Posted: February 8th, 2016

Kurosawa Akira 黒澤明. Rashomon 羅生門, 1950.

Choose one of the following to write a film analysis:
Kurosawa Akira 黒澤明. Rashomon 羅生門, 1950.
Kurosawa Akira 黒澤明. The Shadow Warrior影武者, 1980.
Miyazaki Hayao 宮崎駿. Spirited Away 千と千尋の神隠し, 2001.
Miyazaki Hayao 宮崎駿The Wind Rises 風立ちぬ, 2013.
OzuYasujiro 小津安二郎. An Autumn Afternoon 秋刀魚の味, 1962.
Wakamatsu Kôji 若松孝二. United Red Army 実録・連合赤軍, 2007.

You should watch the film carefully and make notes on features that intrigue you. They can be the plot, structure, character, or film techniques. In order to organize your ideas and supporting evidence, you might need to watch the film more than once. Then write your analysis in a coherent and systematic manner.
Note that a film analysis is different from a review, which usually provides a brief synopsis and evaluation for potential viewers. You should assume that your reader has also watched the film, so the purpose of your essay is to help him/her understand the film better.

Your film analysis should include an introduction of your thesis statement, detailed analysis (points, evidence and examples) to support your ideas, and conclusion. You should avoid being overly descriptive about the details or plots of the film; instead, your quoting of a shot or an episode should serve an argument in your essay.
You can refer to “Writing a Critical Analysis of a Film” and sample analyses of Tokyo Story and Chungking Express (David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008, 8th or later editions, pp. 401-410, 431-434). Both files are available on Blackboard.