Module Identifier TF10210  
Module Title INTRODUCTION TO FILM 1  
Academic Year 2001/2002  
Co-ordinator Professor Martin Barker  
Semester Semester 1  
Course delivery Lecture   10 Hours  
  Seminar   5 Hours  
Assessment Essay   2,500 words   60%  
  Exam   2 Hours   40%  

General description


CONTENT


Introductory Lecture
Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1990 It)
(The Director?s Cut Nuovo Cinema Paradiso may be used)
Additional Viewing: The Star-Maker (Tornatore)
Se7en (David Fincher, 1995 US)
Additional Viewing: The Shining (Kubrick)
Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959 US)
Additional Viewing: Monsieur Hulot?s Holiday (Tati)
Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976 USA)
Additional Viewing: Mean Streets (Scorsese)
Otto e Mezzo/Eight and a Half (Federico Fellini, 1962 It)
Additional Viewing: Ginger and Fred (Fellini)
The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993 NZ)
Additional Viewing: Holy Smoke (Campion)
Trois Coleurs: Bleu / Three Colours Blue (Krystof Kieslowski, 1993 Pol/Fr)
Additional Viewing: A Short Film About Killing (Kieslowski)
Det Sjunde Inseglet / The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
Additional Viewing: Stardust Memories (Allen)
La Battaglia di Algeri / The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1964 It)
Additional Viewing: Burn! (Pontecorvo)


AIMS:


To introduce students to the methods of reading and contextualising films.
To encompass a brief history of key figures in the development of cinema. Films are to be viewed prior to the lecture. Seminars follow the lecture and are fortnightly.
To address: surrealism, art versus craftsmanship, acting in cinema, film comedy, the role of comedy, spectacle, genre, violence and homage.


LEARNING OUTCOMES:


Upon completion of this module, students should be able:


to examine film according to a) the times in which they were made; b) how this context is reflected in the films themselves; c) theories of film texts; d) theories of film production.
to acquire the ability to separate fact from opinion.

Reading Lists

Books
** Reference Text
Cook, Pam. (1999) The Cinema Book. British Film Institute
Pym, J. (1997) Time Out Film Guide 6. London
Thoms, N. The International Dictionary of Film and Film-Makers Volumes 1 - 4. 1991 & 1996. London: St James Press
Bazin, A. (1971) What is Cinema? Volumes 1 and 2. California
Baxter, J. (1993) Fellini. London
Thompson, David. (1991) Biographical Dictionary of Film. London
Christie, I & Thompson, D. (1996) Scorsese on Scorsese. London
Lumet, S. (1995) Making Movies. Vintage Books
Truffaut, F. (1980) The Films in My Life. London
Stok, D. (1993) Kieslowski on Kieslowski. London
Biskind, Peter. (1998) Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. Bloomsbury
Michalzyk, John J. (1986) Italian Political Film-makers. Associated University Press
Bruzi, Stella. (1998) Undressing Cinema. Routledge
James, D. (1992) To Free the Cinema. Princeton University Press
** Essential Reading
Bordwell, D, & Thompson, K,. (1997) Film Art: An Introduction. London
Cook, D.A.. (1981) A History of Narrative Film. New York
Monaco, J.. (1995) How to Read a Film: The Art, Technology, Language, History and Theories of Film and Media. 3rd. Oxford University Press
Nelmes, J. (1995) An Introduction to Film Studies. Routledge

Journals
Sight and Sound Magazine. British Film Institute.