On Classicism and Causal Clarity

This article explains how David Bordwell's theory of classical Hollywood cinema changed over the years, comparing his writings from 1985 with later publications such as Reinventing Hollywood . While Bordwell continued to argue that narrative was a dominant principle in classical cinema, his definition of narrative grew more expansive, placing less emphasis on the causal chain and more emphasis on narrative dynamics. Extending this insight about classical narration to the study of classical style, I argue that stylistic devices, such as cinematography, do much more than causal clarification. Even in a storytelling context, a classical film may use cinematography to hint, conceal, mislead, and reveal. Classical style can be eye-catching and emotionally charged, not in spite of narrative, and not in addition to narrative, but because of it.