SCREENING: LUMIERE AND COMPANY

The first screening of the course is the 1995 omnibus film LUMIERE AND COMPANY.  The film celebrates the cenntienal anniversary of the Lumiere Brothers' first film by asking 40 internationally renowned driectors, such as David Lynch (BLUE VELVET, MULHOLLAND DR.), Spike Lee (CLOCKERS, INSIDE MAN), Zhang Yimou (HERO, RAISE THE RED LANTERN), and Michael Haneke (FUNNY GAMES, CACHE), to make a short film using the Lumieres' first camera.  Each film could not exceed 52 seconds, use synchronized sound, utilize more than three takes.  The process and result yeilds some interesting comments on the nature of cinema and the parallels between the Lumiere Brothers and contemporary filmmakers.

Suggested Supplemental Screenings:  TO EACH HIS OWN CINEMA (2007)

POP CULTURE PARALLELS: THEATRICAL PSA

As a modern medium there are numerous connections and parallels between early or 'primitive' cinema and what we see and experience today as spectators.  These theatrical psas by D.W. Griffith and Martin Scorsese show that despite over a hundred years and a myriad of changes to cinema, there are essential elements to the art and entertainment of motion pictures.

D.W. Griffith's THOSE AWFUL HATS (1909)


A modern example with Martin Scorsese for AT&T.

WELCOME

This course is an examination of the origin and history of the motion picture. Narrative and non-fiction genres, in the American and World Cinemas, from their inception through 1940 are discussed.

CMP 204 explores how the medium of film has developed from its origins in the 1890s to the point of significant global technological change caused by World War II. Focusing on US and World cinemas, this course investigates how the technological, aesthetic, institutional, and socio-cultural histories of film have emerged and changed over time.

Students will learn about various historical and cultural contexts influence the formation of film language (such as the close-up or parallel editing) and the emergence of technologies (such as sound and color). They will become knowledgeable about a number of film movements and periods including early silent forms, German Expressionism, Soviet Montage, Early Asian cinemas, European Avant Garde, and French Poetic Realism. They will gain familiarity with such Classical Hollywood genres as the Women’s Melodrama, Romantic Comedy, and Thriller. Students will examine the structure of the studio system and stardom as well as the tension between censorship, commerciality, and artistic expression in Classical Hollywood.

By the end of this course, students will have gained a deeper understanding of the history of film as an industry and as a field of study. They will more fully comprehend the diversity and global scope of film history. They will also gain skills that help them think critically, independently, and creatively.

Students will address historical questions such as: What is the relationship between US commercial film and national cinemas around the globe? How do some motion picture movements become dominant while others lose hold? Why do certain films and filmmakers appear to “stand the test of time” while others do not? How is film history recorded and how might we account for some of its erasures? How are deteriorating films preserved? What is the relationship between our film past and our film future?