NOVEMBER 26

Enjoy the Holiday break!

Films:

Sisters of the Gion (Mizoguchi1936) DVD 3636
A Page of Madness (Kinugasa 1926) personal DVD (on class reserve shelf in film library)   

Reading (to be done by December 2): 

Tim Palmer. “Exotic Aesthetics: Long Take Style and Staging in the Films of Mizoguchi and von Sternberg.”

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

Assignment for December 3: 

All the short papers that you have not yet turned in are due by 4 pm on Wednesday, December 3. You will be penalized one full FINAL grade for each missing short paper. 

Thus, if you have attended every class and write a brilliant final paper but have failed to turn in one of the short papers, the highest grade you can hope for is a P. 

I will email everyone this week to let you know where you stand – what papers you have not turned in and how many absences you have had thus far. Please be sure to get all the missing work in before class Wednesday!

NOVEMBER 19

Films:

Zero For Conduct (Vigo, 1932)  Blu-Ray 039

Mädchen in Uniform (Sagan, 1931) personal DVD (on class reserve shelf in film library)   

Reading (to be done by November 25): 

B. Ruby Rich. “From Repressive Tolerance to Erotic Liberation: Maedchen in Uniform.”  (online: pages 17-38)

Paper topic (paper due November 26 by 4 p.m. All papers to be emailed to gmairs@calarts.edu): 

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 one of the films 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 final.  Next Wednesday’s deadline is STRICT, even if you are skipping class to leave for Thanksgiving.

NOVEMBER 12 

Films:

L’Atalante (Vigo 1934) Blu-Ray 039   

Land Without Bread (Buñuel 1933) DVD 463

Singin’ in the Rain (Donen/Kelly, 1952) DVD 015 – (51:22 to 59:36)

Love Me Tonight (Mamoulian, 1932) DVD 1286 – (1:43 to 7:29 and 11:14 to 18:52)

Une Femme est une femme (Godard, 1960) DVD 1106 (opening to 6:00)

Reading (to be done by November 18): 

Robin Wood. “L’Atalante: The Limits of Liberation.” (in course reader)

Maximillion Le Cain. “Jean Vigo.”

Paper topic (paper due November 19 by 4 p.m. All papers to be emailed to gmairs@calarts.edu): 

You need to produce two pages of work towards your final paper. This can be anything – research notes, an outline, a bibliography – but it is absolutely due next week. Please note that these pages are a REQUIRED assignment; it is impossible to pass the class without turning them both in.

NOVEMBER 5

Films:

Black and Tan Fantasy (Murphy 1929) DVD 2743

Trouble in Paradise (Lubitsch, 1932) DVD 622

Gold Diggers of 1933 (LeRoy, 1933) – DVD 2459 (00:00 to 5:33)

Design For Living (Lubitsch, 1933) – DVD 1896 (1:16 to 8:41)

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

Reading (to be done by November 11):

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

Paper topic (paper due November 12 by 4 p.m. Graduate papers to be emailed to gmairs@calarts.edu; undergraduates email papers to T.A. Matthew Lax at laxco@outlook.com): 

Compare two performances from films screened thus far this semester. This is best done through careful consideration of two short scenes. Issues to consider might include your sense of the authenticity or naturalism of the performance, the level of theatricality or artifice and the extent to which the performance leads you to identify with the character. Please define your terms carefully: don’t expect your reader to understand what you mean by a “real” or “natural” performance.