HISTORY OF EUROPEAN FILM

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Final Syllabus

History of European Film | DIS

HISTORY OF EUROPEAN FILM

DIS FALL 2015

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Final Syllabus

HISTORY OF EUROPEAN FILM

DIS FALL 2015 EH 3 Credit Course

Tuesday and Friday, 10:05-11:25, DIS 7-31

Instructor: Anne Jespersen

Cand.mag. (English Literature, Film History and Theory, University of Copenhagen, 1982.) Editor of the film yearbook "Filmsæsonen" 1985-99. Bookpublisher (Forlaget April) 1985-94. Has translated several books and written film reviews and filmhistorical articles. Assistant Professor at the Department of Film & Media Studies, Copenhagen University. Has frequently lectured at The European Film College in Ebeltoft, at Hamburg Media School and at other universities abroad. With DIS since 1987.

DIS contacts: Assitant Program Director, Karen Louise Grova Søilen Program Assistant, Edward Daschle

Content:

The course offers an introduction to film understanding, the elements of film language, film aesthetics, and film history in general as a basis for an analysis of European cinema. Following an introduction to early European film history, the course will concentrate on Italian Neorealism, Masters of Scandinavian Cinema, French New Wave, Masters of Experiment and Modernism, European Cinema of the 1970's, 1980's, 1990's and 2000's. Examples from the American film history will be investigated as comparison. The main emphasis will be on seeing and understanding films and film makers in relation to their

historical, literary, and motion picture backgrounds, partly through film examples, partly through reading material. Each class will concentrate on one theme or aspect of film history and will include a related film viewing.

The course does not include practical film making - the approach is analytical, aesthetical, and historical.

Objectives:

By the end of the course, each student will have gained:

- A sound knowledge of the history of European cinema in its relation to cultural and social conditions and general film history

- An understanding of the basic facts and methods of film analysis

- The ability to produce an academic research paper demonstrating a skill to interpret and discuss the history of European film

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Final Syllabus

Method

The course will include lectures, discussions of films and required readings, and film viewings. Each class will concentrate on one theme or aspect of European cinema and will include a related film viewing. The films are in English or with English subtitles.

Academic Procedures and Regulations

Please, see the Academic Rules on DIS Forum.

Attendance Policy

Attendance at all scheduled classes is required, and each student is responsible for all material covered or assigned in class. All papers and exams must be completed in order to pass the course. Included in the computation of the final grade in the course is participation. Participation extends to all class sessions, film viewings, as well as activity in class discussion and a general contribution to the progress of the class. If you miss two classes, the Director of Teaching and Learning, and the Director of Student affairs will be notified and they will follow-up with you to make sure that all is well.

Laptop Computer Policy

While most students find that taking notes by hand in class is quite sufficient for review purposes, you are allowed to use a computer in class for writing lecture/discussion notes. However, you are asked not to use your computer in class to write emails, connect to social media, surf the internet or other such activities as this is quite disrespectful and distracting for both the teacher and your fellow students. Failure to show this courtesy will result in a reduction of your participation grade.

Reading List:

- Gerald Mast: A Short History of the Movies. 11th ed. Macmillan, New York & Toronto, 2011. - Peter Schepelern (ed.): A Reader on European Film History. Vol. 1-2. Copenhagen: DIS, 1986. - Anne Jespersen (ed.): Binder in History of European Film. Copenhagen: DIS, 2011.

- Pauline Kael on The Best Film Ever Made (Citizen Kane), New York & London 1971/2002.

Grades & Evaluation

The grades used by DIS instructors are as follows: A = Excellent = 4

B = Well above average = 3 C = Average = 2

D = Below average but passing = 1 P = Pass

F = Failure or failure to complete = 0

I = Incomplete (only issued in place of final course grade if an agreement exists for completion by a definite deadline which is approved by the instructor and the DIS registrar).

Plus (+) and minus (-) grades are used for examinations and home assignments as well as for final grades. For purposes of calculating grade points and averages, the "+" is equal to .3 and the "-" is equal to minus .3.

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Final Syllabus

Evaluation:

Short Paper 15 %

Midterm 30 %

In-class test 15%

Research paper (incl. synopsis) 25 %

Class Participation 15 %

Short Paper

The topic for the Short Paper will be given on Sep. 15 and the answer - an essay of 2-3 pages - must be handed in on Sep. 25.

Midterm

The tests consist of questions of relatively simple facts (like: Who made this or that film?), questions of more complex character (like: mention the characteristics of this or that director), and questions to be answered with a short essay (like: Comment on the typical trends in modern Bulgarian cinema and their relation to the country's recent history). The answers will be weighted differently.

Midterm Exam will be held on October 13.

In-class test

The test will have questions of relatively simple facts, as well as questions of more complex character. The test is a 30 minute test and will take place in class on December 1.

Research Paper Synopsis

On November 3, you are to hand in a synopsis of your Research Paper. The synopsis should give the topic of your paper, the issue/question/problem you wish to investigate/discuss, a detailed outline, and the sources you intend to use. When grading the research paper, the synopsis will be considered.

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Final Syllabus

Research Paper

The topics for the research paper are decided by the student and the instructor together. Normally, it would be on (or relate to) subjects and films dealt with in the course. It is possible to write about other topics by agreement with the instructor.

Suggested structure of your paper: 1. Table of contents.

2. Introduction: Presentation of the subject to be investigated. An overview of the contents.

A comment on the methodology. 3. Description: Summaries, observations, references. 4. Analysis: Comments, discussions, comparisons. 5. Summary and conclusion.

6. Notes & Bibliography.

The paper should be based on the required reading, the additional reading found in the DIS library and/or the Danish Film Institute Library, the films seen in class, the class lectures and discussions. In the Introduction and Description, the factual material is presented. The main emphasis, though, should be on the analysis - that is: your personal discussion of the material. It is necessary to present the substance of the topic through paraphrasing and quotations (remember, always to footnote sources of direct quotations), but it is not sufficient only to paraphrase. The analysis of the material - your personal understanding and interpretation - is the important part of the paper. The paper should normally include a relatively detailed analysis of one of the films you have seen within the subject.

Length: Appr. 12 type written pages, or appr. 3600 words.

You can choose between two deadlines for the handing in of the Research Paper:

1) no later than November 27 (in class), and the paper will be returned to you before the Final exams. 2) no later than December 4 (in class), and the paper will not be returned to you before the Final exams.

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Final Syllabus

Film Viewings

Please note that it is mandatory to watch each film before the relevant class. Below you will find a schedule of film viewings that allows you the opportunity to view the films together as a class. If, for some reason, you are unable to attend a viewing or would like to see a particular film again, it will be available on reserve in the Library. Keep in mind that these films act as the texts of this course and it is therefore just as necessary to watch each film attentively (i.e. take notes) before the class sessions in which it will be discussed.

Films will be screened twice on Mondays and Thursdays at

4 - 6 pm – in Bio 1 (behind the DIS Library, Vestergade 10) and

6 - 8 pm in Room 10-A11

Viewing Dates: Film:

Monday, August 24 Ingeborg Holm

Thursday, August 27 In a Better World

Monday, August 31 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari + Un Chien Andalou

Monday, September 14 The Battleship Potemkin

Monday, September 21 The Crowd

Thursday, September 24 The Grand Illusion

Monday, October 5 Citizen Kane

Thursday, October 8 Bicycle Thieves

Monday, October 12 The Third Man

Thursday, October 15 Sunset Blvd.

Monday, October 26 The Seventh Seal

Monday, November 2 The 400 Blows

Monday, November 16 Belle de Jour

Monday, November 23 Dr. Strangelove

Thursday, November 26 Europa

Monday, November 30 Dekalog 1

Thursday, December 3 The Celebration/Festen

The Danish Film Institute Library

is located in the Film House, “Filmhuset”, Gothersgade 55 (close to Nørreport Station). The Library has a large collection of books, periodicals, stills and other film-related material. The Film House also has a book store, a video library, a cafe, plus three cinemas that show films every day. When writing your research paper, it is highly recommended that you do some of your research at the library, and/or take out material from their collections.

The Library is open: Mon.: Closed

Tues: 12 noon - 7 p.m. Wed.: 12 noon - 4 p.m. Thur.: 12 noon - 7 p.m. Fri.: 12 noon - 4 p.m.

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Final Syllabus

SCHEDULE:

1895-1910:

European & American Film Pioneers

August, 21 INTRODUCTION

Fri 10:05-11:25 Films: A selection of short films by Lumière (c. 1900); An Impossible Voyage by Georges Méliès (1904); Rescued by Rover by Cecil Hepworth (1905); The Gay Shoe Clerk by Edwin S. Porter (1903); Reading: Mast, Chapters 3: pp. 41-60, (60-67)

(Mast, Chapters 1 & 2: pp. 1-39). Reader Vol.I, pp. 1-12.

Before August 25: Viewing of Ingeborg Holm (70 min)

1910-1925:

Scandinavian Pioneers

August, 25 Film: Ingeborg Holm by Victor Sjöström (1913);

Tues 10:05-11:25 The Phantom Carriage by Victor Sjöström (1921) (excerpt) Sir Arne’s Treasure by Mauritz Stiller (1919) (excerpt) The Saga of Gösta Berling by M. Stiller (1925)(excerpt) Reading: Reader Vol. I, pp. 13-30

Mast, Chapter 10: pp. 240-241 Mast, Chapter 14: pp. 413-415

Before Aug. 28: Viewing of In a Better World (Susanne Bier, Denmark, 2010 - 120 min)

1896-2012

History of Danish Cinema – Past & Present

August, 28 Film: Examples from various Danish films.

Fri 10:05-11:25 Reading: Binder, pp. 120-132.

Before Sep. 1: Viewing of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (70 min)

+ Un Chien Andalou (20 min)

1920s:

German Expressionism I

September, 1 Film: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari by Robert Wiene (1920)

Tues 10:05-11:25 Reading: Reader Vol. I, pp. 35-45 + pp. 60-65 Mast, Chapter 7: pp. 169-179

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Final Syllabus

1920s:

German Expressionism II + French Avant-Garde

September, 4 Film: Various examples

Fri 10:05-11:25 Reading: Mast, Chapter 7: pp. 179-190 Mast, Chapter 11: pp. 285-288

(Reader Vol. I, pp. 46-60) ---

Film: Un Chien Andalou by Luis Buñuel (1928); Entr'acte by René Clair (1924) (excerpt); Mast, Chapter 10: pp. 233-236

Mast, Chapter 10: pp. 241-243 Reader Vol. I, pp. 109-112, 124-133.

SHORT TOURS (Sep. 7 – Sep. 12)

Before Sep. 15: Viewing of The Battleship Potemkin (70 min)

1920s:

Russian Propaganda Film

September, 15 Film: The Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein (1925)

Tues 10:05-11:25 Reading: Mast, Chapter 8: pp. 193-203, 206-216 Reader Vol. I, pp. 79-92, 101-106, (106-108)

Special Film Evening

(together with other DIS film classes)

September, 15 Film: Melancholia by Lars von Trier (2011)

Tues 7:00 p.m.Reading: To be handed out.

NOTE!! Place: Husets Biograf, Magstræde 14

Lars von Trier

September, 18 Film: Melancholia by Lars von Trier (2011)

Fre 10:05-11:25 Reading: To be handed out.

Before Sep. 22: Viewing of The Crowd (90 min)

1920s:

American Realism

September, 22 Film: The Crowd by King Vidor (1928);

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Final Syllabus

September 23 The Coming of Sound and Color

Wed 9:00-12:00 Reading: Mast, Chapter 9: 219-229

Before Sep 25: Viewing of The Grand Illusion (115 min)

1930s:

French Poetic Realism

September 25 Film: The Grand Illusion by Jean Renoir (1937).

Fri 10:05-11:25 Reading: Mast, Chapter 10: pp. 244-257 Reader Vol. I, pp. 134-145, 151-152.

NOTE: Short Paper to be handed in today!!

PROGRAM TOURS I (Sep. 26 – Oct. 4)

Before Oct. 6: Viewing of Citizen Kane (120 min)

1940s:

Orson Welles & Citizen Kane

October, 6 Film: Citizen Kane by Orson Welles (1941);

Tues 10:05-11:25 Reading: Mast, Chapter 11: pp. 300-308 Pauline Kael: Raising Kane

(= Pauline Kael on the best film ever made)

Before Oct. 9: Viewing of Bicycle Thieves (90 min)

1940s:

Italian Neo-Realism

October, 9 Film: Bicycle Thieves by Vittorio de Sica (1948).

Fri 10:05-11:25 Reading: Mast, Chapter 13: pp. 357-364

Reader Vol. II, pp. 12-18, 20-23, (32-38).

Before Oct. 13: Viewing of The Third Man (100 min)

1940s:

Post-WW2 British Cinema

October, 13 Film: The Third Man by Carol Reed (1949).

Tues 10:05-11:25 Reading: Binder pp. 1-13, (14-18) (Reader Vol. II, pp. 59-64) + MIDTERM EXAM

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Final Syllabus

1950s:

American Film Noir

October, 16 Film: Sunset Blvd. by Billy Wilder (1950).

Fri 10:05-11:25 Reading: Binder pp. 137-171.

PROGRAM TOURS II (Oct. 17 – Oct. 25)

Before Oct 27: Viewing of The Seventh Seal (90 min)

1950s:

Bergman & Existentialism

October 27 Film: The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman (1956).

Tues 10:05-11:25 Reading: Mast, Chapter 14: pp. 413-422; Reader Vol. II, pp. 65-73.

October, 30 Film: Ingmar Bergman continued.

Fri 10:05-11:25 Reading: Reader Vol. II, pp. 74-81.

Before Nov 3: Viewing of The 400 Blows (120 min)

1950s/1960s:

French New Wave

November, 3 Film: The 400 Blows by François Truffaut (1959).

Tues 10:05-11:25 Reading: Mast, Chapter 13: pp. (376-) 384-394; Reader Vol.II, pp. 85-90, 95-96, (139-147).

Note: Research paper synopsis to be handed in today!

1960s & After:

Perspective on Modernism and The Modern World

November, 6 Reading: Mast, Chapter 13: pp. 394-406.

Fri 10:05-11:25

TRAVEL BREAK (Nov. 7 – Nov. 15)

Before Nov 17: Viewing of Belle de Jour (100 min)

1960s:

Modernism

November 17 Film: Belle de Jour by Luis Buñuel (1967).

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Final Syllabus

Reader Vol. II, pp. 148-152, 162-166, (152-157)

November 20 No class

Fri

November 24 No class

Tues

Before Nov 25: Viewing of Dr. Strangelove (110 min)

1960s:

Cold War Cinema

November, 25 Film: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And

Wed 1-3 pm Love the Bomb by Stanley Kubrick (1964). Reading: Mast, Chapter 15: pp. 510-513.

Binder pp. 19-32.

Before Nov. 27: Viewing of Europa/Zentropa (100 min)

1980s/1990s:

Postmodernism / Lars von Trier

November, 27 Film: A selection of shorter films & extracts

Fri 10:05-11:25 Europa/Zentropa by Lars von Trier (1991) Reading: Binder pp. 33-58, (59-85)

Note: Research Paper must be handed in today - for

the grade to be ready before the Final exam!

Before Dec. 1: Viewing of Dekalog #1 (60 min)

1980s/1990s:

Postmodernism and After I

December, 1 Film: Dekalog 1 by Krzysztof Kieslowski (1989)

Tues 10:05-11:25 Reading: Mast, Chapter 14: p. 442-443. Binder pp. 86-104 + pp. 210-219.

+ IN CLASS TEST

Before Dec 4: Viewing of Festen/The Celebration (100 min)

1990s:

Postmodernism and After II +

December, 4

Contemporary European

Film

Fri 10:05-11:25 Film: Celebration/Festen by Thomas Vinterberg (1998) Reading: Binder pp. 105-113.

+ Conclusion & Summary

Note: Last day for handing in the Research Paper! End of course - No Final Exam

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