The purposes of this book are to introduce film as an art and to show how close, both in form and content, literature and the narrative film are to one another. To accomplish these purposes, the basic components of literature and film are compared, including language (the novel uses words, while the film uses images), point of view, and figurative language. The structure of a film, which is built up through editing, and a film's appeal to the ear through sound are also discussed. Examples are taken from both classic and contemporary films. A glossary of important film terms is included along with a bibliography on film, a list of film periodicals, and a list of the major distributors of 16 millimeter films. (JK)