Film Art module (EN32020)

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Credits

30

Module code

EN32020

  • Level 3
  • Semester 1
  • English - School of Humanities
  • Coursework 100%

Description

What do we mean when we refer to film as an art form?

This module tackles this question by exploring film's relationship with older arts (painting, photography, music, and literature) while considering what makes the art film unique - the particular expressive and aesthetic qualities of film as a medium.

Students will engage with filmmakers like Derek Jarman, Peter Greenaway, Raul Ruiz, Dziga Vertov, Andrei Tarkovsky, Jan Svankmajer, Kenneth Anger, Maya Deren and Stan Brakhage in this exploration of international art cinema and avant-garde filmmaking.

Assessment

  • Essay 1 60%
  • Essay 2 40%

Reading

Primary Texts

  • Film Analysis: A Norton Reader - J Geiger and R.L. Rutsky (eds.)
  • The European Cinema Reader - A. Fowler (ed.)
  • Avant-Garde Film: Forms, Themes and Passions - Michael O'Pray
  • Film as a Subversive Art - Amos Vogel

Films to be studied include

  • Napoleon – Abel Gance, 1928
  • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari – Robert Weine, 1919
  • Un Chien Andalou – Luis Bunuel, 1929
  • The Man with a Movie Camera – Dziga Vertov, 1929
  • The Blood of a Poet – Jean Cocteau, 1930
  • Zero de Conduit – Jean Vigo, 1931
  • The Music Lovers – Ken Russell, 1970
  • Amadeus – Milos Foreman, 1984
  • F For Fake – Orson Welles, 1974
  • Mirror – Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975
  • A Zed & Two Noughts – Peter Greenaway, 1985
  • Caravaggio – Derek Jarman, 1986
  • Distant Voices, Still Lives – Terence Davies, 1988
  • Close Up – Abbas Kiarostam, 1990

And various shot films by Kenneth Anger, Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Lotte Reinger, Len Lye, Norman McLaren and Jan Švankmajer.

Courses

This module is available on following courses: