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Moment of Action
Riddles of Cinematic Performance
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Book Presentation:
There are hundreds of biographies of filmstars and dozens of scholarly works on acting in general. But what about the ephemeral yet indelible moments when, for a brief scene or even just a single shot, an actor’s performance triggers a visceral response in the viewer? Moment of Action delves into the mysteries of screen performance, revealing both the acting techniques and the technical apparatuses that coalesce in an instant of cinematic alchemy to create movie gold. Considering a range of acting styles while examining films as varied as Bringing Up Baby, Psycho, The Red Shoes, Godzilla, and The Bourne Identity, Murray Pomerance traces the common dynamics that work to structure the complex relationship between the act of cinematic performance and its eventual perception. Mining the spaces where subjective and objective analyses merge, Pomerance offers both a deeply personal account of film viewership and a detailed examination of the intuitive gestures, orchestrated movements, and backstage maneuvers that go into creating those phenomenal moments onscreen. Moment of Action takes us on an innovative exploration of the nexus at which the actor’s keen skills spark and kindle the audience’s receptive energies.
About the Author:
MURRAY POMERANCE is an independent film scholar in Toronto, Canada. He is the author, editor, or co-editor of many books, including The Eyes Have It, Shining in Shadows: Movie Stars of the 2000s, A Little Solitaire: John Frankenheimer and American Film, and The Horse Who Drank the Sky: Film Experience Beyond Narrative and Theory (all published by Rutgers University Press).
Press Reviews:
"Moment of Action magnifies every aspect of the art and craft of filmmaking. Murray Pomerance is a scholar and keen observer, whose passion for the subject is very impressive." — Elliott Gould "The versatile critic and scholar Murray Pomerance analyzes the complexities, casts light on the enigmas, and celebrates the excitements of screen performance with insight, appreciation, and panache." — David Sterritt "Is acting a cinematic element, inseparable from direction, cinematography, special effects, and design? This book by the prodigious, prolific Pomerance will change how you think about screen acting." — Dennis Bingham
See the publisher website: Rutgers University Press
> From the same author:
Mervyn LeRoy Comes to Town (2025)
Dir. Murray Pomerance and R. Barton Palmer
Subject: Director > Mervyn LeRoy
The Biggest Thing in Show Business (2024)
Living It Up with Martin & Lewis
by Murray Pomerance and Matthew Solomon
Subject: Actor > Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin
Autism in Film and Television (2022)
On the Island
Dir. Murray Pomerance and R. Barton Palmer
Subject: Sociology
The Other Hollywood Renaissance (2020)
Dir. Dominic Lennard, R. Barton Palmer and Murray Pomerance
Subject: Countries > United States
The Many Cinemas of Michael Curtiz (2018)
Dir. R. Barton Palmer and Murray Pomerance
Subject: Director > Michael Curtiz
Close-Up (2018)
Great Cinematic Performances Volume 2: International
Dir. Murray Pomerance and Kyle Stevens
Hamlet Lives in Hollywood (2017)
John Barrymore and the Acting Tradition Onscreen
Dir. Murray Pomerance and Steven Rybin
Subject: Actor > John Barrymore
Thinking in the Dark (2015)
Cinema, Theory, Practice
Dir. Murray Pomerance and R. Barton Palmer
Subject: Theory
George Cukor (2015)
Hollywood Master
Dir. Murray Pomerance and R. Barton Palmer
Subject: Director > George Cukor
Hollywood's Chosen People (2012)
The Jewish Experience in American Cinema
Dir. Daniel Bernardi, Hava Tirosh-Samuelson and Murray Pomerance
Subject: Countries > United States
Shining in Shadows (2011)
Movie Stars of the 2000s
Dir. Murray Pomerance
Subject: On Films > Per period
A Little Solitaire (2011)
John Frankenheimer and American Film
Dir. Murray Pomerance
Subject: Director > John Frankenheimer
Michelangelo Red Antonioni Blue (2011)
Eight Reflections on Cinema
Subject: Director > Michelangelo Antonioni
American Cinema of the 1950s (2005)
Themes and Variations
Dir. Murray Pomerance
Subject: On Films > Per period
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice (2001)
Cinemas of Girlhood
Dir. Frances Gateward and Murray Pomerance
Subject: Sociology
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls (2001)
Gender in Film at the End of the Twentieth Century
Dir. Murray Pomerance
Subject: Sociology
> On a related topic:
Playing to the Camera (1999)
Film Actors Discuss Their Craft
by Bert Cardullo, Harry Geduld, Ronald Gottesman and Leigh Woods
The Non-Professional Actor (2025)
Italian Neorealist Cinema and Beyond
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