The Chinese University of Hong Kong Department of Cultural and Religious Studies. Film Classics: Aesthetics and Politics Course Outline

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1 The Chinese University of Hong Kong Department of Cultural and Religious Studies 1 st Semester, CURE 4027 Film Classics: Aesthetics and Politics Course Outline Lecturer: Dr. Chan Ka Ming ( Address: chankm_teaching@yahoo.com.hk; Office: KKL 212) Content of the Course Movies are a great diversion because it's much more pleasant to be obsessed over how the hero gets out of his predicament than it is over how I get out of mine. (Woody Allen) This course is not specifically designed for advanced film study students but it is for MOVIE LOVERS to divert their everyday life tension and anxiety to the moving pictures. No matter you are a university freshman or a nearly graduated senior student, you are welcomed to attend the class for having fun with the dream world of cinema and the classical fascinations. This course focuses on three areas of study, through which we can explore the historical, cultural, industrial and aesthetic development of cinema as a global manifestation of modernization. These areas are: A. Late Silent Era of Cinema and Film Movements (Lecture A1-A4) B. Melodrama and World Cinemas (Lecture B1-B3) C. Authorship and Late Classics (Lecture C1-C4) Each area covers a group of film classics, through which evolution of cinematic and narrative forms 1

2 are studied. Some films of specific directors are discussed in the course against relevant background of cultural and industrial development. Basic concepts of cinema study are also introduced in the course, and the contribution of the cinematic development to the present filmmaking can be explored through the different areas of study. Although this is a course on classical cinema, the present cinema study issues, for example animation and special effect, technical and digital production, reception and internet circulation, as well as directing and acting in the post-cinema era, will be discussed. Thus the course is not only claimed to be studying film classics, but it is also a response to (post)modern cinema. Learning Outcomes On successful completion of the course, students are expected to be able to: 1. Explain key distinctions between different cinema movements and their contributions; 2. Identify key characteristics of cinematic language, narrative and genre; 3. Understand the style, technique and vision of some film authors; and understand the importance of some masterpieces; 4. Enrich the angle of appreciation of the past and present cinemas. Medium of Instruction: Cantonese (and teaching material will be written in English) Teaching / learning activities: Lectures, tutorials and discussion Assessment 1. Lecture and Tutorial Participation (10%) Students are expected to attend 80% of all classes. They are also expected to watch the corresponding film listed as screening before each lecture (see below in Course Structure). The DVDs of these films are reserved in the UC library and students can go enjoying the film. 2. Tutorial Presentation and Discussion (20%) Students will be divided into groups in tutorial and have to decide a topic for presentation. This is to refresh the topics and issues discussed in previous lectures; and students are welcomed to prepare film clipping for showing in the presentation. At the end of presentation, the presenters are expected to run a Question & Answer section for follow-up discussion. 3. Mid-term Paper (30%) of words: Deadline 3 rd November 2015 Mid-term paper shall be submitted after Lecture Area B. Students have to decide their interested topic (which is closely linked to the course) for writing an analytical essay. 4. Final Paper (40%) of words: Deadline 4 th December 2015 Final paper shall be submitted after the end of the course. Students have to decide the topic for broadening the analytical framework and examining issues or phenomenon linked to cinema and cultural study. 2

3 Teaching Period (from 8 th Sept to 24 th Nov 2015): Day, Time and Venue of Lecture: Tuesday 9:30 11:15am in UCC 111 Tutorial: To be confirmed with our tutors Sun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat 6 Sept 7 Inauguration 8 Introduction Lecture A Lecture A mid- Autumn 29 Lecture A Oct National Day Lecture A Lecture B Lecture B2 21 Chung Yeung Orientation Lecture B Nov 2 3 Lecture C1 Mid- term due Lecture C Lecture C Congregation Lecture C Dec Final due

4 Course Structure 1. Course Introduction: Why do we misunderstand classical film as boring and difficult? Vitali, Valentina. "Why Study Cinema? Serial Visions of the Culture Industry and the Future of Film Studies." Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 6, no. 2 (2005): A. Late Silent Era of Cinema and Film Movements 2. Lecture A1: What makes the French Impressionism very impressed and reappearing in Inside Out? Screening A1: Menilmontant (Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1926) 37 min The Three-Sided Mirror (Jean Epstein, 1927) 33 min Lanzoni, Rémi Fournier. French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present New York: Continuum, (Chapter 1: The Invention of Motion Pictures and the Silent Era of Film) 3. Lecture A2: What makes the German Expressionism looking expressive but haunting to the Jurassic World? Screening A2: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 卡里加利博士的小屋 (Robert Wiene, 1920) 75 min Jung, Uli, and Walter Schatsberg. Beyond Caligari: The Films of Robert Wiene New York: Berghahn Books, (Chapter 2: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) 4

5 4. Lecture A3: What makes the Soviet Montage editing audiences emotions but not motivating the Avengers? Screening A3: Battleship Potemkin 戰艦波特金號 (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) 74min Eisenstein, Sergei M. "The Montage of Film Attractions." In Defining Cinema, edited by Peter Lehman, New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, Kepley Jr., Vance. "Eisenstein and Soviet Cinema." In Defining Cinema, edited by Peter Lehman, New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, Lecture A4: What makes the early Hollywood cinema shedding light on film narrative but not illuminating the Twilight? Screening A4: The Penalty 懲罰 (Wallace Worsley, 1920) 90min Gunning, Tom. "Early American Film." In American Cinema and Hollywood: Critical Approaches, edited by John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson, New York: Oxford University Press, B. Melodrama and World Cinemas 6. Lecture B1: Did Hollywood blossom melodrama but dry up the Terminator? Screening B1: Broken Blossoms 凋謝的花朵 (D.W. Griffith, 1919) 89min Kaplan, E. Ann. "Classical Hollywood Film and Melodrama." In American Cinema and Hollywood: Critical Approaches, edited by John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson, New York: Oxford University Press, Marchetti, Gina. Romance and The "Yellow Peril": Race, Sex, and 5

6 Discursive Strategies in Hollywood Fiction Berkeley: University of California Press, (Chapter 1: The Rape Fantasy: The Cheat and Broken Blossoms) 7. Lecture B2: Did melodrama pierce the world cinema but puncture the local Hong Kong Enthralled ( 愛 尋 迷 )? Screening B2: Mildred Pierce 慾海情魔 (Michael Curtiz, 1945) 111 min Klinger, Barbara. Melodrama and Meaning: History, Culture, and the Films of Douglas Sirk Bloomington: Indiana University Press, (Chapter 2: Selling Melodrama: Sex, Affluence, and Written on the Wind) Williams, Linda. "Feminist Film Theory: Mildred Pierce and the Second World War." In Female Spectators: Looking at Film and Television, edited by Deirdre Pribram, New York: Verso, Lecture B3: Did the Asian melodrama turn aside from the Hollywood main road but wait on the Platform ( 站台 )? Screening B3: Street Angel 馬路天使 (Yuan Muzhi 袁牧之, 1937) 90min Berry, Chris, and Mary Farquhar. China on Screen: Cinema and Nation Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, (Chapter 4: Realist Modes: Melodrama, Modernity, and Home) à Ready to submit mid-term paper? Deadline: 3 rd November

7 C. Authorship and Late Classics 9. Lecture C1: How did the remaining 1/2 of Fellini heat up the Italian Cinema? Screening C1: 8 1/2 八部半 (Federico Fellini 費里尼, 1963) 138 min Celli, Carlo, and Marga Cottino-Jones. A New Guide to Italian Cinema New York: Palgrave Macmillan, (Chapter 5: The 1950s; and Chapter 6: The Early 1960s) 10. Lecture C2: How did the open-faced Bergman pray to the God? Screening C2: Persona 假面 (Ingmar Bergman 褒曼, 1966) 83min Hubner, Laura. The Films of Ingmar Bergman: Illusion of Light and Darkness New York Palgrave Macmillan, (Chapter 4: Religion, Truth and Symbolism from The Seventh Seal to The Silence) 11. Lecture C3: How did the untold Ozu s story resonate with the Japanese? Screening C3: Tokyo Story 東京物語 (Yasujiro Ozu 小津安二郎, 1953) 136 min Yoshimoto, Mitsuhiro. Kurosawa : Film Studies and Japanese Cinema Durham: Duke University Press, (Chapter 1: Japanese Cinema in Search of a Discipline) 7

8 12. Lecture C4: How did the suspending Hitchcock witness in the death of classics? Screening C4: Vertigo 迷魂記 (Alfred J. Hitchcock 希治閣, 1955) 130 min McElhaney, Joe. The Death of Classical Cinema : Hitchcock, Lang, Minnelli New York: State University of New York Press, (Introduction: Writing the History of Classical Cinema) End of the course à Ready to submit Final Paper? Deadline: 4 th December 2015 References Abel, Richard, ed. French Film Theory and Criticism : A History/Anthology, Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, Bazin, Andre. What Is Cinema?: Volume II Berkeley University of California Press, Berry, Chris, and Mary Farquhar. China on Screen: Cinema and Nation. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, Bordwell, David. Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema. London BFI Publishing, Bordwell, David, Janet Staiger, and Kristin Thompson. The Classical Hollywood Cinema : Film Style & Mode of Production to 1960 London: Routledge, Bordwell, David, and Kristin Thompson. Film Art : An Introduction 9th ed. New York McGraw-Hill, Boyd, David, and R. Barton Palmer., eds. After Hitchcock : Influence, Imitation, and Intertextuality Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, Branston, Gill. Cinema and Cultural Modernity Philadelphia: Open University Press, Burke, Frank, and Marguerite R. Waller, eds. Federico Fellini : Contemporary Perspectives. Toronto University of Toronto Press, Campbell, Jan. Film and Cinema Spectatorship : Melodrama and Mimesis Cambridge: Polity Press, Celli, Carlo, and Marga Cottino-Jones. A New Guide to Italian Cinema. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, Chow, Rey. Primitive Passions: Visuality, Sexuality, Ethnography, and Contemporary Chinese Cinema. New York: Columbia University Press, Cook, David A. A History of Narrative Film 4th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, Dissanayake, Wimal, ed. Melodrama and Asian Cinema. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 8

9 1993. Gillespie, David. Russian Cinema New York: Longman, Gledhill, Christine, and Linda Williams, eds. Reinventing Film Studies. London: Oxford University Press, Hansen, Miriam Bratu. "Fallen Women, Rising Stars, New Horizons." Film Quarterly 54, no. 1 (Fall 2000): Hill, John, and Pamela Church Gibson, eds. American Cinema and Hollywood: Critical Approaches. New York: Oxford University Press, Hubner, Laura. The Films of Ingmar Bergman: Illusion of Light and Darkness. New York Palgrave Macmillan, Jung, Uli, and Walter Schatsberg. Beyond Caligari: The Films of Robert Wiene. New York: Berghahn Books, Klinger, Barbara. Melodrama and Meaning : History, Culture, and the Films of Douglas Sirk. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, Lanzoni, Rémi Fournier. French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present. New York: Continuum, Lehman, Peter, ed. Defining Cinema. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, Macnab, Geoffrey. Ingmar Bergman : The Life and Films of the Last Great European Director New York Palgrave Macmillan, Marchetti, Gina. Romance and The "Yellow Peril" : Race, Sex, and Discursive Strategies in Hollywood Fiction Berkeley: University of California Press, Marcus, Millicent. After Fellini : National Cinema in the Postmodern Age Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, Mason, Jeffrey D. Melodrama and the Myth of America Bloomington: Indiana University Press, McElhaney, Joe. The Death of Classical Cinema : Hitchcock, Lang, Minnelli New York: State University of New York Press, Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey, ed. The Oxford History of World Cinema. New York: Oxford University Press, Pribram, Deirdre, ed. Female Spectators:Looking at Film and Television. New York: Verso, Taylor, Richard, and Ian Christie, eds. Inside the Film Factory : New Approaches to Russian and Soviet Cinema New York: Routledge, Thompson, Kristin, and David Bordwell. Film History : An Introduction 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Vitali, Valentina. "Why Study Cinema? Serial Visions of the Culture Industry and the Future of Film Studies." Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 6, no. 2 (2005): Wexman, Virginia Wright. A History of Film. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, Wood, Robin. Hitchcock's Films Revisited New York: Columbia University Press, Yoshimoto, Mitsuhiro. Kurosawa : Film Studies and Japanese Cinema Durham: Duke University Press,

10 Honesty in Academic Work: A Guide for Students and Teachers The Chinese University of Hong Kong places very high importance on honesty in academic work submitted by students, and adopts a policy of zero tolerance on cheating and plagiarism. Any related offence will lead to disciplinary action including termination of studies at the University. All student assignments in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes should be submitted via VeriGuide with effect from September 2008: Although cases of cheating or plagiarism are rare at the University, everyone should make himself/herself familiar with the content of this website and thereby help avoid any practice that would not be acceptable. Section 1 What is plagiarism Section 2 Proper use of source material Section 3 Citation styles Section 4 Plagiarism and copyright violation Section 5 CUHK regulations on honesty in academic work Section 6 CUHK disciplinary guidelines and procedures Section 7 Guide for teachers and departments Section 8 Recommended material to be included in course outlines Section 9 Electronic submission of assignments via VeriGuide 10

11 Section 10 Declaration to be included in assignments 11