Film criticism in the context of "Classical Hollywood cinema"

Film theory is a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of film or cinema studies that began in the 1920s by questioning the formal essential attributes of motion pictures; and that now provides conceptual frameworks for understanding film's relationship to reality, the other arts, individual viewers, and society at large. Film theory is not to be confused with general film criticism, or film history, though these three disciplines interrelate. Although some branches of film theory are derived from linguistics and literary theory, it also originated and overlaps with the philosophy of film.

Arts criticism is the process of describing, analyzing, interpreting, and judging works of art. The disciplines of arts criticism can be defined by the object being considered rather than the methodology (through analysis of its philosophy): buildings (architecture criticism), paintings (visual art criticism), performances (dance criticism, theatre criticism), music (music journalism), visual media (film criticism, television criticism), or literary texts (literary criticism).

Criticism of the arts can be broadly divided into two types. There is academic criticism such as that found in scholarly works and specialist journals, then there is criticism of a more journalistic nature (often called 'a review') which is seen by a wider public through newspapers, television and radio. The academic criticism will be of a more vigorous and analytical nature than the journalistic, the journalistic may even focus on entertaining the reader at the expense of detail about the art under discussion.

There are many varieties of criticism. This article describes common types that occur regularly in everyday life. For other criteria that classify criticisms, see Criticism § Classifications. For more subject-specific information, see the pages on topics such as art, film, literature, theatre, or architecture.

A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or government policy. Critical judgments, whether derived from critical thinking or not, weigh up a range of factors, including an assessment of the extent to which the item under review achieves its purpose and its creator's intention and a knowledge of its context. They may also include a positive or negative personal response.

Characteristics of a good critic are articulateness, preferably having the ability to use language with a high level of appeal and skill. Sympathy, sensitivity and insight are also important. Form, style and medium are all considered by the critic. In architecture and food criticism, the item's function, value and cost may be added components.

The following films have been voted the best in national and international surveys of critics and the public.

Some surveys focus on all films, while others focus on a particular genre or country. Voting systems differ, and some surveys suffer from biases such as self-selection or skewed demographics, while others may be susceptible to forms of interference such as vote stacking.

Identification refers to the automatic, subconscious psychological process in which an individual becomes like or closely associates themselves with another person by adopting one or more of the others' perceived personality traits, physical attributes, or some other aspect of their identity. The concept of identification was founded by psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud in the 1920’s, and has since been expanded on and applied in psychology, social studies, media studies, and literary and film criticism. In literature, identification most often refers to the audience identifying with a fictional character, however it can also be employed as a narrative device whereby one character identifies with another character within the text itself.

Varying interpretations of Freud's original concept of identification are found in literary and film theory traditions, such as psychoanalytic literary criticism, archetypal literary criticism, and Lacanian film analysis, and in the works of prominent theorists and critics such as Northrop Frye, Laura Mulvey, and Christian Metz. Acclaimed filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock used specific camera and acting techniques in his films to incite audience identification with his characters in order to create suspense.

Mise-en-scène (French pronunciation: [miz ɑ̃ sɛn] ; English: "placing on stage" or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in the visual arts through storyboarding, visual themes, and cinematography and in narrative-storytelling through directions. The term is also commonly used to refer to single scenes that are representative of a film.

Mise-en-scène has been called film criticism's "grand undefined term". Ed Sikov has attempted to define it as "the totality of expressive content within the image". It has been criticized for its focus on the dramatic design aspects rather than the plot itself, as those who utilize mise-en-scène tend to look at what is "put before the camera" rather than the story. The use of mise-en-scène is significant as it allows the director to convey messages to the viewer through what is placed in the scene, not just the scripted lines spoken and acted in the scene. Mise-en-scène allows the director to not only convey their message but also implement their aesthetic; as such, each director has their own unique mise-en-scène. Mise-en-scène refers to everything in front of the camera, including the set design, lighting, and actors, and the ultimate way that this influences how the scene comes together for the audience.

Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies.

Film studies is less concerned with advancing proficiency in film production than it is with exploring the narrative, artistic, cultural, economic, and political implications of the cinema. In searching for these social-ideological values, film studies takes a series of critical approaches for the analysis of production, theoretical framework, context, and creation. Also, in studying film, possible careers include critic or production. Overall the study of film continues to grow, as does the industry on which it focuses.