Module Identifier GE22020  
Module Title AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FILM OF WEIMAR GERMANY  
Academic Year 2001/2002  
Co-ordinator Dr Paul Cooke  
Semester Semester 1  
Assessment Continuous assessment   30%: one essay of 1,500 -2,000 wds and 10%: one 10-15 min. seminar presentation   40%  
  Exam   2 Hours 2 essays   60%  

General description


The aims of this course are twofold: firstly, to give students an overview of one of the most vibrant periods of German cinema
and secondly, to introduce them to the discipline of film studies. A selection of important films will be studied within the context
of the historical period, in order to explore how they reflect central social and political issues of the time, such as the
representation of women in society and the struggle between left and right-wing politics. In so doing, students will also develop
their ability to analyse film. The course will, for example, look at the use of Expressionism in the period and the development of
the thriller. Further, students will examine different approaches to reading film, such as the use of psychoanalysis and feminism
by film theorists.
   
Films to be discussed:

   Robert Wiene, Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920)
   Fritz Lang,   
   ----, Metropolis (1927)
   ----, M (1931)
   G W Pabst, Die Buchse der Pandora (1928)
   Joseph von Sternberg, Der blaue Engel (1930)

Learning outcomes


Students should feel that they have a good detailed command of Weimar film history. They should also feel capable of critically analysing film and have an awareness of the central areas of contemporary film theory.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Siegfried Kracauer. (1947) From Caligari to Hitler. Princeton
James Monaco. (1981) How to Read a Film. Oxford/New York