NOVEMBER 27

Films:

The Only Son (Ozu 1936) DVD 4342         

A Page of Madness (Kinugasa 1926) personal DVD

Readings (to be done by December 4):

Thom Andersen. “Yasujiro Ozu: The Master of Time.” 

Jasper Sharp and Mariann Lewinsky. “A Page of Madness.” 

All short papers due via email December 4.

NOVEMBER 20 - THIS WEEK'S PAPER IS DUE NEXT WEDNESDAY, NO EXCUSES!

Films:

Shanghai Express (Von Sternberg 1932) DVD 5266            

Black and Tan Fantasy (Murphy 1929) DVD 2743

excerpts from: 

Design for Living (Lubitsch 1933) DVD 1896 (1:16 to 8:41)

Notorious (Hitchcock 1946) DVD 2026 (23:08 to 26:01)

Morocco (Von Sternberg 1930) DVD 1998 (14:12 to 20:04)

Readings (to be done by November 26):

Thomas Schatz. “Hollywood: The Triumph of the Studio System,” in course reader.

Jack Smith. “Belated Appreciation of V.S.,” in course reader.

Susan Delson. Dudley Murphy, Hollywood Wild Card, in course reader.

Wheeler Winston Dixon. “Shanghai Express.”   

Paper topic (paper due November 27. Send all papers via email to elkrugamigos@earthlink.net; do not cc to Masa!):

Two more pages of progress on your final paper. This week, I care about what you turn in – I would like two pages of solid analysis of whatever film you’re discussing, working from a scene within the film. Since I’ve asked all of you to dedicate at least some of your paper to working with the films themselves, breaking down and discussing scenes in cinematic terms, THAT is what I expect in this week’s paper. Consider it another two pages out of the way to finishing your finals.  It is also due next Wednesday.

If you are out of town for Thanksgiving, be aware that it counts as an absence – it’s not a holiday – and that I expect you to turn in the paper to me by email that Wednesday. I also expect you to watch the two films – Ozu’s The Only Son and Kinugasa’s A Page of Madness as soon as possible. You need to watch the Ozu on the biggest screen you can get. Check the website next Wednesday evening for the assignment and the readings, both of which will be online.

Please note that the proposal, the first two pages of work on the final  and these additional pages are both REQUIRED assignments; it is impossible to pass the class without turning them both in BEFORE turning in the final on the last day of class.

NOVEMBER 13 - THIS WEEK'S PAPER IS DUE NEXT WEDNESDAY, NO EXCUSES!

Films:

Maedchen in Uniform (Sagan 1931)  personal DVD

Zero For Conduct (Vigo 1932)  Blu-Ray 039

Reading (to be done by November 19):

Rich, B. Ruby. “From Repressive Tolerance to Erotic Liberation: Maedchen in Uniform.”

Paper topic (paper due November 20. Send all papers via email to elkrugamigos@earthlink.net; do not cc to Masa!):

You need to produce two pages of work towards your paper. This can be anything – research notes, an outline, a bibliography – but it is absolutely due next week. Do not print the essay, email it directly to me, not Masa.

Please note that the proposal and these pages are both REQUIRED assignments; it is impossible to pass the class without turning them both in.

 

NOVEMBER 6

Films:

L'Atalante (Vigo 1933) Blu-Ray 039 

Las Hurdes (Buñuel 1933) DVD 4149 

excerpts from: 

Gold Diggers of 1933  (Le Roy 1933) Cal Arts 16mm / DVD 2459 - opening through 5:03

Singin’ in the Rain (Donen/Kelly 1952) DVD 015 - 51:22 through 59:36

Love Me Tonight (Mamoulian 1932) DVD 1286 - 1:43 through 7:29, then 11:14 through 18:52

Une Femme est une femme (Godard 1960) DVD 1106 - opening through 6:00

Reading (to be done by November 12):

Farber, Manny. "White Elephant Art vs. Termite Art," in course reader.

Paper topic (paper due October 13. Graduate students send papers via email to elkrugamigos@earthlink.net; undergraduates send papers also cc to TA Masahiko Fox at gracefulbrute@gmail.com):

The exercises thus far have been about identifying and discussing formal issues in the films. That’s because I believe that if you talk about a film without being very specific in discussing how it achieves its effects, you’re not really talking about the film – you’re usually just recounting plot and treating the movie as thought it were a short story or a play rather than cinema.

But now that you’ve had a half semester of practice, it’s time to use these tools. I’d like you to talk about L’Atalante, Las Hurdes or last week’s film, Street Angel. Talk about anything you like about the film, with two considerations: as always, “I liked it” or “I hated it” is not sufficient and you will have to rewrite your paper if that’s all you do. Second, you must root whatever you discuss in formal analysis – if, for example, you want to talk about L’Atalante as a love story, find a scene that exemplifies this and talk about it in cinematic terms – how does Vigo approach the scene as cinema to convey his meanings?

What you talk about is less important than the approach you take – think of this as practice for the final paper, where I will expect your arguments to be developed with respect to how the work is shot, edited, performed, etc etc, NEVER just what happens in the story.