Grand Illusion

Focusing only on the film's mise en scene (lighting, shot composition, set design, costume design), discuss this quote from the Robin Wood essay I gave you:

"How to belong, how to meet"--another way of putting it is to say that Renoir's perennial concern is with the boundaries; that keep people apart and the possibility of transcending them. The four-part structure enables him to develop this theme through a network of shifting, interlocking relationships presented consistently in terms of difference and the overcoming of difference.

Your response should be 2 paragraphs long and should include a correctly cited quote from one of the essays I gave you.

The Hitchhiker

Lighting (or lack thereof) is extremely important in film noir and especially so in Ida Lupino's The Hitchhiker. Please give 3 examples of instances where lighting creates meaning. Be specific in your meaning as well as how Lupino expresses that meaning on the screen. Be sure to describe fully what is inside of the frame.

Here is a link to the film--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIeFKTbg3Aw

It is in the public domain, so it's widely available online.

If you liked The Hitchhiker, you may also like this one...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tap67KjjPu8

Screenplays!

Here are the ideas. Choose one and get to work...

• Two kids want the same soda. One of them gets it. A chase ensues. Who will get the soda?

• Two teenagers run for their lives after egging the wrong car.

• A man dies, only to discover that he has the chance to relive his entire life all over again. What will he choose? 

Be sure to read a few scripts before you start writing. This site offers a lot of scripts, both contemporary and classic...http://www.dailyscript.com/

Man With a Movie Camera

Watch the film...

http://www.archive.org/details/ChelovekskinoapparatomManWithAMovieCamera

Your Looking at Movies textbook has a nice quote about Vertov and his film on page 428.

Vertov shows us how to frame reality and movement: through the human eye and the camera eye, or through windows and shutters. But to confound us, he also shows us--through such devices as the freeze-frame, split screen, stop-action, slow motion, and fast motion--how the cinematographer and editor can transform the movements of life into something that is unpredictable. He not only proves that the camera has a life of its own, but also reminds us of the editor, who is putting all of this footage together. Reality may be in the control of the artist, his camera, and its tricks, but it also finds definition within the editor's presentation and, ultimately, the viewer's perception.

In your first well-developed paragraph, please discuss this quote in relation to a five minute piece of Man With a Movie Camera. Be sure to describe shots cinematically, as if I've never seen the film before. Discuss elements of editing, such as the juxtaposition of shots, rhythm, montage, etc.

In your second well-developed paragraph, discuss this quote in relation to a film of your choice. Try to be as specific as possible in your descriptions and speak cinematically when you discuss the film. 

Battleship Potemkin

"The film has a collective hero; the Russian masses—the mutineers on the Potemkin, the people of Odessa, the sailors who mutiny on the other ships—who rebel against Tsarist oppression.

Despite the film's documentary look, it was very carefully constructed on every level, from the distribution of line, mass, and light in individual shots to the perfectly balanced five-act structure of the overall film. The most remarkable feature of the film's construction, however, is the montage editing.

Eisenstein's theory of montage—based on the Marxist dialectic, which involves the collision of thesis and antithesis to produce a synthesis incorporating features of both—deals with the juxtaposition of shots, and attractions (e.g. lighting, camera angle, or subject movement) within shots, to create meaning. Rather than the smooth linkage of shots favored by many of his contemporaries (e.g. V. I. Pudovkin and D. W. Griffith). Eisenstein was interested in the collision and dialectical synthesis of contradictory shots as a way to shock and agitate the audience."

Think about the above quote (from the essay by Clyde Kelly Dunagan in the handout I gave you). In 2 paragraphs, discuss (CINEMATICALLY) if and how Eisenstein's theory works. Be sure to use the cinematic vocabulary you have learned. If you need to, use your glossary in Looking at Movies.

In paragraph 3, discuss a film you have seen that uses discontinuity editing or at the very least seems influenced by Eisenstein's method. Discuss the film CINEMATICALLY as you would discuss a film we watch in class.

Please watch this short documentary on Casablanca

This documentary is an excellent overview of the studio system and the making of Casablanca.

Caligari and Nosferatu

Watch F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu and compare and contrast it with The Cabiniet of Dr. Caligari. Read Roger Ebert's essay on Munau's masterpiece as well as his essay on Caligari and use at least one quote from each. Your response should be at least 2 well-developed paragraphs. Your responses should include quotes from either Ebert's essays or the essays I handed out in class.

If you want to re-watch Caligari, go here. Nosferatu can be found here.