IT30610 - ITALIAN CINEMA: NEOREALISM

Module Identifier

IT30610

Module Title

ITALIAN CINEMA: NEOREALISM

Academic Year

2005/2006

Co-ordinator

Adriano Vincentelli

Semester

Semester 1

Other staff

Dr Roberta Sartoni

Pre-Requisite

(Normally) Eligibility for entry to Level 3 Italian.

Co-Requisite

None (IT30710 recommended).

Course delivery

Other

Contact Hours. (Total of 15 Lectures/Seminars/Tutorials/Practicals.)

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Exam	2 Hours Written exam.	70%
Semester Assessment	Continuous Assessment: 1 essay of 1500-2000 words or assigment/presentation	30%
Supplementary Exam	1 x 2 hour examination if continuous assessment submitted. 1 x 3 hour examination if no continuous assessment submitted.	100%

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module students will

have gained an insight into the circumstances and events which led to the flourishing of Neorealism;

be capable of identifying and following the threads that link Neorealism to ideas muted in the early years of Fascism;

be aware of the themes Neorealism appropriated by studying examples from literature, the visual arts and cinema;

be aware of the main reasons and the implications for the demise of Neorealism;

be aware of the variety of idioms the culture of a country can assume;

be capable to researching and preparing a presentation on a given topic, to be delivered in a student seminar.

Brief description

Neorealism as a movement was very short-lived, yet associated with it are the names of some of the best known film directors, artists and writers of the fifties: from Rossellini and Visconti to Fellini, from Vittorini and Pasolini to Calvino. Despite running rapidly into the hostility of the Italian establishment its influence was profound and long-lasting both within Italy and abroad. After the long years of Fascist propaganda and mystification it distinguished itself for its keen sense of social responsibility, moral commitment and for its increasingly unwelcome determination to bring to public's attention human, political and social problems.

Reading Lists

Books
Vittorini, E. Uomini e no Mondadori
Liehm, Mira Passion and Defiance: film in Italy from 1942 to the Present University of California Press
Bazin, A. What is cinema? University of California Press
Hill, A & P. Church Gibson (eds) The Oxford Guide to Film Studies
Pacifici, S. From Verismo to experimentalism: essays on the modern Italian novel Indiana U.P.
Pacifici, S. The modern Italian novel: From Pea to Moravia Southern Illinois U.P.
Potter, J. H Elio Vittorini Twayne
Fiorentino, L. Narratori del Novecento Mondadori
Marcus, Millicent Italian film in the Light of Neorealism Princeton University Press
Bondanella, Peter Italian cinema from Neorealism to the Present Frederick Ungar, New York, 1982
Overbe, David (ed) Springtime in Italy: A reader on Neo-Realism Talisman Books, London, 1978
FILMS:
Luchino Visconti Ossessione
Roberto Rossellini (1945) Roma citta aperta
Vittorio de sica (1948) Ladri di biciclette
Luciano de Giusti (1985) I film di Luchino Visconti Gremese Editore, Roma
PHOTOGRAPHY:
Zannier, Italo (ed) Neorealismo e fotografia. Il Gruppo Friulano per una Nuova Fotografia 1955-1965 Art & Srl, Udine, 1987
HANDOUTS: (must read)
Gough-Yates, Kevin 'The Destruction of Neo-Realism', Films and filming vol 6, no 12. September 1970, pp. 14-22 (photocopy)
Crawford, Alistair Carlo Bevilaqua Il Maestro Aberystwyth 1986
Also available on request photocopy from: Alistair Crawford Mario Giacomelli Cardiff 1983
CINEMA:
PHOTOGRAPHY:
LITERATURE:
Vittorini, E. Uomini e no Mondadori
Pacifici, S. A guide to contemporary Italian literature: from futurism to neorealism Cleveland world Publishing (Medirian books)

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6