I do like to analyse films and find out why they work or don’t work for me. I enjoy them in the moment , watching them. But then I like to reflect on them afterwards. Sometimes I repeat scenes (if I have a dvd) or, more usually, I rely on my memory and feelings and emotions to run through the film again.

It’s a mental process that highlights scenes, deconstructs elements of the movie, checks memories, questions, compares with other films and other experiences. but it does so in a pretty random way. It does not have the rigour to provide great insight yet but I thought I would embark on a series of posts to try and construct a more rigorous framework for analysing movies using my experience and my learning so far.

The main objective of this series of posts is to end up with a relatively simple tool , maybe even a checklist, that could be used for film criticism and analysis of any film. Not couched in high brow, esoteric terms but more a working man’s tool for understanding and appreciating films based on intelligent perception, reasoning and evidence. It should be capable of getting to the heart of a movie and understanding how the elements all work together or not. What makes the movie tick? How good is it? Why?

I am not aiming to astound the world with a new thesis but just to order my own thoughts and, in the process, produce something that will help others appreciate films and understand their qualities.

My aim is not to pigeonhole films or categorise them in a new way but to understand the building blocks, how they were constructed and what effect they have on an audience and society, even.

It may take me a while to finish this on past performance but I think it is a worthwhile project anyway. See you on the journey.

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