Click on film titles for more information.
| Week of | Topic | Screening | Reading |
| Sept. 2 | Pre-History and Origins of Cinema |
Edison Manufacturing Company
Luis Martinetti, Contortionist (1894) Caicedo, King of the Slack Wire (1894) The Kiss (1896) Serpentine Dances (1895) Sandow the Strong Man (1894) Three American Beauties (1906)(3:00) Lumiere Brothers (1895-1897) Lumiere Workers Leaving the Factory Swimming in the Sea The Baby’s Meal Children Digging for Clams Demolition of a Wall Loading a Boiler The Sprinkler Sprinkled Dragoons Crossing the Saone Arrival of Congress Promenade of Ostriches Arrival of a Train Childish Quarrel Georges Mèliés A Trip to the Moon (1903, 12:00) The Untamable Whiskers (1904, 2:40) The Cook in Trouble (1904, 4:30) Other Trick Films The Thieving Hand (USA, 1908, [director unknown, Vitagraph Co.], 5:00) Princess Nicotine (USA, 1909, J. Stuart Blackton, 5:00) One-Reel Narratives The Great Train Robbery (USA, 1903, Edwin S. Porter, 10 min.) A Corner in Wheat (USA, 1909, D.W. Griffith, 14 min.) |
Film History, Introduction and Chapter 1.
C.H. Claudy, "Motion Picture Magic: Playing Tricks on Time" Andre Gaudreault, "Theaticality, Narrativity, and Trickality" |
| Sept. 9 | One-Reelers to Feature Films |
The Girl and Her Trust (USA, 1912, D.W. Griffith, 15 min.)
The New York Hat (USA, 1912, D.W. Griffith, 16 min.) Alias Jimmy Valentine (USA, 1915, Maurice Tourneur, 65 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 2, Chapter 3
R. Pearson, "The Histrionic and Verisimilar Codes in the Biograph Films" |
| Sept. 16 | American Silent Comedy |
The Policeman's Little Run (France, 1907, Ferdinand Zecca, 6 min.)
The Bangville Police (U.S., 1913, Henry Lehrman, 8 min.) Easy Street (USA, 1917, Charles Chaplin, 20 min.) Never Weaken (USA, 1921, Harold Lloyd, 20 min.) Cops (USA, 1922, Buster Keaton, 20 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 7
James Agee, "Comedy's Greatest Era" |
| Sept. 23 | French Impressionism & German Expressionism |
Ménilmontant (France, 1926, Dimitri Kirsanov, 36 min.)
The Last Laugh (Germany, 1924, F. W. Murnau, 77 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 8
Marc Silberman, "The Modernist Camera and Cinema Illusion" Richard Abel, "Narrative Avant-Garde: Ménilmontant" |
| Sept. 30 | Soviet Montage | The End of St. Petersburg (Russia, 1927, V. I. Pudovkin, 75 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 6, Chapter 12 (261-270)
V.I. Pudovkin, "Film Technique" Sergei Eisenstein, "The Dialectical Approach to Film Form" |
| Oct. 7 | Classical Hollywood and the Talkies | Trouble in Paradise (USA, 1932, Ernst Lubitsch, 82 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 9, Chapter 10
William O. Huie, "Style and Technology in Trouble in Paradise" |
| Oct. 14 | French Cinema of the 1930s | Rules of the Game (France, 1939, Jean Renoir, 111 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 13
André Bazin, "The Evolution of the Language of Cinema" and "The French Renoir" |
Oct 16: Mid-Term Exam | |||
| Oct. 21 | Italian Neorealism | Bicycle Thieves (Italy, 1948, Vittorio De Sica, 92 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 12 (276-281), Chapter 16
Cesare Zavattini, "Some Ideas on the Cinema" |
| Oct. 28 | Post-War Japan | Throne of Blood (Japan, 1957, Akira Kurosawa, 105 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 18, Chapter 19 (422-24)
Keiko McDonald, "Noh into Film: Kurosawa's Throne of Blood" |
| Nov. 4 | French New Wave |
Les Mistons (France, 1957, François Truffaut, 23 min.)
The 400 Blows (France, 1959, François Truffaut, 95 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 17 (373-383), Chapter 19, Chapter 20 (439-57)
R. Neupert, "François Truffaut: The New Wave's Ringleader" [excerpt] |
Biographical Sketch Due: Nov. 5 | |||
| Nov. 11 | New American Cinema |
Sunday (USA, 1961, Dan Drasin, 17 min.)
Shadows (USA, 1959, John Cassavetes, 80 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 15 (325-339), Chapter 21 (477-501)
Jonas Mekas,"A Call for a New Generation of Filmmakers" "Notes on the New American Cinema" & "The Independent Film Award" Walter Ross, "La Nouvelle Vague de New York" John Cassavetes, "What's Wrong with Hollywood" |
| Nov. 18 | Underground and Avant-Garde Film |
My Hustler (USA, 1965, Andy Warhol, 66 min.)
Wavelength (Canada / USA, 1967, Michael Snow, 45 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 21 (501-508), Chapter 24
Variety & New York Times Warhol Coverage J. Hoberman & Jonathan Rosenbaum, "The Underground" [For Thurs] Scott MacDonald, "Michael Snow: Wavelength" [For Thurs] Scott MacDonald, "Interview with Michael Snow" [excerpt] |
| Nov. 25 | Hong Kong Action (Sections meet as scheduled, no Thursday lecture) | Legendary Weapons of China (Hong Kong, 1982, Lau Kar-leung, 110 m.) |
Film History, Chapter 26
David Bordwell, "Motion Emotion" and "Three Martial Masters" |
| Dec. 2 | Hollywood Responds, Part I: Auteurs and Indies | The King of Comedy (USA, 1983, Martin Scorsese, 109 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 22, Chapter 27
D. Cook, "Auteur Cinema and the 'Film Generation' in 1970s Hollywood" Chuck Kleinhans, "Independent Features: Hopes and Dreams" Beth Pinsker, "Alive and Kicking: Good Machine's First Decade" |
Analytic Essay Due: Dec. 3 | |||
| Dec. 9 | Hollywood Responds, Part II: Media Globalization | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ([???], 2000, Ang Lee, 120 min.) |
Film History, Chapter 28
Variety coverage of CTHD and Asian market Charles Lyons, "New Machine Comes into Focus" |
Final Exam: December 18, 2:45 p.m., location T.B.A | |||