Amarcord

Amarcord is essentially a coming of age film. Choose one scene in Amarcord and another scene in a coming of age film of your choice. Compare and contrast the two scenes cinematically with coming of age as the film focus. Here is an article on Amarcord and another by Roger Ebert. Be sure to include at least one essay on the film of your choice.

La Strada

Roger Ebert, in his Great Films essay on La Strada, states:

"It is Quinn's performance that holds up best, because it is the simplest. Zampano is not much more intelligent than Gelsomina. Life has made him a brute and an outcast, with one dumb trick (breaking a chain by expanding his chest muscles), and a memorized line of patter that was perhaps supplied to him by a circus owner years before. His tragedy is that he loves Gelsomina and does not know it, and that is the central tragedy for many of Fellini's characters: They are always turning away from the warmth and safety of those who understand them, to seek restlessly in the barren world."

Fellini has given us a film about outcasts. How do the roles of these outcasts reflect on each other? Do you see any signs of redemption? Choose a character and examine how that character redeems him or herself and how that character is cinematically presented as an outcast by society. Be mindful of all of Fellini's symbolism!

Minimum: 2 paragraphs

Beijing Bicycle

Wang Xiaoshuai's film Beijing Bicycle is ultimately a film about the effects of "modernization" in China. I'd like you to read this essay and discuss the film's narrative and what you feel is the implied meaning of the film as a whole. Choose one scene and analyze the scene fully and cinematically and tell me why you chose the scene and what is the scene's relationship to the film as a whole.

The Story of Qiu Ju

Think about the presentation of Qiu Ju and Meizi in the film. In one paragraph, discuss how both of these women are represented cinematically. In your next paragraph discuss how the countryside and the city are represented cinematically. In your last paragraph, tell me what you learned and what you liked best about the film.

Alien

Choose a 5-minute scene in Alien and a 5-minute scene in Metropolis (remember Metropolis?). Cinematically compare and contrast the role of the female in each film, in terms of her strength and weakness. How does the filmmaker present this? Include at least one quote from a reputable article you find online and include the source at the end of your essay.

Bride of Frankenstein

Discuss influences that German Expressionism had on James Whale's masterpiece, Bride of Frankenstein, and  what influence Bride has had on subsequent films ever since its production. Include quotes from reputable sources to back up your statements. Include links to these sources.

Exemplar Comparative Study II

Here is another comparative study to look at.

Exemplar Comparative Study

Please watch this comparative study, which scores well.

Let the Right One In

Think about the mise-en-scene in Let the Right One In. Examine all aspects of mise-en-scene: lighting, composition, set, properties, etc. This would include color as well. Discuss the concept of "monster" through the mise-en-scene of the film. Choose another "vampire" film (including Nosferatu, if you're not a vampire movie lover) and compare and contrast the concept of "monster" through various elements of mise-en-scene.

Choose one five minute scene from each movie to discuss.

Cat People

Read Roger Ebert's Great Movies essay on Cat People, answer his question: Does this movie still work today? Explain your answer with details from the film.

In a second paragraph, what are some techniques Jacques Tourneur uses to develop suspense? Describe with evidence from the film.

The Passion of Joan of Arc

Full movie can be found here.

Please choose one essay prompt and write at least 2-3 well-developed paragraphs.

Essay #1 From Roger Ebert's essay on The Passion of Joan of Arc:

"There is not one single establishing shot in all of 'The Passion of Joan of Arc,' which is filmed entirely in closeups and medium shots, creating fearful intimacy between Joan and her tormentors. Nor are there easily read visual links between shots. In his brilliant shot-by-shot analysis of the film, David Bordwell of the University of Wisconsin concludes: 'Of the film's over 1,500 cuts, fewer than 30 carry a figure or object over from one shot to another, and fewer than 15 constitute genuine matches on action.'"

Many avant garde films also do not have matches on action or carryover shots. Compare The Passion of Joan of Arc to one of the avant garde films we watched in regards to editing and mise-en-scene. Use cinematic evidence to back up whatever you state.

Essay #2 From the Ib Monty article I gave you:

"When the film was released, the close-up technique was regarded as shocking. Dreyer defended his method by stating: 'The records give a shattering impression on the ways in which the trial was a conspiracy of the judges against the solitary Jeanne, bravely defending herself against men who displayed a devilish cunning to trap her in their net. This conspiracy could be conveyed on the screen only through the huge close-ups, that exposed, with merciless realism, the callous cynicism of the judges hidden behind hypocritical compassion--and on the other hand there had to be equally huge close-ups of Jeanne, whose pure features would reveal that she alone found strength in her faith in God.' As in all of Dreyer's major films the style grew out of the theme of the film. In La passion de Jeanne d'Arc Dreyer wanted 'to move the audience so that they would themselves feel the suffering that Jeanne endured.' It was by using close-ups that Dreyer could 'lead the audience all the way into the hearts and guts of Jeanne and the judges.'"

Agree or disagree with this quote. Use cinematic evidence to back up whatever you state.

Avant Garde

Choose 3 of the films we watched in class and answer the following questions. Answer all questions for each film to create at least 3 paragraphs.

Le Retour a la Raison
Entr'acte
Le Ballet Mecanique
Un Chien Andalou
Meshes of the Afternoon (this is the one with the Maya Deren interview)

What do you notice about the film's presentation of cinematic space? What do you see on screen? For example, lots of landscapes or closeups? Moving or static camera? How does the filmmaker use light and shadow? Discuss what you see and what you think it all means.

Which "special effects" would you possibly use in your own film projects?

If you can't get enough of the avant garde cinema, check out this site: http://www.ubu.com/film/.

If you want to look more into Jonas Mekas, go here: http://jonasmekas.com/diary/

Faces Places

What is your favorite sequence in the film and why? Include cinematic vocabulary in your response.

Cleo From 5 to 7

Discuss ways in which Varda utilizes "real time" cinematically and how she portrays Cleo's worries of her impending diagnosis.

Be sure to research the film and include one quote from an essay you find. Here's one to get you started: https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/499-cl-o-from-5-to-7-passionate-time.

Genre

Choose a 5 minute scene in either 42nd Street or Public Enemy. How does the scene and the film as a whole challenge or fulfill the conventions of the musical or gangster film? How do these conventions and cinematic elements convey the socio-economic situation of people in the United States at the time of production?

French New Wave

Choose a 5 minute scene in either The 400 Blows or Breathless and analyze it through a geographical context. How does the geographical location of the film’s origin affect its mise-en-scene? Give detailed and specific examples.

Bicycle Thieves

Please choose at least two features of neorealism that DeSica presents in the film that effectively convey the overall meaning of the film. Choose one five minute scene and analyze the scene using two cinematic elements of your choice, and one cultural context through which to analyze.

Rififi

Choose a 5 minute scene and analyze it through the lens of a cultural context of your choice.  Be sure to cover 2-3 cinematic elements in your analysis.

The Thin Man

Compare The Thin Man and Bringing Up Baby, in terms of one cinematic element and genre. Choose one scene from each for comparison.

Bringing Up Baby

Think about the film's mise-en-scene. Choose one scene in the film and discuss all aspects of the mise-en-scene (costumes, set, lighting, props, framing) and its relation to the scene and the film as a whole. Discuss also the cultural context of the film(perhaps comparing to another film of this year from another geographical location), as well as insights into the intent of the filmmaker as well as copious evidence from within the frame. Use at least 2 paragraphs for your discussion. 

And please post your favorite line from the film.

Blood Simple

Choose a cultural context through which to look at a 5-minute scene in Blood Simple and 2 film elements with which to do an analysis of the scene. Be sure to include a sentence or two on the scene's relationship to the film as a whole.

Cultural contexts include:
Economic
Geographical
Historical
Institutional
Political
Social
Technological

Double Indemnity

Choose one scene and look at it through a feminist lens. How are women depicted cinematically? Be sure to use solid cinematic evidence from the film as well as quotes from the Mulvey essay. Also, mention the scene's relationship to the film as a whole and why you chose the scene.

Minimum: 2 paragraphs.