Myth & the Movies: Discovering the Myth Structure of 50 Unforgettable Films

Amazon.com Review
Riffing off ideas articulated in Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey, Myth and the Movies serves both as a sequel to that book and a series of examples attempting to demonstrate its validity. In his book, Vogler, borrowing ideas from Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, argues that every story follows certain patterns--which he collectively characterizes as a mythic "hero's journey." In Myth and the Movies, Voytilla breaks this journey up into stages, using 50 famous films to illustrate the universality of Vogler's method. During the course of the book, he unpacks the mythic structure of horror, war, drama, romance, comedy, science fiction, action-adventure, the western, and the thriller, drawing on films as diverse as Seven Samurai, The Silence of the Lambs, Annie Hall, and Boyz N the Hood. His charts, maps, and consideration of various archetypal characters ("the shadow," "the trickster," "the herald," "the shapeshifter") and narrative devices ("the elixir," "the adventure," "the threshold," "the road back") provide a clear picture of how Campbell's archetypes can be used for film analysis. And who knows? Perhaps as you follow Voytilla's descriptions, you will be inspired to create some myths of your own. --Raphael Shargel
Product Description
Ever wonder why certain movies are considered 'classics' or 'breakthrough films' and other films are quickly forgotten? Myth and mythic structure are often the key to defining the success factor in some of he most enduring films ever made.

Myth and the Movies analyzes over 50 US and foreign films in every cinematic genre including drama, westerns, horror, action-adventure, romance, comedy, romantic comedy, suspense-thriller and fantasy-science fiction. This comprehensive book will give you a greater understanding of why some films continue to touch and connect with audiences, generation after generation.

KEY FEATURES:
* Provides fascinating analysis of over 50 classic films
* Covers films of all genres