30:273 Narrative Film

Fall 2014
 
Dr. Reinhold Kramer
109 Clark Hall
727-7344         kramer@brandonu.ca
Office hours:  2:40-3:30 p.m. (Mon., Wed., Thur.)
https://people.brandonu.ca/kramer/

 
Course Description:
A study of important cinematic works, with emphasis on the period from 1980 to the present. Students will learn the vocabulary of film studies, and will examine 10 or 11 films closely, most of them from among the following works:  Renoir, Rules of the Game; Bergman, Autumn Sonata; Fellini, La Strada; Coppola, Apocalypse Now; Gilliam, Brazil; Allen, Hannah and Her Sisters; Arcand, Jesus of Montreal;; Kaufman, Being John Malkovich; Ethan and Joel Coen, Fargo; von Trier, Dancer in the Dark; Arriaga and Iñárritu, 21 Grams; Russell, I Heart Huckabees; Demme & Lumet, Rachel Getting Married. Films studied could change from year to year. This is not a course in film-making.

Assignments:             
1.   Class Participation                                                            10%
2.   Test                                   14 Oct.                                    25%
3.   Essay  (10-12 pages)         due 25 Nov.                               25%
4.   Final Exam                        20 Dec.   9 – 11 a.m.                40%

 
Note:  There may be penalties for lateness, depending upon circumstances.  Missed tests cannot be rewritten without a doctor’s note or other documentation.  Cite all your sources – assignments containing plagiarism will be graded “0” and will result in disciplinary action.  See BU General Calendar 4.2.2 “Academic Integrity.”  No cell phones in class.

For the very shy:  in place of “class participation” you may hand in, 5 times during the course, short (1 page, double-spaced, typed) analyses, not plot summaries, of the movie under discussion that day.  These commentaries must be handed in before the movie is discussed in class and are worth 2% each.  No commentaries will be accepted after class discussions for any reason.

Students with disabilities who require accommodation should register with the Disability Services Coordinator.  It’s possible that a student may find certain films and/or discussions troubling.  If so, please contact the instructor immediately for alternative films or an alternative course.

Grading:

Outstanding              Good                       Satisfactory              Weak          Inadequate
A+  90 & up               B+ 77-79                   C+ 67-69                D 50-59          F 0-49
A    84-89                  B   74-76                    C   64-66
A-   80-83                  B-  70-73                    C-  60-63

Texts:
Bruce Kawin.  How Movies Work.
Norman, Colin.  Writing Essays:  A Short Guide.  2nd ed.  Queen’s. (optional)

Tentative Schedule

Sept.    9          Introduction to Cinema

16        Preston Sturges, Sullivan’s Travels (1941) (1:30)

Read Kawin, 2-25, 27-30, 37-46, 48-54 (introduction, shot)

157-62, 167-77 (frame composition)

23        Howard Hawks, The Big Sleep (1946) (1:54) *film starts @ 1:00*

Read Kawin, 97-110 (montage, Citizen Kane)

133-5, 137-8 (perspective, depth of field)

201-34 (shot, take, camera angle, camera movement, shot relns)

30        Ingmar Bergman, Det Sjundte Inseglet (The Seventh Seal, 1956) (1:36)

Read Kawin, 54-7 (film as sign), 71-9 (voice, POV shot)

110-17 (montage: Close Encounters)

234-42 (camera movement, Sunrise, Vertigo)

Oct.      7         Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom (2012) (1:34)

Read Kawin,  327-61 (pre-production, design, costume)

148-53, 178-83, 188-91 (lighting, colour)

376-82 (cinematography), 465-7 (Foley editing)

14        Test Francis Coppola, Apocalypse Now (1979) (2:33)

Read Kawin, 30-4 (political criticism)

21        Apocalypse Now (con’t)

Read Kawin, 25-27, 288-301, 362-67 (auteurism, direction)

302-21, 326, 482-6 (development, producers, money, marketing)

28        Arriaga & Iñárritu, 21 Grams (2003) (1:58) *film starts @ 1:00*

Read Kawin, 243-63 (scene, King Kong, Hiroshima), 435-41 (editing)

59-71 (narrative structure, genre)

Nov.      4        Joel & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man (2009) (1:46)

Read Kawin, 264-85 (sequence, October, The Godfather)

18        Charlie Kaufman & Spike Jonze, Being John Malkovich (1999) (1:48)

Read Kawin, 367-76 (actor), 34-7 (feminist criticism)

495-505 (film and society, Flashdance, deconstruction)

511-14 (All That Heaven Allows)

25    Term paper due

Jonathan Demme, Rachel Getting Married (2008) (1:53) *film starts @ 1:00*

Read Kawin, 198-200, 397-400, 447-59 (sound, music)

Dec.     2     David O. Russell, I ♥ Huckabees (2004) (1:42)

Read Kawin, 514-20 (movies and behaviour)

Review

Dec.       20      Saturday, 9 – 11 a.m.     Final Exam