Film & Television Studies: Classical Cinema (A)

About FTS 1420 A

Introduction to basic film history, theory, and analytical skills. An historical overview of classical international cinema.

Notes

Open to degree and PACE students Co-located with FTS 1420 B Total combined enrollment= 100

Section Description

This course traces the global history of cinema from its birth in the late 19th century through 1960, examining how a new technology of moving images developed into one of the most influential art forms of the modern world. We will begin with early short films by pioneers such as the Lumière brothers, Georges Méliès, and Thomas Edison—works later described by film scholars as a “cinema of attractions”—before turning to the emergence of narrative film. From there we will explore how filmmakers across different national contexts expanded cinema’s possibilities—from Eisenstein’s montage and Vertov’s avant-garde experimentation, to Dreyer’s spirituality, Ozu’s meditations on everyday transience, Kurosawa’s and De Sica’s poetics of realism, Hitchcock’s and Wilder’s explorations of suspense and noir, and Antonioni’s breakthrough into cinematic modernism. Topics include early avant-garde experimentation (A Man with a Movie Camera), the aesthetics of comedy (City Lights), Hollywood genres of noir and suspense (Double Indemnity, Rear Window), the poetics of realism (Umberto D., Ikiru), the philosophical and transcendental potentials of cinema (The Passion of Joan of Arc, Late Spring), and the advent of modernist cinema (L’Avventura). By the end of the course, students will gain an understanding of how world cinema up to 1960 moved beyond entertainment to become a vehicle for narrative, reflection, and a distinct mode of thought.

Section Expectation

We will watch one or two films per week. You will write weekly screening notes (250words) as well as weekly response papers (250 words) during the weeks that an essay is assigned.

Evaluation

Grade breakdown:
Screening Notes 20%
Reading Response 20%
Three Exams 60% (20% each)

Important Dates

Courses may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Show your interest by enrolling.

Resources

• Parking
• PACE Course Pricing
• Textbooks

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