Film 2400
A History of
Motion Pictures
Syllabus


"A film is--or should be-more like music than
like fiction. It should be a progression of
moods and feelings. The theme, what's
behind the emotion, the meaning, all that
comes later. After you've walked out of the
theater, maybe the next day, or a week later,
may be without ever actually realizing it, you
somehow get what the filmmaker has been
trying to tell you. “
--Stanley Kubrick
Time and Location: Tuesday,
Lecture 12:00-2:15 and Screenings
on Friday, 12:00-2:15 Room 101,
Computer Science Building
Instructor: Tom Begley
 Office: Theatre 202
 E-MAIL: tbegley@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu
 OR tbegley@mail.ucf.edu
 Phone: 823-2170

WHO IS THIS GUY ANYWAY?
(Brief Film/TV Resume)
I have been involved in some of the worst
television shows of all time, including
Superboy, Swamp Thing, and Seaquest DSV,
to name a few.
 I have worked on-screen and off on some of
the worst motion-pictures of the last 30
years, including Corvette Summer, The Break,

Shakma, Oscar, Matinee, Passenger 57,
Beverly Hills Cop III, & Parenthood, to name
a few.
HOWEVER…..

I’ve also gotten to do a few cool things
here and there. For instance, I worked
on Props for Back to the Future III and
got to serve as Project Manager(Props)
for Back to the Future- The Ride at
Universal (I am especially proud of the
train…which, at the Grand Opening,
appeared out of thin air carrying
Michael J. Fox and Mary Steenburgen.)
TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY...
I also did work on the former “American
Tail” stage and Ghostbusters.
 I was one of the props/weaponsmasters on The Untouchables.
 My character (Purple mohawk, skinny
legs…) gets shot by Kurt Russell in
Escape From New York as I come out of
the sewer….

I’m one of the 30,000 “hippies” in the Washington
D.C. scene in “Hair”.
 I’m one of the 1000 “spectators” in the stadium in
“Parenthood”. Also in “Nothing In Common”.

I’m an extra in Arthur Penn’s Four Friends.
 I Spent most of the 80’s propping national
television commercials for Pampers, Crest
Toothpaste, etc….
 In the 90’s, I had my biggest success as the
artistic director for the Music Video “Runaway
Train” by Soul Asylum. Also, David Lee Roth’s
“Just a Gigolo” and Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock and
Roll”.


That was to atone for sins perpetrated while
propping about 6 music videos for The New Kids On
The Block and that dufus who did Achey-Breaky
Heart...
I spent the 70’s as a roadie with : Kiss, Blue Oyster
Cult, Hank Williams, Jr and (Oh Gawd…how
embarrassing…) Yanni.
 I have also served as Lighting Designer for Sawyer
Brown, Don Williams, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells,
Blue Oyster Cult, and on two occassions had the
opportunity to light Frank Sinatra, The Violent

Femmes, Echoe and the Bunnymen, & The Butthole
Surfers.
I also taught high school at a Dominican
Convent for two years, worked in the Nashville
(Yeech!!!) music industry, was the AreaCoordinator for Set-Design, Construction, and
Special Effects for Full-Sail Center for the
Recording Arts for two years, Taught at
Webster University in St. Louis, and have now
been a proud member of the Theatre
Department here at UCF for 7 years (78
shows).
 My Shoe-Size is 13 1/2.

Oh Yes, I Almost Forgot...
Somewhere along the way I attended
St. Louis University, Loyola University,
Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland), Wayne
State University, Northwestern
University, University of Texas
(Houston), and Webster University.
 Someday I hope to actually GET a
graduate degree.

NOTES AND DISCLAIMERS:
All reasonable accommodation will be
made for students with special needs.
 Only websites linked from the class site
at
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~theatre/film
.html should be used for research
 DON’T believe everything you read on
the internet.

OTHER NOTES AND
DISCLAIMERS:

By its very nature, this class is intended
for adults. Some films and lectures may
contain strong language, graphic
violence, and partial nudity.

This syllabus is subject to change at the
discretion of the instructors.
Well, the lectures won’t contain
any nudity at all.
(Believe me, that would
clear the room faster than
a Pauli Shore movie.)
The Book
Required Text: Gerald Mast and Bruce
Kawin, A Short History of the Movies,
 9th edition (New York: Macmillan
Publishing Company, 1996).



(Pssst….Have a look at
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~theatre/book.html..)
Screenings:

The syllabus contains a list of the films that are
required viewing for this class. Screenings will be in
CS101. An attached list of recommended screenings
is available to you for extra credit. For one (1) point
extra credit on your final grade (not to exceed five
(5) points total, you may submit the following
information on a one/two, typed sheets of paper.
The Papers

You should know the following for each
credit screening:


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

6. HAVE AN OPINION.



Title
Year
Director
Plot
Major Star or actor/actress
(WHY you think we
saw THIS film is a good place to start….)
BIG NO-NO’s…...

DON’T EVER write a paper for me on a
film you haven’t seen. I’ll know. Really.
 DON’T use profanity or familiar
colloquialisms in your papers (i.e.,
“Dude, I totally hated this flick….)
 DON’T worry about disagreeing with
me. I’m used to it. I’m married.
TRY NOT TO:

Fall asleep during a screening. If you
happen to, DON’T SNORE. You might
wake me. If you fall asleep during a
lecture, expect to get picked on for the
rest of the semester and get nicknamed
“Sleepy”. If I have to nickname you
“Dopey”, we’ve got a REAL problem...
Also Remember….
I’ve now seen each of these films
approximately 130 times (except for
Rocky Horror, which I saw 262 times
until my fish-nets wore out…).
 If I seem distant, it is only because my
brain is full.

Other Resources:

We have assembled a Film History
Resource Web-Site at
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/
~theatre/film.html for your
use and enjoyment.

USE IT DAILY. THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL.
Grading:

A POINT SYSTEM is used based on the
following elements:
1. Quizzes:5XIO =50 points
 2. Midterm Exam =50 points
 3. Final Exam
=100 points
 4. Attendance at Screenings
15X5 =75Total Points
Possible: 275


A =275-247 B=246-220 C=219-192 D=191-165
F=164 and below
Class Schedule:
 Week
1
Course Introduction
 Lecture: Tom Begley
 In Class Film: "Before The Nickelodeon"
* SCREENING: "Trip to the Moon"
George Melies
 *"The Great Train Robbery," Edwin S.
Porter

Week 2

Beginnings
Lecture: Tom Begley
 In Class Films:

*"Biography: D.W.Griffith”
 *SCREENING: "Birth of A Nation"
(excerpts)
TEXT: Chapter 3,
Week # 3
The Creation of Hollywood: The Studios
 QUIZ#1
 Lecture: Tom Begley
 *In Class Film: "The Creation of United

Artists"

*SCREENING: "The Gold Rush,"Charlie
Chaplin.TEXT: Chapter 3
Week #4
The OTHER Hollywood
 Lecture: Tom Begley
*In Class Film: "Expressionism and

Surrealism"
*SCREENING: Nosferatu"".
 TEXT: Chapter 4
 ON THE WEB: "The Cabinet of Dr.
Caligari"
 TEXT: Chapter 4

Week #5
Week #5
Meanwhile, Back in the
USA--- Vaudeville, The 3 Stooges, and
Why You Still laugh when Curly says,
"LOOK at the Grouse!"

Lecture: Tom Begley

Screening: "The Coconuts" (Marx
Brothers) OR "Animal Crackers"


TRIPLE-BONUS EXTRA CREDIT SCREENING FOR THE
INTELLECTUALS:
"The Battleship Potemkin"
Week #6
Week #6
The Origins of the
Propaganda Film.

Lecture: Tom Begley

In Class Film: "Triumph of The Will"
(excerpts)/The Making of 'Casablanca'"

TEXT: Chapter 5

SCREENING: "Casablanca"

Week #7
The Golden Age of Hollywood:
1930-1939
 Lecture: Tom Begley
 QUIZ #2
 In Class Film: "The Making of ‘Citizen
Kane’“
 *SCREENING: "Citizen Kane" Orson
Welles TEXT: Chapter 6

Week #8

MIDTERM EXAM DUE
Threat of Television: the 50's

Lecture: Mr.. Tom Begley
 n Class Film: "Directors"

*SCREENING: "Rebecca"
TEXT: Chapter 8

Week #9
Week # 9
The 1950's-1960's:
Kubrick, Penn, and The Avant Garde:

Lecture: . Tom Begley

SCREENING: "Dr.Strangelove" OR
"A Clockwork Orange" OR
"2001: A Space Odyssey" OR
"Bonnie and Clyde"

TEXT: Chapter 9

Week # 10
Week #10 Social Revolution and
Change in Film: The 70's And and Why
People My Age Can't Remember
Them....

Lecture: Tom Begley

SCREENING: "The Rocky Horror
Picture Show"

TEXT: Chapter 10

Week #11
"Raiders", "Star Wars", and the
Beginning of the End/ QUIZ#4
 OR "Bring Me the Head of Jar-Jar
Binks”: * Postmodernism & Satire
Lecture: Tom Begley
*SCREENING: "Army of Darkness"
Raimi
TEXT: Chapter 11

Week #12

Foreign Avant Guard: Who's out
there,What's a Kurasawa?, and Why do
the French INSIST on being Obtuse?
Lecture: Tom Begley
Screening: "City of Lost Children"

Text: Aren't we done with the bloody
book yet???
Week #13
Hope For Hollywood: Digital Actors,
Digital Cameras, And Why "Orange
County" sucks...
 QUIZ#5


SCREENING: "Lord of the Rings" Part I
Week #14

Where are you taking me and Why am
I Going there?: Hollywood in the Digital
Age

Lecture: Tom Begley

Screening: "Lord of the Rings" Part II
Week #15

Wrap-Up Discussion

Screening: TBA

FINAL EXAM DUE!!!!
 FINAL EXAM FINAL EXAM
FINAL EXAM
Final Notes:
All papers must be typed
 (double spaced ). Keep a copy. Late papers
are dropped half a letter grade per day .You
may resubmit one revised paper. Your original
grade will be replaced with your revised
grade. You may also e-mail me a draft copy
at
tbegley@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu or
tbegley@mail.ucf.edu

Attendance and Lateness:
Regular
attendance is
necessary. All absences must be documented
and explained. Your grade will drop after three (3)
unexcused absences. It will drop further for every
absence after that . Lateness is also unacceptable
and, if frequent, results in the same penalties as
absence. Needless to say, attendance at all required
film screenings is mandatory. Work in class depends
on acquaintance with the films. Absence from a film
screening falls under the same rules as outlined
“I’ll take ‘WHY JOHNNY CAN’T WRITE’ for 20,
Alex…”


Referral to the Writing Center will assist you if you
have spelling, grammar or stylistic problems. We will
provide you with essential rules and advice. Their
application is up to you. We will, however, work on
recurring collective errors. If you have any questions,
problems or difficulties do not hesitate to see me. I
hold regular office hours and invite you to discuss
your papers and ideas with me.
If you have any questions, problems or difficulties do
not hesitate to see me. I hold regular office hours
and invite you to discuss your papers and ideas with
me.
And Finally…….

NOBODY who has turned in all the
assignments, taken all the tests, and
saw all of the films has
EVER

failed this class.
HOWEVER,

About 30 of you will, on the average.
(This is about the same number of you,
 who will, coincidentally and statistically,
 be married and divorced by the age of
26.)
Go figure….

And Finally….

PLAGIARISM: By far the easiest way
to fail this class. I read EVERY word of
EVERY paper you turn in. I check all of
the major websites for term-papers,
etc. Two years ago, 5 frat guys turned
in the same essay. Trouble was, it was
an essay that I wrote in 1980 and
posted to a film-site.
They don’t go here
anymore.
(Probably at UF by now…)
Small Bits of Advice….
This class is supposed to be fun.
 I don’t give a damn what Siskel & Ebert
think. I want to know what YOU think.
 Some films on our list may be
objectionable to some of you on
moral/psychological grounds (A
Clockwork Orange comes to mind).
Alternates ARE available.

REMINDER:
This a class of 420 people. I will try to
learn your names. If I do, it is either
because your work is outstanding in
general or non-existent in particular.
Try not to take offense at this.
 PARTICIPATION is key to making this
class fun. We will SHARE our opinions
in equal measure.

For Our Special-Needs
Students:
(This category DOES NOT yet include
narcolepsy.)
 If you have a diagnosed handicap
(A.D.D., Autism, Tourettes Syndrome,
an Undergraduate Degree from U.F.,
etc.) PLEASE let me know early in

the term.
 I WILL ENDEAVOUR TO DO THE
FOLLOWING:
HOWEVER…..

Since not even I tend to know what I’m
going to do next, this will not always be
possible. I tend to be VERY animated..
(ever see a Sam Kinnison stand-up
routine? Kind of like that, but without
all of the swearing. OK, without some
of the swearing….).
TO REACH ME:
MY OFFICE HOURS ARE 07:30AM-09:00
Monday through Thursday.
 MY OFFICE is in Theatre, Room 202.
 MY OFFICE PHONE is (407)823-2170
(Ask for Tom, because if you ask for
Mr. Begley they will have no idea who
you want to speak to….)
 E-MAIL: tbegley@mail.ucf.edu

ALL OF THIS INFORMATION
(INCLUDING THIS SLIDE-SHOW) IS
AVAILABLE AT
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~theatre/class.html
.