The course aims at providing a critical survey of the major film theories, ranging from the so-called “classical” theories (until the IIWW) to the “modern” ones (from the post-war period onwards), by following a specific approach according to which the cinematographic image is examined with reference to its problematic relationship with the world, the real referent. The analysis will focus on the comparison between theoretical speculation and analytical practice in order to redefine the main concepts and elements of cinematographic expression. The course will be based on themes and will go through the main stages of the elaboration of categories in film theory and of models used to analyse films, such as: the staging and the shot, the montage and the long take, the on and off screen, the movements of cinecamera and the creation of the point of view, etc.