Module Identifier EL10520  
Module Title INTRODUCTION TO EUROPEAN FILM  
Academic Year 2007/2008  
Co-ordinator Dr Maria D Blanco  
Semester Semester 2 (Taught over 2 semesters)  
Other staff Dr Jose M Goni Perez, Adriano Vincentelli, Dr Karina Lindeiner-Strasky, Dr Benjamin Andreo  
Course delivery Lecture   10 Hours.  
  Other   10 Hours. 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
** 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 Text
A. Bazin (Italian) What is cinema? Univ. of California Press
Pierre Sorlin (Italian) (1996) Italian National Cinema 1896-1996 Routledge
** Recommended Background
Agamben, Giorgio (1998) Image et Memoire (French) Hoebeke
Armes, Roy (1970) French Cinema since 1946 (French) Zwemmer Ltd
Bondanella Peter (1982) Italian cinema from Neorealism to the Present Frederick Ungar Frederick Ungar
Braudy, Leo (ed) (1992) Film Theory and Criticism Oxford University Press
Brown, Royal Focus on Godard (French) Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall
Cook, David (1996) A History of Narrative Film USA: W W Norton Press
Debord, Guy (1999) In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni (French) Gallimard
Debord, Guy (1992) La societé du spectacle (French) Gallimard
Durgnat, Raymond Nouvelle Vague: The First Decade (French) London: Motion Publications
Ed. Geoffrey Nowell-Smith (1996) The Oxford History of World Cinema Oxford University Press
Ed. R Dryer & G Vincendeau (1992) Popular European Cinema Routledge
Edwards, Gwynne (1995) Indecent Exposures London: Marion Boyars
Edwards, Gwynne (1982) The Discreet Art of Luis Buñuel Marion Boyars
Eisner, Lotte H (1973) The Haunted Screen (German) Oxford
Elsaesser, Thomas (1989) New German Cinema (German) New Brunswick
Forbes, Jill (1989) The Cinema in France (French) Routledge
Frodon, Jean-Michel (1995) L'Age Moderne du cinema français (French) Flammarion
Graham, Peter (ed) The New Wave: Critical Landmarks (French) London: BFI
Havard, Robert (2001) The Crucified Mind Tamesis
Hayward, Susan (1993) French National Cinema (French) London: Routledge
Hopewell, John (1986) Out of the Past: Spanish Cinema after Franco (Spanish) London: BFI Books
Ibarz, Mercè (1999) Buñel documental, 'Tierra sin pan' y sutiempo Zaragoza
Jordan, Barry and Morgan-Tamosunas, Rikki (1998) Contemporary Spanish Cinema Manchester University Press
Kinder, Marsha (1993) Blood Cinema. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University Press
Kracauer, Siegfried (1947) From Caligari to Hitler (German) Princeton
Manvell, Roger (1973) The Masterworks of German Cinema London
Monaco, James (1976) The New Wave (French) New York: OUP
Sandford, John Chaos and Control in the Weimar Film (German) pp. 311-23 German Life and Letters, 48
Sorlin, Pierre (1991) European Cinemas, European Societies 1939-1990 Routledge
Sorlin, Pierre (1996) Italian National Cinema 1896-1996 London, Routledge
Stone, Rob (2001) Inside Film: Spanish Cinema Longman
Thompson, Kristin & Borwell, David (1994) Film History. An Introduction McGraw Hill
Vincendeau, Ginette (eds) (1996) The Companion to French Cinema (French) London: BFI

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4