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.