Cinema History

Cinema History I

Final

As introduced in class and in your syllabi, you can choose one of the following two possible assignments for your midterm:

A 5-6 page minimum Written Critiques: you will address the narrative, cinematic form and context of an assigned film, and connect it to the trends and cinematic movements discussed in class. Successful papers will require thorough research beyond the class discussions and multiple times viewing of the selected movie. You cannot use any other titles but the ones proposed in this document, and you cannot compare two movies in your written essay, even if they happen to be both from the indicated list.

A 4-5 minutes Video Essays: For those who are not excited about writing a critique, you may instead consider a 4 to 5-minute video essay on a topic of your choosing. Your topic must however fall within our class time period (Late 1880 to early nineteen forties) and must match the various international film movements we addressed in class.

ASSIGNMENT PARAMETERS

WRITTEN ESSAYS:
Write five pages minimum (not including your cover page or the bibliography) on any of the following movies:

Morrocco (Joseph Von Sternberg) – Criterion

City Lights (Charlie Chaplin) – Criterion

Le Million (René Clair) – Criterion

The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodore Dreyer) – Criterion

The General (Buster Keaton) – Link:

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iba-syn&ei=UTF-8&hsimp=yhs-syn&hspart=iba&param1=f33R4%2F%2F2l7TAESCHG4OwXiUVyDMofHnQNOYH42FAPDi9jAfuUK1YZJn2X10%2BMFYv&param2=9dUI1n2R0BLDxNuWfiP4aWyjOZc2NBa%2Bx2opBYQCDMSB7nBAfwbAzkkglZNKi5o21u72Jm8TatlnU7NDGbP7F8Lft0aXvravgWuUt1wLTDRGoZDy1s38eFH2mqhQf7J35YCbQdFh0U0Q40PE25%2BEeG%2Bt%2By660cfFWnTypqgOdcCuL0JeFGqD6qXt6MWefLjirX54kaUZ%2FkMz9EYjT0R45pZNQW%2BLJCNj7oKaF0cnaJRmVq16lrTQv5cVafqODaeITPhSih4LLdVrP25PCSElp2lSc%2BDVN5pxEq0J%2FcoVtgt9Ly9EtOets8LMOhJKODZaWym6GfQFxHe9%2BX2uYHFBzw%3D%3D&param3=NwVEMR%2FzKcG52XsVBYEh2zk2Yklq85vdfspZPoqz2M1qypHRDDTed5vIiOf0QJloJAws3N4BZ2OFCPQG%2BRw4WpTnzaTq2VmIHxERXcUW3rVQCtxOG%2BsIEOUp0%2Ff9ylXTGucyJu3wBF4BE4auNWzgxL5rMkjTa0fqIU2%2FTEtYVWd0PueNCBHzPOOLMMtkdXXNocyu67SoHqfkbcuPHW3rcTIEg3rvK1aMAMvSLoYkwk1vDiO6DO7fEG8Y7bWmgf99TUd5JBp8XMd6H8M0i4EcxqTPID9uQAJqAIH6POSfid0bAxN2r17FN9vVeJKLYjz29nGCwfRIRkfw9n0vFqWtc3XtjDf%2BMB50UVXv56woAJKF%2By73SjF4gb2WXOs80PlrxsI6kFpTC3EQASNxPxvADA%3D%3D&param4=WngQCQC256Q2CQC%2BXhnWI%2FnXgs9oiAtn%2BTxOwAkD980%3D&p=the+general+movie+1926&type=asbw_8063_CHW_US_tid20039#id=1&vid=ea3737c513e3b096c2e4491c5d9ebf88&action=click

Gone With the Wind (George Cukor) – Link:
(Choose the window #20 from the top. Length: 3:53:15)

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrC5pmIQk9itQ8AzEw0nIlQ;_ylu=c2VjA3NlYXJjaAR2dGlkAw–;_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTcwMARfcgMyBGFjdG4DY2xrBGNzcmNwdmlkA3hxTmcwREV3TGpILjBTdmRZazN3M0FEMU1qWXdNUUFBQUFEbzlEQ1cEZnIDeWhzLWliYS1zeW4EZnIyA3NhLWdwBGdwcmlkA01BTndxRl8xUm0yS0lZUHpoMDNCMkEEbl9yc2x0AzYwBG5fc3VnZwMxMARvcmlnaW4DdmlkZW8uc2VhcmNoLnlhaG9vLmNvbQRwb3MDMQRwcXN0cgNHb25lJTIwd2l0aCUyMHRoZSUyMARwcXN0cmwDMTQEcXN0cmwDMjQEcXVlcnkDZ29uZSUyMHdpdGglMjB0aGUlMjB3aW5kBHRfc3RtcAMxNjQ5MzYxNzg4?p=gone+with+the+wind&ei=UTF-8&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&fr=yhs-iba-syn&hsimp=yhs-syn&hspart=iba&type=asbw_8063_CHW_US_tid20039&param1=f33R4%2F%2F2l7TAESCHG4OwXiUVyDMofHnQNOYH42FAPDi9jAfuUK1YZJn2X10%2BMFYv&param2=9dUI1n2R0BLDxNuWfiP4aWyjOZc2NBa%2Bx2opBYQCDMSB7nBAfwbAzkkglZNKi5o21u72Jm8TatlnU7NDGbP7F8Lft0aXvravgWuUt1wLTDRGoZDy1s38eFH2mqhQf7J35YCbQdFh0U0Q40PE25%2BEeG%2Bt%2By660cfFWnTypqgOdcCuL0JeFGqD6qXt6MWefLjirX54kaUZ%2FkMz9EYjT0R45pZNQW%2BLJCNj7oKaF0cnaJRmVq16lrTQv5cVafqODaeITPhSih4LLdVrP25PCSElp2lSc%2BDVN5pxEq0J%2FcoVtgt9Ly9EtOets8LMOhJKODZaWym6GfQFxHe9%2BX2uYHFBzw%3D%3D&param3=NwVEMR%2FzKcG52XsVBYEh2zk2Yklq85vdfspZPoqz2M1qypHRDDTed5vIiOf0QJloJAws3N4BZ2OFCPQG%2BRw4WpTnzaTq2VmIHxERXcUW3rVQCtxOG%2BsIEOUp0%2Ff9ylXTGucyJu3wBF4BE4auNWzgxL5rMkjTa0fqIU2%2FTEtYVWd0PueNCBHzPOOLMMtkdXXNocyu67SoHqfkbcuPHW3rcTIEg3rvK1aMAMvSLoYkwk1vDiO6DO7fEG8Y7bWmgf99TUd5JBp8XMd6H8M0i4EcxqTPID9uQAJqAIH6POSfid0bAxN2r17FN9vVeJKLYjz29nGCwfRIRkfw9n0vFqWtc3XtjDf%2BMB50UVXv56woAJKF%2By73SjF4gb2WXOs80PlrxsI6kFpTC3EQASNxPxvADA%3D%3D&param4=WngQCQC256Q2CQC%2BXhnWI%2FnXgs9oiAtn%2BTxOwAkD980%3D#id=6&vid=0b6ae76077d6ce9e7e2ff4eb71902a27&action=view

Metropolis (Fritz Lang) – Link:
(Choose #5)

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrDQ2q3Rk9i7k4A25g0nIlQ;_ylu=c2VjA3NlYXJjaAR2dGlkAw–;_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTcwMARfcgMyBGFjdG4DY2xrBGNzcmNwdmlkA2UwOVlBVEV3TGpILjBTdmRZazN3M0FJNU1qWXdNUUFBQUFBb3hyNlEEZnIDeWhzLWliYS1zeW4EZnIyA3NhLWdwBGdwcmlkA19CdDBxa2ZDUmppb0doWmhSZ045bEEEbl9yc2x0AzYwBG5fc3VnZwMxMARvcmlnaW4DdmlkZW8uc2VhcmNoLnlhaG9vLmNvbQRwb3MDMgRwcXN0cgNtZXRyb3BvbGlzBHBxc3RybAMxMARxc3RybAMxOARxdWVyeQNtZXRyb3BvbGlzJTIwbW92aWUEdF9zdG1wAzE2NDkzNjQwMzU-?p=metropolis+movie&ei=UTF-8&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&fr=yhs-iba-syn&hsimp=yhs-syn&hspart=iba&type=asbw_8063_CHW_US_tid20039&param1=f33R4%2F%2F2l7TAESCHG4OwXiUVyDMofHnQNOYH42FAPDi9jAfuUK1YZJn2X10%2BMFYv&param2=9dUI1n2R0BLDxNuWfiP4aWyjOZc2NBa%2Bx2opBYQCDMSB7nBAfwbAzkkglZNKi5o21u72Jm8TatlnU7NDGbP7F8Lft0aXvravgWuUt1wLTDRGoZDy1s38eFH2mqhQf7J35YCbQdFh0U0Q40PE25%2BEeG%2Bt%2By660cfFWnTypqgOdcCuL0JeFGqD6qXt6MWefLjirX54kaUZ%2FkMz9EYjT0R45pZNQW%2BLJCNj7oKaF0cnaJRmVq16lrTQv5cVafqODaeITPhSih4LLdVrP25PCSElp2lSc%2BDVN5pxEq0J%2FcoVtgt9Ly9EtOets8LMOhJKODZaWym6GfQFxHe9%2BX2uYHFBzw%3D%3D&param3=NwVEMR%2FzKcG52XsVBYEh2zk2Yklq85vdfspZPoqz2M1qypHRDDTed5vIiOf0QJloJAws3N4BZ2OFCPQG%2BRw4WpTnzaTq2VmIHxERXcUW3rVQCtxOG%2BsIEOUp0%2Ff9ylXTGucyJu3wBF4BE4auNWzgxL5rMkjTa0fqIU2%2FTEtYVWd0PueNCBHzPOOLMMtkdXXNocyu67SoHqfkbcuPHW3rcTIEg3rvK1aMAMvSLoYkwk1vDiO6DO7fEG8Y7bWmgf99TUd5JBp8XMd6H8M0i4EcxqTPID9uQAJqAIH6POSfid0bAxN2r17FN9vVeJKLYjz29nGCwfRIRkfw9n0vFqWtc3XtjDf%2BMB50UVXv56woAJKF%2By73SjF4gb2WXOs80PlrxsI6kFpTC3EQASNxPxvADA%3D%3D&param4=WngQCQC256Q2CQC%2BXhnWI%2FnXgs9oiAtn%2BTxOwAkD980%3D#id=5&vid=475abdb00f9438da632a1a5ed6d16ace&action=view

The Blue Angel (Joseph Von Sternberg) – Link:
(Choose #13 window or any English version)

X1MDMTM1MTE5NTcwMARfcgMyBGFjdG4DY2xrBGNzcmNwdmlkA0tXSGdFakV3TGpILjBTdmRZazN3M0FDWk1qWXdNUUFBQUFEM2UuR1cEZnIDeWhzLWliYS1zeW4EZnIyA3NhLWdwBGdwcmlkA2ZwcGhqMndCVE1pUlpmWDZPQndZWEEEbl9yc2x0AzYwBG5fc3VnZwM5BG9yaWdpbgN2aWRlby5zZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwM1BHBxc3RyA2JsdWUlMjBhbmdlbCUyMG1vdmllBHBxc3RybAMxNgRxc3RybAMyNwRxdWVyeQNibHVlJTIwYW5nZWwlMjBtb3ZpZSUyMDE5MzAEdF9zdG1wAzE2NDkzNjI2MTU

Your essay should include material from the class lectures, film screenings and discussions, and your own research of the movie. Be specific in your answers and avoid generalities. Analyze the selected film by addressing the following questions: what is the narrative or plot, what is the central theme of the film, and how is that theme expressed in terms of the characters and the formal elements of the film.

A/ Narrative or Plot (15 Points)
Relate details of the events, actions or characters which are important in the film, and which lead to and support your view of the movie’s theme. Usually it is good to start with the question: Who did what and why?” Also, consider What is the genre of the film? and What is the national tradition of the film? Remember to begin with a research of the movie’s and the director’s background within the particular cinematic movement of the period.

B/ Formal elements (15 Points)
Please address the following formal elements in the selected movie:

Sets (if studio), settings (if location), or both
Camera (angle, framing, focus, composition, movements)
Lighting (contrast, high key, low key)
Editing (cuts, parallel editing, cross-cutting, effects, rhythm, pace)
Sound (sound effects, music)
Actors (style of acting, performance, external features as costume or make-up)

Not every one of these formal elements will be equally important in each movie. Comment on what is significant to the movie you are analyzing. Be sure to tell me how the elements function in the movie, what purpose do they serve.

C/ Theme(s) (15 Points)
I will phrase the meaning of “theme” in a number of different ways in order to distinguish it from the narrative: the central argument of the film, the point of the story, the thesis of the movie, a summary of the meaning of the plot, a general statement of the intention of the film, what the movie is about, an interpretation of the narrative. Also address any secondary or tertiary themes that the story development of the film might bring to the attention of the viewer.

Quotations and paraphrasing in your written analysis should be kept to a minimum. You are expected to footnote all references, attach your bibliography and footnotes on a separate page.

Footnotes and bibliography should be in Chicago style (use owl.purdue.edu as reference)

Example of footnote for a book: First name last name, Title of Resource. (City of publication: Publisher, year published), page #.

Example of footnote for an article: First name last name, “Article Title,” in Name of Journal/ Magazine/ Newspaper/ etc. (City of publication: Publisher, year published), page #.

Example of footnote for a film: First name last name, Title of Resource, directed by First name Last name (Release year; City: Studio/Distributor), medium.

If a resource is referenced again, it would look like this: Last name, page #.

Sources should all be listed alphabetically in bibliography at the end of the project.

Your written assignments should be free of spelling and grammatical errors and formatted to the specs indicated below. They should have an exceptional writing style that illustrates your creative approach, use descriptive language and contain unique ideas that will make me want to read your paper.

They should also demonstrate a high level of effort, a deep understanding of the concepts presented in class, and a thoughtful analysis of the movie and the cinematic time period. A succinct film plot or summary (aka. Synopsis, no longer than one page,) is absolutely required for every movie in every assignment. And BTW: summaries are not part of the analysis!

A thorough written analysis should be structured the following way:

1/ A separate cover-page with your name, course number, assignment, title of the movie and the due date.
2/ A one-page minimum research of the movie’s and the director’s background within the particular cinematic movement of the period.
3/ A one-page minimum synopsis of the movie.
4/ A one to two-page minimum presentation of your thoughts and analysis of the movie.
5/ A one to two-page minimum presentation of the major formal and aesthetic elements of the movie.
6/ A one-page minimum introduction and analysis of the theme(s) addressed in the movie.
7/ A one-page maximum bibliography

All statements need to be backed up with specific examples, such as scenes, sequences, dialogue or shots from the movie itself. The research for your paper should come from a variety of credible sources. Quotations and paraphrasing should be used sparingly, and properly indicated in correct citation format.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will lead to a failing grade. It is the instructor’s discretion on whether this will be reported to the office of student affairs.

Your analysis should be written in 12 pt. Courier font, double-spaced.

Margins: top/bottom 1”, sides 1.25”.

Place your name, course number, the assignment, the title of the movie and the due date in a separate cover page. Your critique should be emailed to me exclusively in a PDF FORMAT, according to the indicated parameters.

The 5-6 page length does not include your name,
course name, assignment page number, footnotes, or bibliography/credits

VIDEO ESSAYS:
For those who are not excited about writing a critique, you may instead consider a 4 to 5-minute video essay on a topic of your choosing. Your topic must however fall within the historic period of our class and must match the various film movements we addressed in class. Any production after 1942 from any country or culture should not be considered. Here are some topic examples:

• Compare techniques and themes in films from two cinemas – i.e., American Broken Blossoms with German Joyless Street, or Berlin, Symphony of a Great City, with Soviet Man with a Movie Camera, etc.

• Analyze a film within the context of a time, place, or movement, covered in class – i.e., The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari within German Expressionism, Ballet Mécanique and the French Experimental Cinema, etc.

• Analyze a director/auteur’s career from this period – Pick a technique (close-ups, lighting, set design, etc.) and discuss its uses in a film from this period. – i.e., Lighting in Tabu, Editing in The Passion of Joan of Arc, etc.

• Select a film from and deeper into a movement/cinema from the studied period that you’d like explore more – i.e., Post-war Classicism in France, Exploring the subconscious in German cinema, the Soviet Montage, and many more…

EXAMPLES FROM PAST STUDENTS

Animation
Animal Rights in Film History
Editing
Silent Film in Spain
Lighting for Horror

Whatever the project, email me how you plan to approach it. I may ask you to adjust, so be prepared to adapt if necessary. Here is an email example of a proposal:

Hello Hafed,

For my Final essay project, I would like to compare Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc to Eisentstein’s Battleship Potemkin. I am also interested in analyzing Caligarism and the infusion of visual imagery and thematic commentary from Germany in American cinema, especially Film Noir, which led to movies such as Dr. Mabuse, M., Shock Corridor and The Gambler. Any thoughts?

Best,

Sarah

Your file should be uploaded via links, preferably YouTube, Vimeo, or on MP4s thru Kaltura Media Space and D2L with always unlisted or protected passwords.

Your front credits should include at least the title of your project and your name.

Your end credits should include all your film, video or printed sources as indicated below.

The length of your video essay does not include credits or purposeful empty space added to the video

DUE DATES

All works should reach me by midnight on the indicated date via email or upload.
There will be no extension for these deadlines! No Exceptions!