S e c t i o n 1. Introduction into the Topic

 Essential vocabulary on the topic. Study the following words and expressions, give the Russian equivalents.

1. Cinematography

Cinema (AE movies, movie theatre, movie house)

A cinemagoer / a moviegoer, e.g. I’m not much of a cinemagoer.

A cinema addict / a film buff

Cinema audience / cinema program

2. Film / picture (AE movie)

To go into films, e.g. He used to be on the stage but then he went into films.

A film version / a screen version of a story / play

To screen a play / a novel

A joint production

3. To make a film / to shoot a film (in color) / to release a film

A shot / a close-up / a flashback

A review of a film, e.g. The reviews were favorable /

unfavorable / rave.

A quickie – a film shot very quickly.

Sequel / prequel

On location / on set

Scene

To dub a film

Subtitles

Credits

Screenplay / script / scenario

Soundtrack

Trailer

Film billboard / movie billboard

Screen test / film test

4. Types of films: feature films, documentary, newsreel, cartoons, silent films, sound films (talkies), black-and-white films, color films, a romance / romantic films / Cinderella stories / soap operas, a western, a war film, an epic, a musical, a comedy, a suspense thriller, a horror film, a science fiction film, a blockbuster, art house movie.

5. Huge-budget / low-budget films

6. A commercial / box-office success

To make a hit, e.g. The film made a great hit.

A failure / a flop

7. Publicity / publicity department / publicity agent

To publicize a film

8. Cast and acting:

A film star (AE a movie star) /a long-term star / an ephemeral star / an all-star cast

To star / to co-star

9. Adjectives for describing a film: superb, magnificent, unforgettable, true-to-life, boring, dull, artificial, mediocre, stilted, authentic, complex, convincing, entertaining, fantastic, lifelike, mushy, profound, thought-provoking, realistic, superficial, tedious, thrilling, breathtaking, witty.

The action is dynamic (dragged out).

To have the right look for the part

To consider casting possibilities

Visual / sound / special effects

10. People, engaged in film-making:

Film-maker (AE moviemaker), director, casting director, producer, executive producer, script-writer, camera-man, director of photography, camera crew, actors, extras, stunt men, maker-up, costume designer, sets designer, composer, soundman, agent, critic, editor, technician.

11. Useful adjectives for describing works and performances:

Adjective	Meaning	Example
overrated	not as good as people say	It's an overrated film / play.
hackneyed	done so often it is boring	The plot was so hackneyed!
impenetrable	complex and impossible to understand	His films are impenetrable.
disjointed	unconnected and not in a clear order	The play was disjointed and difficult to follow.
far-fetched	impossible to believe	The film Green Aliens from Mars was a bit far-fetched.
risqué	slightly immoral and likely to shock some people	The play was a bit risqué, and some religious leaders criticized it.
gripping	exciting and keeping your attention the whole time	It was a gripping film from start to finish.
harrowing	extremely upsetting	It was a harrowing documentary about war and refugee camps.
moving	making you feel strong emotion, especially pity or sadness	It's a moving story about a child whose mother dies.
memorable	you remember it long after	That was a memorable performance.
understated	done or expressed in a simple but attractive style	The whole plot is really understated.

Vocabulary work

Exercise 1.

Explain the difference between the following.

1. A film and a movie.

2. An art house film and a blockbuster.

3. A co-star and an extra.

4. A cameraman and a projectionist.

5. The cinema and the pictures.

6. The cast and casting.

7. Action! and Cut!

8. A cartoon and an animation film.

Exercise 2.

Cross the odd word out.

1. film: mediocre, cautious, true-to-life, gripping, harrowing

2. plot: thrilling, understated, dedicated, hackneyed, mushy

3. characters: realistic, convincing, lifelike, unanimous, authentic

4. script: disjointed, mediocre, witty, impenetrable, greedy

5. acting: spacious, moving, artificial, entertaining, magnificent

Exercise 3.

What adjectives from the active vocabulary can be used to describe the following films.

1. Star Wars 9. Silence of the Lambs

2. Avatar 10. Pretty Woman

3. Gladiator 11. Friday the 13th

4. Romeo and Juliet 12. The Twilight Saga

5. Indiana Jones 13. The Last Samurai

6. The Terminator 14. Basic Instinct

7. Slumdog Millionaire 15. Forest Gump

8. Lord of Rings 16. Jurassic Park

Exercise 4.

Match the words to their synonyms.

1. realistic	A. hackneyed
2. boring	B. mushy
3. touching	C. gripping
4. unforgettable	D. profound
5. exciting	E. artificial
6. deep	F. tedious
7. incomprehensible	G. true-to-life
8. commonplace	H. moving
9. far-fetched	I. memorable
10. sentimental	J. impenetrable
11. breathtaking	K. thrilling

Exercise 5.

Match the words to their opposites.

1. simple	A. convincing
2. profound	B. artificial
3. overrated	C. boring
4. coherent	D. complex
5. decent	E. understated
6. unpersuasive	F. disjointed
7. interesting	G. risqué
8. realistic	H. superficial

Exercise 6.

What do we call the following? Read the definitions and guess the word.

1. A story someone writes for a film.

2. A photograph of someone or something taken very near.

3. A man whose job is to perform dangerous actions in a film.

4. A short cinema film of news.

5. A part of a film in which events happen in the same place or period of time.

6. A translation of what people are saying in a foreign language film that appears at the bottom of the screen.

7. Someone who operates a camera for making films.

8. A film that deals with real people and events.

9. A scene in a film that goes back in time to show what happened earlier in the story.

10. A list of the people involved in making a film that is shown at the end or beginning of it.

11. A single part of a cinema film made by one camera without interruption.

12. A full-length cinema film with an invented story and professional actors.

13. Someone whose job is to organize the work and money involved in making a film.

14. A place where a film is made away from a studio.

15. The art or science of making films.

Exercise 7.

Fill in the gaps with suitable words from the box.

ERASER

plot, special effects, terrifying, production, stars, disadvantage, atmosphere, action-lovers, predictable, scenes, the leading role, succeed, stunts, directed, performed, action-packed, action

If you like 1) __________, “Eraser” is the film to see. Arnold Schwarzenegger 2) __________ in this film, and Charles Russel 3) ________ it.

Schwarzenegger plays 4) ___________ as John Kruger, a dedicated federal marshal whose code name is Eraser. He protects government witnesses who are in danger, by erasing their old identity and giving them a new one. His mission is to protect a beautiful woman, 5) __________ by Vanessa Williams, who can uncover a scandal which involves people in the government. Her enemies stop at nothing to keep her from revealing the truth. But Eraser does everything to keep her alive. He alone must guard her from some of the most 6) __________ forces in the world before time runs out. But will he 7) __________ ?

This multi-million dollar 8) ___________ has some breathtaking 9) _________ . It is a film full of suspense. The special effects and 10) ________ are spectacular and create a(n) 11) _________ of tension. The film’s one 12) __________ is that it has a weak 13) __________ and the ending is 14) __________, unlike other Schwarzenegger films.

All in all, this 15) __________ film will not appeal to everyone. I would recommend it to 16) ___________ and to those who enjoy 17) __________ .