Film analysis is the systematic study of a movie's core elements like mise-en-scène, cinematography, sound, and editing, closely linked to film theory. According to Jacques Aumont and Michel Marie, film analysis is an ongoing process requiring knowledge of film history, proposing approaches such as text-based, narrative, iconic, psychoanalytical, and historical methods. Thomas and Vivian Sobchack offer a viewer-centric perspective, focusing on elements like film space, time, sound, image, and movement.
Iconic analysis, which deciphers meaning from visual elements, held particular significance in historical movements like pre-WWII avant-garde films and Italian neorealism, though today it's often subtle in narrative films and used more in film schools. Other specialized methods include semiotic analysis, which examines meaning-making through signs and symbols, and the psychoanalytical approach, exploring film's aesthetic and psychological dimensions.