Part 1: View a feature film made between 1970 – 2000 you have not seen before (nor will see later in this class) by a great director or featuring a great actor or actress.

Comment on the specific film you saw. Pay particular attention to the camerawork (cinematography), the editing (montage), and the sound (this can include the music). What did you like, and what did you dislike, about what you saw? Why do you like the things you like, and why do you dislike the things you dislike? Is the film a good film, or is it not? (Note: This is not the same question as whether or not you liked it. It is entirely possible to like a film that you are aware is not very good.) You should comment on the film both as a representative of its genre and as a film.

Part 2: Now that you have commented on the specific film you viewed, see if you can draw some general conclusions about the work of the director and one of the main actors or actresses. Be sure to comment on the overall impression you had of the film, including how you see it as an example of the its genre and time period. Remember, this is not a research paper. I am interested in what you have to say, not in what you can learn by reading up on the film or the filmmaker.

Part 3: On a separate page, insert the heading "My Criteria for Quality in Film." Under that heading, use your comments about this film and its filmmaker as guidelines toward proposing five general statements indicative of your personal taste in movies. These statements should be numbered (1) through (10), and they should be written as complete sentences or a short paragraph. It might be useful to introduce each statement with such language as "Excellent movies feature," or "A movie is more likely to be good if," or "A characteristic of high-quality cinema is." (For example, if you commented in the body of your essay that you liked the acting because it was realistic and you liked the script because it had a happy ending, you could propose these two statements as criteria for quality: "(1) Excellent movies feature realistic acting. (2) A movie is more likely to be good if it ends happily." Do not just put something like "Good movies feature good acting." The point here is for you to think about—and then explain—what such quality words as good, excellent, and effective actually mean.