Breathless

Read the article I handed out in class. Choose a 5 minute scene in Breathless and respond to the following quote. Be sure to write at least 2 paragraphs. Respond to each others' posts. Here's the quote:

"This basic sequence of events is the minimal thread of continuity that holds the filmic narrative together. However, causal development and character motivation in the traditional sense are relatively loose. While the film does not reject narrative conventions as a whole, it goes a long way towards weakening the tight-knit structure and explanatory mechanisms affiliated with dominant narrative. The film's visual construction works even more aggressively against conventional film style. It systematically departs from the aesthetic guidelines and rules defined by continuity editing, relying variously on long-take sequences (often shot with hand-held camera) and jump cutting."

The 400 Blows

Watch this video of Truffaut talking about Rossellini and Hitchcock. Wouldn't you want him (and perhaps his translator) at dinner with you one evening?

Read this essay and think about what it says in terms of mise-en-scene and The 400 Blows. Utilize at least one quote from this essay to back up any discussion of an aspect of mise-en-scene that you want to include in your analysis of one of the following scenes. Analysis should be at least 3 solid paragraphs and mimic what you will do next year for your assessment. Remember to analyze the meaning of the scene as well as its relationship to the film as a whole. Discuss cinematic elements!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP2eWHdZLDE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9I-gsap0po

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERAGjXnXQwk

White Heat

In at least 3 hearty paragraphs, discuss White Heat, as well as the characteristics of the gangster genre and its role as an art form. In your discussion, bring in another gangster film if you've seen one on your own (The Godfather, Goodfellas, etc.). Your discussion should be in relation to this Robert Warshow article about the gangster as an individual. I want to see 2 quotes from the article in your discussion. Use your film textbook for more information on the gangster genre.

Bicycle Thieves

Analyze a scene from Bicycle Thieves. Be sure to read the handouts I've given you. 

Choose a 5 minute scene and analyze it completely. Remember that you need to mention why you chose the scene and this scene's relation to the film as a whole. In addition, pay close attention to: mise-en-scene, lighting, camera angles, shot types, etc. Here is a list of items to pay attention to when you write your 750 words (minimum) (and when you do your oral presentation):

• How well do I understand how meaning is constructed through the use of film language in this extract?
• How well do I understand the extract's relationship to the film as a whole?
• How well do I understand the influences of the film's genre?
• How well can I place the film and this extract in a broader socio-cultural context?
• How insightful is my analysis of the director's intention?
• How coherent, incisive, insightful, and detailed is my evaluative interpretation of this extract?

Here is a list of "vocab" you should use:

• narrative
• direction
• cinematography
• mise-en-scene
• lighting (which is often, but not always, considered part of mise-en-scene)
• camera movement
• editing
• sound (diegetic and non-diegetic)

Be sure your paper is AT LEAST 750 words. Watch the clip a number of times. Let your ideas flow. Spend time with this. If you don't, your presentation next year will suffer. It will be difficult if you don't practice. If you do what I ask, that will be an easy assessment for you!

Rome Open City

Analyze a scene from Rome Open City. Be sure to read the handouts I've given you.

Choose a 5 minute scene and analyze it completely. Remember that you need to mention why you chose the scene and this scene's relation to the film as a whole. In addition, pay close attention to: mise-en-scene, lighting, camera angles, shot types, etc. Here is a list of items to pay attention to when you write your 750 words (minimum) (and when you do your oral presentation):

• How well do I understand how meaning is constructed through the use of film language in this extract?
• How well do I understand the extract's relationship to the film as a whole?
• How well do I understand the influences of the film's genre?
• How well can I place the film and this extract in a broader socio-cultural context?
• How insightful is my analysis of the director's intention?
• How coherent, incisive, insightful, and detailed is my evaluative interpretation of this extract?

Here is a list of "vocab" you should use:

• narrative
• direction
• cinematography
• mise-en-scene
• lighting (which is often, but not always, considered part of mise-en-scene)
• camera movement
• editing
• sound (diegetic and non-diegetic)

Be sure your paper is AT LEAST 750 words. Watch the clip a number of times. Let your ideas flow. Spend time with this. If you don't, your presentation next year will suffer. It will be difficult if you don't practice. If you do what I ask, that will be an easy assessment for you!

Bringing Up Baby

Think about the film's mise-en-scene. Choose a scene in the film and discuss the mise-en-scene (costumes, set, lighting, props, etc.) and its relation to the scene and the film as a whole. Use at least 2 hearty paragraphs for your discussion.

And please post your favorite line from the film.

Jean Renoir

Robin Wood wrote that there are many similarities between Renoir's The Rules of the Game (La regle du jeu) and Grand Illusion (La grande illusion). Wood states that in both films Renoir discusses the differences between people and what keeps them apart. "'How to belong, how to meet'--another way of putting it is to say that Renoir's perennial concern is with the boundaries; that keep people apart and the possibility of transcending them. The four-part structure [of both films] enables him to develop this theme through a network of shifting, interlocking relationships presented consistently in terms of difference and the overcoming of difference." He says of Grand Illusion: "The film's basic assumption--that 'difference' is socially constructed but so thoroughly internalized and so strongly institutionalized as to be very difficult to overcome..."

Think about the characters in each film and their relationships, and in 3-4 well-developed paragraphs discuss how they overcome or don't overcome their differences. Think cinematically, as well as narratively.

Bonus points (10): Add one well-developed paragraph that discusses a film you've seen (either in class or on your own) that examines differences and boundaries between people and how the director presents this theme.