‘Distinguished Masters’ lecture set for April 13

David Bordwell will be this year’s lecture of the Provost Professors’ Distinguished Masters Invited Lecture Series. Speaking on “How Motion Pictures Became the Movies,” the lecture is now 4 p.m. April 13 in the Moot Court Room at the Maurer School of Law.

“This is an exciting time for film studies on the Bloomington campus as we embark on the renovation of the University Theatre and the creation of the IU Cinema,” said Karen Hasnon, provost and executive eice president in a press release. “So we are especially delighted to welcome Bordwell, one of the world’s top film academics, to the campus.

All members of the IU Bloomington community, whether casual moviegoers or serious scholars of film, will find the insights of this prolific scholar compelling and enlightening.”

A reception will follow the event in the School of Law room 310.

In his speech, Bordwell will discuss the most important periods of filmmaking, how the popular art from emerged in the United States and Europe and trace the diversity of artistic trends of the periods of filmmaking.

As Jacques Ledoux Professor Emeritus of Film Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Bordwell taught film history and aesthetics from 1973 to 2005, when he retired.

Stated in a press release, Bordwell’s work concentrates on what he calls the “poetics of cinema.” This involves understanding the principles that govern filmmakers’ creative choices and viewers’ responses.

This framework has led him to study individual filmmakers, national cinemas and film form and style.

His books “Narration in the Fiction Film” and “The Way Hollywood Tells It,” concentrate on cinematic storytelling. Other books have focused on historical changes in film technique.

Bordwell’s research has also been identified with broader trend toward explaining cinematic effects within the framework of principles of cognitive psychology.
At www.davidbordwell.net, Bordwell offers several essays, interviews and links. On the same site, he writes a regular blog with Kristin Thompson, his wife and a frequent collaborator.

— Jake Wright