Classic Hollywood: An Excessively Obvious Cinema
Module: EN21003
The aim of this module is to examine the Golden Age of Hollywood (1920-1960), looking at the role of the studio system alongside social, political and historical concerns across a range of genres. From screwball comedy and the western to crime, war films and science-fiction, this module will explore this rich and lively period of film-making in its creation of an apparently seamless, unambiguous cinematic narrative (the Hollywood style). Some of the very best films ever emerged from Hollywood are studied here.
Films to be studied include:
- Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942)
- Cat People (Tourneur, 1942)
- The General (Keaton, 1926)l
- His Girl Friday (Hawks, 1940)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Siegel, 1957)
- It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934)
- Love me Tonight (Mamoulian, 1932)
- On the Waterfront (Kazan, 1954)
- Scarface (Hawks, 1932)
- Singin' in the Rain (Donen and Kelly, 1952)
- Sullivan's Travels (Sturges, 1941)
- Sunrise (Murnau, 1927)
- Sunset Blvd (Wilder, 1950)
Assessment
There are 3 assessed pieces of work on this module that all count towards the final grade: one essay (worth 30% each), one essay (worth 40%) and a close analysis exercise (worth 30%).
Secondary Reading
- Cook, A History of Narrative Film (W.W. Norton)
- Geiger and Rutsky, Film Analysis: A Norton Reader (W.W. Norton)
- Neale, Genre and Hollywood (Routledge)
- Schatz, Hollywood Genres (Temple University Press)
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