Spring 2014

This course is a historical introduction to the rich field of Italian film: early silent epic, examples of both pro- and anti-fascist filmmaking, the classics of neorealism, auteurs of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, the spaghetti Western and the peplum film, as well as some of Italy’s more recent filmmakers. By the end of the semester, you should be generally familiar with some of the most famous works of the best-known directors (we’ll all know about Fellini, and who directed Bicycle Thief); you will have explored a particular director, movement, school or genre more in depth; and you will have done several “readings” of the relationship of technique to meaning (how the visual form of a film—its camera angles, colors, editing, cinematography and so on—contributes to its significant content). Throughout the course, we will be paying particular attention to cinema as a practice informed by questions of national identity, class and gender—in short, we’ll constantly be looking at the psychoanalytic and ideological dimensions of film:  what films can tell us about the unspoken presuppositions of a culture, and about the desires, anxieties and drives that shape our sense of self, and how cinema both uses and shapes them.

On Tuesdays (3:30-6:00), we will screen a major and representative film in 1022 Lincoln. Some of our films will run 2 hours or more, so we will start screenings promptly at 3:30. On Tuesdays and Thursdays (9:30-11:00), we will meet in 1022 Lincoln for lecture and discussion about the film we have seen and the readings we have done.

The readings include regular selections from Bondanella’s A History of Italian Cinema and Film: A Critical Introduction by Pramaggiore and Wallis, as well as a few articles that will be available electronically.

No knowledge of Italian required—all films are either subtitled or dubbed. (Dubbed films are typically seen as “inferior,” but dubbing was a natural solution to particular problems faced by certain Italian films, as we will see.)

Students will take two midterms (30% combined) and a final exam (30%), and complete a variety of short quizzes (20%) over the course of the semester; grades will also include attendance and participation (20%). Make sure to read and understand the class policies, and take a look at a page of advice.

Il cinema italiano

I discovered that what's really important for a creator isn't what we vaguely define as inspiration or even what it is we want to say, recall, regret, or rebel against. No, what's important is the way we say it. Art is all about craftsmanship. Others can interpret craftsmanship as style if they wish. Style is what unites memory or recollection, ideology, sentiment, nostalgia, presentiment, to the way we express all that. It's not what we say but how we say it that matters.

—Fellini