature, on the other hand,
has traditionally told stories through words, language, imagination
and narrative. Although these two forms of art use different modes of
expression, they share a deep and continuing relationship.
The present book, Film and Literature – I, has been prepared
for students of TYBA Semester V, DSC-12, ENG 311: Film and
Literature – I. The book follows the prescribed syllabus, which aims
to introduce students to major developments in the history of cinema,
its relationship with literature, important concepts such as adaptation,
fidelity and intertextuality, and the basic language and techniques of
cinema. It also encourages students to examine literary texts and their
film adaptations comparatively and to develop critical responses to
cinematic texts.
The book is designed particularly for literature students who may
be familiar with reading poems, plays, novels and short stories but
may not have received systematic training in reading films. Watching
a film and studying a film are not exactly the same activity. A film
can be enjoyed for its story, performances or entertainment value, but
film studies asks us to go further. It encourages us to examine how a
story is presented through camera work, mise-en-scène, editing, sound,
performance, framing, lighting, point of view and other cinematic
techniques. An important principle followed throughout this book is
that a film should not be studied only for the story it tells, but also for
the ways in which it tells that story. A close-up may reveal an emotion
without words; lighting may establish mood; editing may change our
understanding of time; sound may create an atmosphere that images
alone cannot produce; and performance may communicate aspects of
character that a literary description presents differently. Such elements
become especially significant when a literary work is transformed into
a film.