Instructor: Stacy Hahn
Course Time: MW 3:30-5:17
General Education: Art
Term: Winter 2013
DESCRIPTION
Cinema has its roots in France dating from 1895 when the Lumière brothers gave the first public screening of a film in Paris. Since that time the French have given film the status of le septième art (seventh art) and they pay serious attention to the quality of this art for its aesthetic, intellectual and commercial dimensions. An analysis of French cinema will give us insight into the culture of France and the history of film making. We will begin our investigation of French cinema by observing its history and development beginning with the silent film, then moving on to the classical era, war years, New Wave and realist films. We will examine various genres of films as well as important filmmakers who have left an indelible imprint on the history of film making and whose films reflect the historical and political climate of their times.
TEXTS
- French Cinema From its Beginnings to the Present. Remi Fournier Lanzoni. New York and London: Continuum International Publishing, Inc. 2005
- French Cinema: The Student's Book. Alan Singerman. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Co., 2006.
- A Short Guide to Writing about Film. Eighth Edition.Timothy J. Corrigan. New York: Pearson Longman, 2011.