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| Summer
2009 (All courses are 4 units unless otherwise noted.) |
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Session A (May 26th - July 2nd)
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| The History of Film (This course fulfills the film major lower division sound film history requirement.) | |
Film 25A Film 25A is an advanced introduction to the history of the silent film, encompassing questions of film theory and film aesthetics. What is it about the film medium that is so congenial and absorbing to the human psyche? How can the medium be shaped, through techniques unique and specific to the film medium, to articulate a filmís narrative, social, psychological and ideological concerns? Through the study of the historical development of film techniques, with an emphasis on in-depth analyses of film sequences from the silent cinema, students acquire knowledge of the foundation of the cinematic practices of today. We begin with a study of the first films shown to a paying audience and how these films differed from the cinema as it has become institutionalized today. We then consider why the fiction film became dominant and the process by which the classical Hollywood narrative film evolved. Next we explore other film styles developed in the nineteen twenties that depart from the American style of filmmakingóthe revolutionary cinema of the Soviet Union; the Expressionist cinema of Germany during the Weimar Republic; the French Impressionist experiments in France; the ìrealistî cinema in early documentary, film comedy and Japanese films. What accounts for the diversity of forms and styles that flourished during the silent period of film history? The course concludes with a consideration of the initial impact of the coming of sound on cinematic technique. Course Requirements Five page Shot Analysis Essay based on an in-depth analysis of 25 consecutive shots from a silent film (25%). Mid-term Exam (25 %) Six to eight page final paper, including shot analysis data, comparing film styles in the silent era, the application of a film theory studied in class to a text, a consideration of the influence of silent films styles and techniques on current films, research on a silent film or film movement we did not cover in 25A. (25%) Optional (extra credit) video editing exercise. (Students work in groups to re-edit early narrative films and present the new version to the class). Extra credit for attending silent films screened at the Pacific Film Archive. Final exam (25%) In addition, students are expected to attend class regularly and respond actively and critically to the films screened and to the course readings. Texts David A. Cook, A History of Narrative Film, W.W. Norton,( Latest edition) 25A Course Reader (Availability to be Announced) |
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| The Documentary Film (This course fulfills the film major upper division theory requirement.) | |
Film 28A This course will trace the history of the documentary film - from the early actualities produced by the Edison and Lumière Studios, through ethnographic film and vérité, and on to the complex ciné-essays of Chris Marker. We will examine key issues raised by the documentary mode in its pursuit of an evanescent “reality”: its pedagogical function vis-à-vis a dominant cinema more or less allocated to entertainment films, its relationship to narrative and argumentative strategies, and its assimilation to avant-garde and activist projects. We will be especially attentive to the “blurred boundaries” of the documentary film; we will look for those places where documentary intersects with other sorts of film practice. The course will include a consideration of the “mockumentary,” which appropriates doc conventions in mainstream genre contexts, mainly horror and comedy, as well as the “liberal protest film,” a subgenre that has flourished in the wake of Michael Moore’s divisive Fahrenheit 9-11. |
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| Film Noir in Contemporary Cinema (This course can be used to fullfill the film major lower division documentary requirement.) | |
Film 108.001 In its heyday in the 1940s and ‘50s, film noir established itself as a rich cinematic mode of storytelling, whose films were scattered across several genres and united by their moody visual style and dark worldview. Though purists say that noir died around 1958, filmmakers since the 1970s have been turning out dynamic work in the noir tradition – features that have been gathered under the title “neo-noir.” This course will concentrate on film and television from the neo-noir period and the spirited scholarly debates and discussions that accompany it, starting with background in classic noir and theories of postmodernism and existentialism. No longer the exclusive terrain of the grizzled male gumshoe, noir of the last few decades offers protagonists as varied as butch lesbian ex-cons, unnaturally cheerful FBI agents, bisexual amnesiacs, brooding comic book heroes, and snarky high school girls. One particular concern of the course will be an examination of gender in neo-noir and how the fascinating character of the femme fatale has been carried on and productively altered in this new cycle of films. Films to be Screened (in their entirety or through clips) Include: Course Requirements Required Texts |
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