Erin Bouma's Recommended
Erin’s WEB Finds
TEACHING WITH MOVIES
http://www.eslflow.com/teachinglanguagewithmovies.html
A variety of ESL lessons for teaching movies/theatre, how to write movie reviews, and listing of lessons about celebrities, including writing, grammar, vocabulary, movie charades, film festivals, etc.?
http://www.eslnotes.com/index.html
Raymond Weschler, an ESL teacher has created Raynotes, guides with a detailed synopsis of a popular movie with 1) a summary of the plot, 2) a list of major characters, 3) an extensive glossary of vocabulary/ cultural references and 4) questions for ESL class discussion (18–22 pages). Also included are: an Introduction for ESL Learners (“The Movie as a Teacher”), some thoughts for Instructors, Why These Movies? And How to Read These Guides.
http://www.awesomestories.com/sample_topics/teaching_movies.shtml
Teaching With Movies. “The Story Behind the Movie” for 67 significant films, featuring a short preface and 8 additional thematic entries and one on resources. If you get a free, registered membership in Awesome Stories you have access to everything.
An award-winning site for those who love great movies. Detailed plot synopses, review commentary and film reference material are on the site. Also film analysis, information on the top films and most memorable movie scenes, “best of…” articles, and the most popular film quotes in all genres of film. Also film history, Oscars and descriptions for hundreds of classic English-language movies from the last one hundred years.
http://www.surfthechannel.com/cat/61397/a.html
SurfTheChannel is a video search engine with free downloads of films. The Engine offers links to free movies, free tv shows and streaming videos from all walks of life. TV networks, broadcasters, video streaming sites are indexed, with an easily searchable database. There are literally hundreds of movies but, since they are linked to other sites, not all will play.
http://www.imdb.com/features/video
The Internet Movie Database is a huge collection of movie information. Categories include: full-length movies, full-length TV episodes, trailers, clips, Indie (Independent) films and shorts. Details are cataloged: who was in it, who made it, trivia, and even where you can find reviews on the web. It was started by an international group of movie fans in the U.S. and Europe.
http://www.babelgum.com/index.php
Babelgum has plenty of great free full length movies. Go straight to the Channels page and look to the right – you’ll see a whole list of really interesting subjects that you can then click on and find movies you might be interested in. Or Click on “Indie Films”, offering features, shorts, documentary or animation.
This is a Moviesite made for people who want to watch popular and non- boring movies, TV-shows and documentaries. You can request any movie on Reoro.com and they will bring it to you in less than a day. First check the full movie list. Every movie is actually hosted at another site, so while there is a variety of great movies offered, if the link is broken, you won’t see it. Current movies, top 25 full-feature selections, South Park cartoons, a documentary, an eclectic selection.
http://www.englishbaby.com/lessons/search_results?_sp_category=4
You need to join English, baby! (free) to access lessons based around recent popular films: “Mama Mia”, “The Changling”, the classic Monroe film, “The Seven Year Itch”, or the animation “Ratatouille”. 90 films in total.
This site offers documentaries featuring social issues and links them to social action. Recommended are “81 Films That Pushed the Envelope” (some feature films you’ve heard of and some you haven’t) with 10 minute clips and commentary. Also a Teachers Section with, for example, a study guide for “The Kite Runner” and other films.
http://www.archive.org/details/movies
Moving image Archive is a library of free movies, films, and videos. Thousands of digital movies can be uploaded, ranging from classic full-length films, to daily alternative news broadcasts, to cartoons and concerts.. Look for older American material here, including 1950s TV commercials, vintage educational films, newsreels from 1963, travelogues on Mexico and Peru, etc. Many available for free download.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june01/movies_tech.html
From American Public Broadcasting Station’s News Hour comes “21st Century Movies” (2001) – “Digital Magic” (2000) and “Special effects technology” (1998). “In the Classroom” Teaching Guide offers educational activities exploring the science of filmmaking. Also links to Hollywood.com, internet movie database (imdb.com), imax.com.
http://users.aber.ac.uk/dgc/gramtv.html
The “Grammar” of Television and Film. A useful, text-only listing of terms and explanations of the filmmaking process (both creative and technical).
http://www.bangkokpost.net/education/movies.htm
Advice on how to read movie reviews
If you are looking for film scripts/transcripts (sometimes in early draft form) check these sites:
http://www.simplyscripts.com/oscar_winners.html
http://www.writemovies.com/scripts_a.htm
http://www.englishbaby.com/lessons/search_results?_sp_category=4
http://www.script-o-rama.com/snazzy/dircut.html