Module Identifier EL10520  
Module Title INTRODUCTION TO EUROPEAN FILM  
Academic Year 2005/2006  
Co-ordinator Dr Andrew J Hussey  
Semester Semester 2 (Taught over 2 semesters)  
Other staff Dr Jane Wilkinson, Mr Jose M Goni Perez, Dr Andrew J Hussey  
Course delivery Lecture    
  Seminars / Tutorials   Seminar  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment Continuous Assessment: (4 assessed essays of a comparative nature [1,000-1,500 words each])100%
Supplementary Exam 1 x 2 hour examination if continuous assessment submitted. 1 x 3 hour examination if no continuous assessment submitted.100%

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Students will have a thorough grounding in the cultural history of film-making in Europe. They will be familiar with the political and social contexts in which these films were made, and they will have a good general knowledge of major film-makers. They will also have developed their skills in the field of comparative study.

Brief description

This module is intended for students who are interested in the film history and culture of Europe. The module provides an opportunity for students to learn about the development of film in Europe and in particular countries. Lectures will outline the major social and political changes which were influential in the making of these countries' films, and seminars will be of a comparative nature, thereby allowing students to develop and express their own understanding of European film in the production of a dossier which will be submitted as part of their continuous assessment. A series of twelve film screening (with subtitles) will run parallel with the lectures, and all of the films will be available on the computer server for easy and repeated viewing by the students. Second and third year modules in Spanish, French and German cinema already complement this module, though the introduction of this module will also prompt the restructuring of those modules (and the gradual introduction of others) in the creation of a new degree scheme in European Film Studies that will most likely be complemented by studies in languages and/or theoretical film studies.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
A. Bazin (Italian) What is cinema? Univ. of California Press
Pierre Sorlin (Italian) (1996) Italian National Cinema 1896-1996 Routledge
** Essential Reading
Millicent Marcus (Italian) (1986) Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism Princeton University Press
Miriam Liehm (Italian) (1984) Passion & Defiance. Film in Italy from 1942 to the present Univ. of California Press
** Recommended Background
Manvell, Roger (1973) The Masterworks of German Cinema London
Sandford, John Chaos and Control in the Weimar Film (German) pp. 311-23 German Life and Letters, 48
Sorlin, Pierre (1996) Italian National Cinema 1896-1996 London, Routledge
Agamben, Giorgio (1998) Image et Memoire (French) Hoebeke
Debord, Guy (1992) La societe du spectacle (French) Gallimard
Debord, Guy (1999) In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni (French) Gallimard
Armes, Roy (1970) French Cinema since 1946 (French) Zwemmer Ltd
Brown, Royal Focus on Godard (French) Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall
Durgnat, Raymond Nouvelle Vague: The First Decade (French) London: Motion Publications
Graham, Peter (ed) The New Wave: Critical Landmarks (French) London: BFI
Hayward, Susan (1993) French National Cinema (French) London: Routledge
Monaco, James (1976) The New Wave (French) New York: OUP
Vincendeau, Ginette (eds) (1996) The Companion to French Cinema (French) London: BFI
Cook, David (1996) A History of Narrative Film USA: W W Norton Press
Braudy, Leo (ed) (1992) Film Theory and Criticism Oxford University Press
Edwards, Gwynne (1982) The Discreet Art of Luis Buñuel Marion Boyars
Havard, Robert (2001) The Crucified Mind Tamesis
Kracauer, Siegfried (1947) From Caligari to Hitler (German) Princeton
Elsaesser, Thomas (1989) New German Cinema (German) New Brunswick
Eisner, Lotte H (1973) The Haunted Screen (German) Oxford
Stone, Rob (2001) Inside Film: Spanish Cinema Longman
Jordan, Barry and Morgan-Tamosunas, Rikki (1998) Contemporary Spanish Cinema Manchester University Press
Hopewell, John (1986) Out of the Past: Spanish Cinema after Franco (Spanish) London: BFI Books
Kinder, Marsha (1993) Blood Cinema. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University Press
Edwards, Gwynne (1995) Indecent Exposures London: Marion Boyars
Forbes, Jill (1989) The Cinema in France (French) Routledge
Frodon, Jean-Michel (1995) L'Age Moderne du cinema francais (French) Flammarion
Sorlin, Pierre (1991) European Cinemas, European Societies 1939-1990 Routledge
Thompson, Kristin & Borwell, David (1994) Film History. An Introduction McGraw Hill
Ed. Geoffrey Nowell-Smith (1996) The Oxford History of World Cinema Oxford University Press
Ed. R Dryer & G Vincendeau (1992) Popular European Cinema Routledge
Bondanella Peter (1982) Italian cinema from Neorealism to the Present Frederick Ungar Frederick Ungar
Ibarz, Mercè (1999) Buñel documental, 'Tierra sin pan' y sutiempo Zaragoza

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4