Designed for the launch of the Close-Up series, Filmmakers' Choices explores different areas of decision-making within film production, focusing on each in the analysis of a film. The discussion of Talk to Her (Pedro Almod¢var, 2002) examines the detailed construction of point of view; the account of Lured (Douglas Sirk, 1947) is simultaneously a reflection on narrative construction and a look at the creative possibilities of coincidence.
The Pop Song in Film offers a series of detailed interpretations of moments in films where the pop song adopts a decisive storytelling role. The study focuses on both on-screen musical performances and the use of the song as a kind of musical voiceover. It features close commentary on examples ranging from the Frank Sinatra star-vehicle musical Young at Heart (1954) to the opening of Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown (1997).
Reading Buffy looks at Joss Whedon's acclaimed television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, through a close-reading approach more usually applied to films. The series is seen not just to create a richly detailed and satisfying fictional world, but to be an abundant source of complex meanings. Several aspects of Buffy are examined: its visual intelligence, the playful sophistication of its narrative strategies and the interest the series takes in its relationship with its many fans.
