Schedule:

Week one:  Introduction and Expectations

Breakdown and Analysis: (see Reading a Film: Breakdown and Analysis:)

1. Elements of a film:  setting, plot, character, themes, style, mood

2. Genres:  drama, mystery, suspense, detective, crime, film noir, gangster, horror, fantasy, monster movie, science fiction, comic book, animated features, western, historical, biographical, action, disaster, adventure,  road movie,  buddy movie, musical, romance, comedy

3. Filmmaking:    preproduction, production, postproduction

        Marks:  Attendance 20%, Reports 20%, Participation 20%, Final Exam 40%
                   

Weeks two and three: Citizen Kane: (1941) more...

Introduction: watch for structure, storytelling techniques, cinematography, character development.
A brief description of the Studio-controlled Hollywood system and the manner and quantity of production.
Race representation and cultural stereotypes: Observe how are blacks portrayed in this film.

Period: 1941, before television. News was shown in cinemas on news reels.

Themes:     Material Success and Values
                 Power, Ego and Corruption
                 Mystery of One's Life
                 Love and Alienation

Form:        Narrative Structure: fragmented flashbacks
                Cinematography: angles, shadow and light
                Transitions (between scenes)
                Motifs and symbols: newspapers, artificial light,
                jigsaw puzzles

Homework question: What is Rosebud?
                            Why is this move considered one of the best of all time?

 

Themes:      The Cost of Ambition
                  Envy and Deceit
                  Power Struggles
                  "All the World's a Stage"
                  Good Intentions/Bad Intentions

  Language:   Ironic Dialogue

 

Homework: Rewrite the ending or give alternative endings.
                Discuss the importance of the movie’s themes.

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Weeks six and seven: Strangers on a Train: (1951) more...

Introduction: Hitchcock's influence on the development of film.
Before and after Psycho: How violence in cinema was treated and has changed.
Observe how the aged are treated in this film; seriously or as comic relief?

Form:         Creating Suspense

Language:   Words vs Deeds

 

Homework: Write a synopsis or proposal for a murder mystery movie thriller with the
                 intent of selling it to a Hollywood Producer.

 

Week eight:  Buffer
                     Question and Answer Test

 

Weeks nine and ten:  Casablanca: (1942) more...

Introduction: Historical settings, remote places, universal themes.

Themes:    Making Choices (2)
               Selfishness, Ethics & Sacrifices
               Convictions and Restraint
               The Tyranny of Desire

 Form:        The Love Triangle
                 A Microcosmic Atmosphere
                 Creating moods

 Language:  Dialogue Style (smooth, witty, aloof)
                 Slang and Colloquialism

 

Homework: Character Sketch: describe and compare two main characters

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Weeks eleven and twelve:  Some Like it Hot: (1959) more...

Introduction: Movies after the advent of television.
Prohibition and Organized Crime in the 1920's.
Challenging censorship and production codes in the 1950's. 

 Themes:    Appearance Versus Reality
                 Making Impressions
                 Gender-Bending
                 Disguises

 Form:        Screwball Comedy
                 Comedy of Errors
                 Romantic Comedy

 Language:  Misinterpretation
                 Gags and Puns
                 Slang

 

Homework: What makes us laugh?
                Can comedy exist without pathos (sadness) or tragedy?  
                Quick Movie Report

 

Weeks thirteen and fourteen:  One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest: (1975) more...

Introduction: Socially progressive movies that generate change.
Ken Kesey-Milos Foreman: American Novel, Foreign Director (1). 

Themes:    Order and Anarchy
                 Freedom and Constraint
                 Resisitance is Futile.
                 Language as Power

 Form:      Confined Setting and Character Clash
                Creating and Mounting Tension
                Evening the Moral Playing Field

Language: Confrontational Dialogue
                Rhetoric and Persuasion

 

Homework: Advanced Movie Report

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Weeks fifteen and sixteen:  The Ice Storm: (1997) more...

Introduction: American family and societal values in the 1970's as seen by a Tawinese filmmaker. Rick Moody-Ang Lee: American Novel, Foreign Director (2). 

 Themes:    Breakdown of familial Conventions
                 Individualism and Communication

 Form:        Relationships and Symbolism

 Language:  Broken and Unspoken

 

Homework: Movie Critique for a Newspaper.

 

Weeks seventeen and eighteen:  The Others: (2001) more...

Introduction: Mass Appeal and Post-Modern Films: Popular entertainment co-opts the Art Film.

Themes:        Perception and Perspectives
                    Denial, Mortality & the Supernatural
                    Fear of the Unknown and Unactualized

Form:            Plot Twists
                    Constructing Fear
                    Thwarting Expectations

Relationships: Mother-Daughter
                     Brother-Sister
                     Master-Servant
                     Husband-Wife

 

Homework: Suspending disbelief: How does this movie persuade us to                               consent to its supernatural subject matter. Hint: as a psychological                           drama with a radical plot twist.

 

Exam Review.