The Cinema-Vocabulary

Vocabulary about the cinema

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Films or movies are popular all over the world. As a consequence,

they are a very common topic of conversation. So it's important to know how to describe how, where, when a film was made, who the actors in a film are and what the story of the film is. In English, there is specific vocabulary which is used to do this. In this document on films/movies, we will look at the English vocabulary for describing films or movies. The focus here is on the vocabulary for talking about the different parts and roles in a film and other film related vocabulary. Most of this vocabulary

can also be used for describing TV programmes or theatre plays.

DESCRIBING A FILM

Read the following conversation between Simon and Rebecca about the film 'Saving Private Ryan'.

Focus on and think about the meaning of the words/phrases in BOLD.

Rebecca: 'One of my favourite films is Saving Private Ryan. I know it's a war film, but I love it.' Simon: 'It's a classic. It's got a brilliant cast, there are so many excellent actors in it like Matt Damon, Vin Diesel etc... And of course, there is Tom Hanks as the main character Captain Miller. It's one of his best films.' Rebecca: 'Plus there are some very good cameo roles. The famous actor Ted Dansen is in the film for about 3 minutes. It's a shame that he wasn't in the film for longer. Also, do you know that although the film is set in France during the D-Day invasion, it was actually filmed in the south of England?' Simon: 'Yeah, I read it somewhere. I think it was one of the best films directed by Steven Spielberg. I love the

opening scene when they are landing on the beach on D-Day. That scene has some of the best twenty minutes of action in the whole history of cinema for me. The special effects are excellent, with the explosions and the people being blown up. It looks so real.' Rebecca: 'It's an excellent scene, I always remember the stunt of the men on fire. But for me, I like the scene when the men are walking in the countryside and talking about why they have to save Private Ryan. The dialogue is excellent, I

can imagine that I would say that if I were in a similar situation.' Simon: 'The film has an excellent plot. How they have to go and save a soldier whose 3 brothers have all died fighting and how they have to go behind enemy lines to do it.'


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Rebecca: 'I think it's a real story, although they probably changed some things. To be honest, I can't remember the film's score. Can you remember the music in the film?' Simon: 'Not really. I think there was some music with trumpets at the beginning in the graveyard. But apart from that, I only remember the Edith Piaf song at the end. But that's not part of the score. Did I tell you that when the film came out in 1998, I was living in Madrid? So, the first time I saw it, it was dubbed into Spanish. I didn't speak much Spanish then, so I didn't understand a lot. It's a shame that it didn't have subtitles, so I could have read the dialogue.' Rebecca: 'Dubbed films are strange. The voices are always very different to the original voices of the actors. Oh, by the way, have you seen the TV series Band of Brothers?' Simon: 'No I haven't.' Rebecca: 'Well, it's very similar to Saving Private Ryan. It's set during the Second World War and it follows a group of American soldiers. It stars a lot of unknown young actors as the soldiers.' Simon: 'I'll have to watch the series.'

THE WORDS

Dialogue:

(noun) 'Dialogue', is the name for the words or lines that actors use in films, TV programmes or plays.

Normally, this noun is used when people are giving their opinion if what the actors said in a film was

good or bad, e.g. 'the dialogue in Star Wars was terrible, no one would ever speak like that'. In

Spanish: "diálogo"

Score:

(noun) A film's 'score' is the instrumental music (without lyrics or words)

which is used to add emotion to different scenes in a film. This music is

normally written especially for the film. The 'score' is different to a film's

'soundtrack'. The 'soundtrack' is normally a collection of individual songs

that are used on a film (e.g. a song from Coldplay or something from

Mozart). The difference between the two is a little confusing. In

Spanish: "banda sonora".

Stars:

(verb) The infinitive is 'to star'. This verb is used to say who is acting in a film, TV programme or play. In

general, the names of the main actors normally follow this verb, e.g. 'The film stars Brad Pitt and

Angelina Jolie'. 'Star' is also used as a noun to mean the best actor/actress in a film, e.g. 'for me, the star

of the film was Anthony Hopkins'. In Spanish: "protagonizar".

Main character:

(noun) The 'main character' is the person who the film is both about and who has the most


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dialogue/lines. This is used for films, TV programmes or plays. For example, in the film 'Malcolm X' by

Spike Lee, Denzil Washington plays the main character Malcolm X. It can also be used in the plural 'main

characters', which means the most important roles in a film. In Spanish:"papel principal".

Dubbed:

(verb) The infinitive is 'to dub'. This is very common in countries where a film or TV programme is in a

different language to their own language. Sometimes, the voices of actors are even 'replaced' or

'dubbed' even if the original film or TV programme is in the same language. In Spanish: "doblar".

Set:

(verb) The infinitive is 'to set'. This not only means where a film, TV programme or play is located in the

story, but also when it takes place, e.g. 'the film is set in the 1920's in Chicago'. This verb is generally

used in the present passive simple, i.e. 'is set'. In Spanish:"está ambientada".

Scene:

(noun) This means a part of a film, TV programme or play which is set in one location for a number of

minutes. For example, in the film 'Casablanca', the most famous scene is where Humphrey Bogart is at

the airport with Ingrid Bergman. In Spanish: "escena".

Subtitles:

(noun) 'Subtitles' are the words or lines that the actors say in a film or TV programme which are

displayed on the screen. It can also be used as a verb 'to subtitle'. When using this verb to describe a

film, it is normal to use the passive form, e.g. 'the film is subtitled'. In Spanish: "subtítulos".

Directed:

(verb) The infinitive is 'to direct'. It means the main person who is responsible for creating and filming a

film or TV programme. The noun is 'director'. Although there are other people involved in the

production of a film (like the producer), the 'director' is the

most important. When describing a film, it is common to use

the verb in the passive and for it to be followed by the

preposition 'by' and the name of the director, e.g. 'psycho

was directed by Alfred Hitchcock'. In Spanish:"dirigir".


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Cast:

(noun) 'Cast' is the collective noun used to refer to all the actors that are involved in a film, TV

programme or play. The people who make a film (who do the filming, editing, production etc...) but

don't act, are called the 'crew'. In Spanish: "reparto".

Stunt:

(noun) 'Stunts' are action sequences in films or TV programmes which look dangerous, e.g. car chases,

jumping from tall building etc... Normally, the actors don't do/perform these 'stunts'. These are normally

done by professional 'stuntmen' who are trained to do these types of things in films. In

Spanish: "escenas peligrosas".

Plot:

(noun) The 'plot' is the basic story or summary of a film, TV programme or play. For example, the basic

'plot' of Star Wars is that after his aunt and uncle are killed, Luke Skywalker finds out that he's a Jedi. He

then goes to destroy the evil empire that killed them. With the help of some other people he manages

to destroy the empire's death star spaceship'. In Spanish:"trama".

Came out:

(phrasal verb) The infinitive is 'to come out'. This phrasal verb has many different meanings. In the

context of films, it means when a film was originally 'released' or 'first shown in cinemas', e.g. 'Star Wars

came out in 1977' or 'his new film is coming out next week'. This is a Type 1 Phrasal Verb (intransitive

and inseparable with one particle). In Spanish:"estrenarse".

Filmed:

(verb) The infinitive is 'to film'. This means the place(s) where a film or TV programme was recorded or

made. Often a film or TV programme is filmed in a different place or even county to where the story is


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set. For example, the TV comedy series Seinfeld was set in New York, but it was actually filmed in Los

Angeles . It is normally used in the passive (is/was set) and followed by the preposition 'in'. In

Spanish: "rodar".

Special effects:

(noun) 'Special effects' are the unreal or artificial images or sounds that are used in films and TV

programmes to convince the audience that something is really happening when it actually isn't. 'Special

effects' are used to show somebody fly in the air or space like superman, or a walking dinosaur.

Nowadays, a lot of special effects are done by computers, but they are still also done by other methods.

In Spanish:"efectos especiales".

Cameo roles:

(noun) This is when a well-known or famous actor or actress appears/acts in a film for a few minutes.

For example, the very famous actor George Clooney had a 'cameo role' in the film 'The Thin Red Line'.

Famous actors doing 'cameo roles' are common in the films of certain directors. In Spanish: "papel de

estrella invitada".

WHAT DOES THE DICTIONARY SAY?

Film [especially British] movie [especially American] /fIlm/, /mu:vi/ [countable noun] a story that is told using sound and moving pictures Are there any good movies on TV tonight? What's your favourite James Bond film? The film starred Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. see a film/movie Have you seen any good films lately? I saw an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie on the plane - I can't remember its name. film about It's the usual sort of film about boy meets girl. film/movie director/producer/company Tarantino is one of the most famous film directors of our time. film crew (=the people who operate the equipment when making a film) For months the town was full of cameras, lighting and members of the film crew. feature film (=a full-length film that has a story and is acted by professional actors) The story of Lawrence of Arabia was made into a feature film in 1962.

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary


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Cinema/the movies

WATCHING go to/take sb to (see) a film/movie

go to/sit in (BrE) the cinema/(NAmE) the (movie) theater

rent a film/movie/DVD

download a film/movie/video

burn/copy/rip a DVD

see/watch a film/movie/DVD/video/preview/trailer

SHOWING show/screen a film/movie

promote/distribute/review a film/movie

(BrE) be on at the cinema

be released on/come out on/be out on DVD

captivate/delight/grip/thrill the audience

do well/badly at the box office

get a lot of/live up to the hype

FILM-MAKING write/co-write a film/movie/script/screenplay

direct/produce/make/shoot/edit a film/movie/sequel/video

make a romantic comedy/a thriller/an action movie

do/work on a sequel/remake

film/shoot the opening scene/an action sequence/footage (of sth)

compose/create/do/write the soundtrack

cut/edit (out) a scene/sequence

ACTING have/get/do an audition

get/have/play a leading/starring/supporting role

play a character/James Bond/the bad guy

act in/appear in/star in a film/movie/remake

do/perform/attempt a stunt

work in/make it big in Hollywood

forge/carve/make/pursue a career in Hollywood

DESCRIBING FILMS the camera pulls back/pans over sth/zooms in (on sth)

the camera focuses on sth/lingers on sth

shoot sb/show sb in extreme close-up


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use odd/unusual camera angles

be filmed/shot on location/in a studio

be set/take place in London/in the '60s

have a happy ending/plot twist

Documents

The Cinema-Vocabulary