FILM COURSES
BARUCH COLLEGE
FALL 2012
History of Film I
FLM 3001
Prof. A. Griffiths
Tue 11:10am-2:55pm
History of Film II
FLM 3002
Prof. W. Boddy
Wed 1:15 – 5:00
Topics in Film: Film and
the Holocaust
English 3940
Prof. J. Lang
Tu/Th 11:10am-12:25pm
Critical Approaches to
Film
FLM 4900
Prof. C. Rollyson
T/Th 4:10-5:25
Beginning with an examination of visual modes of display and devices that
predate cinema such as nineteenth century philosophical toys and the serial
photography of Edweard Muybridge, the course traces the development of
film from 1894 through to the early 1940s. Following an analysis of early
cinema, including the films of Edison, Porter, the Lumière Bros., Meliès, Pathé,
and members of the Brighton School in the UK, the course examines major
directors of the silent era such as D.W. Griffith, Oscar Micheaux, Charlie
Chaplin, Robert Flaherty, Sergei Eisenstein, Dziga Vertov, and Orson Welles.
The course considers the rise of Hollywood, early African American filmmakers,
Soviet experimental film, European avant-garde, and German expressionism,
focusing on how cinema became one of the most important and popular art
forms of the twentieth century.
This course explores major developments in US and global film culture since
the Second World War. After briefly examining the decade of the 1930s, we
will analyze works from a number of postwar national cinemas, artistic
movements, and major directors. Topics addressed include the problem of film
authorship, the development of film genres and aesthetic styles, and the
relationship of the classical Hollywood studio system to alternative models of
film production in the United States and elsewhere. Emphasis will be placed
on the historical, aesthetic, and ideological contexts of the films examined.
Learning goals for students in this course include the demonstration of
intellectual competency in the field, the development of ethical awareness and
understanding, the ability to apply appropriate and effective research tools
and techniques, and the development of competence in the integration and
presentation of research knowledge.
This course considers how film was used both by the Third Reich as a
propaganda tool and subsequently to represent the Holocaust. We will explore
a number of film genres and discuss how the act of filming, the editing of a
film, the imagery itself, and the role of the audience affect the meaning and
reception of the work.
Westerns are nearly as old as American cinema itself. They began with The
Great Train Robbery (1903) and soon became a staple of the movie studios.
Early Westerns focused on cowboys, gunslingers, lawmen, and outlaws of
various kinds. Later Westerns featured the vast plains and deserts of America,
the crude Western towns, and the battles with Indians (not yet called Native
Americans). Heroes like Hoot Gibson and Tim McCoy developed heroic
personas, and later movie stars like John Wayne got their start in “shoot-emups.” By 1939, directors such as John Ford created Westerns now considered art
as well as entertainment. Ford, Howard Hawks, Anthony Mann, and other
directors, perfected a style of shooting and editing Westerns that contributed
to making these films complex explorations of human character and history.
At the same time, the fable-like and melodramatic elements of the Western
remained a constant feature of these productions. This course explores the
classic age of the Western—from the silent era of the 1920s to the 1950s--but
also more contemporary work that reflects on the Western genre. Among the
films shown will be Stagecoach, Destry Rides Again, My Darling Clementine,
Red River, Rio Bravo as well as spoofs of the Western such as Blazing Saddles
and Support Your Local Sheriff! The core text for this course is The Western
Reader [Paperback or Kindle], edited by Gregg Rickman and Jim Kitses.