ENGLISH 460: FICTION INTO FILM

ENGLISH 460: FICTION INTO FILM

Established Goals:

The course is designed to develop in the students the habits of analysis, criticism, understanding, and appreciation of film in a disciplined and creative manner. The students will watch film in a new way

— actively and critically — and develop a cinematic literacy and working knowledge of American film. Toward that end, the students will screen classic American films, dissect the films, and engage in interactive discussion of what has been read and viewed as well as write on topics that stem from their filmic experience.

Understandings:

Students will understand that

• film is a form of literature and one of our culture’s most influential forms of storytelling;

• film reflects and shapes the changing nature of our heroes, values, and beliefs — our American identity;

• some of the most popular American film genres express our social and cultural tensions;

• cinema technology relates to film art.

Essential Questions:

• How does film communicate in a way different from the written word, other media, and art forms?

• How do we judge films in personal, aesthetic, historical, and ideological terms?

• How do we increase our ability to watch films actively and critically instead of as passive spectators?

Core Units:

1) Words and Pictures: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

2) The Three-Act Structure: Sunset Boulevard (d. Billy Wilder)

3) The Character Arc: Film Noir and Double Indemnity (d. Billy Wilder)

4) Mise en Scène: The Graduate (d. Mike Nichols)

5) Suspense: Rear Window (d. Alfred Hitchcock)

6) Romance and Nobility: Casablanca (d. Michael Curtiz)

7) Putting the Pieces Together: Citizen Kane (d. Orson Welles)

Since the core categories of the three-act structure, character arc, and mise en scène are basic film components, other films may also effectively illustrate the particular unit concepts.

Core Reading:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Brian Selznick)

Bank Films:

The Apartment (d. Billy Wilder)

The Artist (d. Michel Hazanavicius)

It Happened One Night

It’s a Wonderful Life

(d. Frank Capra)

(d. Frank Capra)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (d. Frank Capra)

On the Waterfront (d. Elia Kazan)

The Purple Rose of Cairo (d. Woody Allen)

The Searchers (d. John Ford)

Singin’ in the Rain (d. Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly)

Some Like It Hot (d. Billy Wilder)


WORDS AND PICTURES: THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET

Stage 1 — Desired Results


The students will explore the art of adaptation by studying how the picture sequences in Brian

Selznick’s novel (in words and pictures) were turned into screenplay text (by John Logan), and then turned back into visual storytelling upon the screen by director Martin Scorsese. Toward that end, the students will read The Invention of Hugo Cabret , examine scenes from the novel’s adapted screenplay, and view the corresponding scenes from Hugo before trying their own hand at the creative-adaptive process.

Understandings:


• movies are made to satisfy our need for dreaming;

• being faithful to a book isn’t the same as repeating every word.


• Have you ever “wondered where your dreams come from when you go to sleep at night”?

• How does a work of cinema emerge from a work of literature?

Outcomes / Objectives:

Students will know

• how the novel’s illustrations work in concert with the words to move the story forward;

• about a bygone era of moviemaking;

• the contributions of George Méliès to the early cinema.

Students will be able to

• turn a picture sequence into text that reads visually;

• craft dialogue from narration;

• write a screenplay segment that uses proper, contemporary, and professional form.

Stage 2 — Assessment Evidence

Performance Task:

• Writing Assignment: In two pages (or so), take a picture sequence from The Invention of Hugo

Cabret and turn it into text that works in concert with Selznick’s narration to craft your own bit of a screenplay adaptation that moves the action forward and includes dialogue.

Other Evidence:

• novel reading test;

• inter-active discussion during the examination of novel, screenplay, and film segments;

Stage 3 — Learning Plan

• reading of The Invention of Hugo Cabret ;

• examination of the creative-adaptive process with looks at the novel (in words and pictures), the screenplay, and the film Hugo :

•

•

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

⇒

pp 4 – 50 (pictures and words)

Hugo (the screenplay) ⇒ pp 1 – 3

Hugo (d. Martin Scorsese, 2011) ⇒ [DVD // 0:45 – 5:13]

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

⇒

pp 346 – 354 (pictures and words)

Hugo (the screenplay) ⇒ pp 67 – 69

Hugo ⇒ [DVD // 1:08:29 – 1:11:15]

A Trip to the Moon (d. George Méliès, 1902) ⇒ [DVD Option 1: orchestral score + Méliès narration] screenplay adaptation writing assignment


THE THREE-ACT STRUCTURE: SUNSET BOULEVARD



The students will study how a screenplay lays out the structure for a finished film. Toward that end, the students will view Sunset Boulevard and apply strategies (written and spoken) to communicate information using the visual language of the cinema.

Understandings:


• screenplays are structure;

• most American screenplays tend to conform to the classical paradigm, the three-act structure.


•

How does the screenwriter organize ideas about how to tell a story?

•

How is the story stitched and woven together to mask the scene divisions?

• What is a “Hollywood story”?


Students will know

• all screenplays contain a basic linear structure: a beginning (Act I), a middle (Act II), and an end

(Act III);

• Act I is the unit of dramatic action that continues to the plot point at the end of Act I and is held together by a dramatic context known as the “Setup”;

• Act II is the unit of dramatic structure that goes from the plot point at the end of Act I to the plot point at the end of Act II and is held together by the dramatic context known as the

“Confrontation”;

• Act III is the unit of dramatic structure that goes from the plot point at the end of Act II to the end of the script and is held together by the dramatic context known as the “Resolution”;

• a plot point is an incident, episode, or event that hooks into the action and spins the story into another direction, “direction” being a line of development;

• a film’s midpoint breaks Act II into two units of dramatic action, bridges the action of Act II so that it continues moving forward with a specific line of development at the same time that it helps recall earlier information of the story;

• a prologue and epilogue serve as a frame for the main storyline;

• the fade-to-black can serve as a “curtain” that identifies the pivotal changes in the story;

• the storyline of Sunset Boulevard ;

• not all “Hollywood stories” have a happy ending.


• summarize the main events of the Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution;

• identify the scenes or events that “spin” the story in new directions;

• identify the scene or event that “bridges” the action of Act II;

• note the emotional shifts that come with the pivotal changes in the story;

• discover how to deconstruct film as an art form;

• utilize film language in discussion and writing.



•

Trace the narrative of Sunset Boulevard along the lines of the paradigm of dramatic structure.

First introduce the film’s storyline and structure. Next summarize the main action of the Prologue,

Acts I, II, and III, and the Epilogue, also identifying the film’s plot points and midpoint. Conclude by explaining the irony of the film’s ending.

Other Evidence:

• inter-active discussion during the viewing of the film;

• outline viewing log;

• film summary assignment (log-line, questions, captions, and tag-line).


• introduction of the three-act structure;

•

“Hooray for Hollywood” introduction to Sunset Boulevard ’s story setting;

• viewing of Sunset Boulevard with commentary and inter-active discussion with emphasis on the narrative form;

• presentation of the alternate opening of Sunset Boulevard , followed by discussion that includes reference to The Great Gatsby ;

• tracking the action and turning points of Sunset Boulevard during the viewing;

• an homage to Sunset Boulevard from Mrs. Doubtfire ;

• Sunset Boulevard dramatic structure assignment.


THE CHARACTER ARC: FILM NOIR AND DOUBLE INDEMNITY



The students will study Double Indemnity as representative of the film noir genre and as an example of film’s linkage to the mythology of the hero’s journey. Toward those ends, the students will apply strategies (written and spoken) to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate the visual language of cinema.

Understandings:


• film noir is a style defined primarily in terms of light — or the lack of it;

• its milieu is almost exclusively urban;

• its tone is fatalistic and paranoid;

• its themes characteristically revolve around violence, lust, greed, betrayal, and depravity;

• motifs of entrapment abound;

• film embraces myth, both for story lines and for a deeper influence in structure, motifs, and style;

• the audience vicariously experiences forbidden and deadly sins on the hero’s darkest journey and has its own moral boundaries tested.


•

“Pretty, isn’t it (killing for money — and a woman — and not getting the money or the woman)?”

•

“How could [he] have known that murder can sometimes smell like honeysuckle?”

•

Is it (pulling out of the crime) “because of what Keyes can do?”

• How are these characters and this plot representative of America’s social climate in the 1930s and

1940s?


Students will know

• the conventions of film noir;

• key terms of the genre (e.g., hard boiled, femme fatale, voice-over, flashback);

• the storyline of Double Indemnity ;

• the impact of World War II on the genre and on this film;

• the twelve stages of the hero’s journey and the hero’s character arc in association with those stages.


• describe the plot, characters, and historical context of Double Indemnity ;

• analyze the character arc of the hero;


• grasp the underlying social and moral messages of the film;




•

Trace the character arc of Walter Neff through Double Indemnity ’s three acts. First offer an introduction that defines Walter’s journey and his transformation; next identify what happens to

Walter in the twelve stages of his journey; conclude with a summary of Walter’s transformation that highlights his relationship with Barton Keyes.

Other Evidence:





• overview of film noir using imagery presented by Joel Greenberg and Charles Higham in their

Hollywood in the Forties and Luis Buñuel’s commentary on “Mad Love”;

• discussion of prior experience with director Billy Wilder’s films;

• introduction of the twelve stages of the hero’s journey and the hero’s character arc in association with those stages;

• viewing of Double Indemnity with commentary and inter-active discussion;

• tracking the action and turning points of Double Indemnity during the viewing;

• presentation of the film’s alternate ending followed by discussion;

• film summary assignment;

• Walter Neff character arc assignment.


MISE EN SCÈNE: THE GRADUATE



The students will study how visual materials are staged, framed, and photographed within the space of the frame to create meaning. Toward that end, the students will view The Graduate and apply strategies (written and spoken) to communicate information using the visual language of the cinema.

Understandings:


• the frame functions as the basis of composition in a film image;

• form shapes content in a film;

• dramatic context is the determining factor in composition and design;

• space is a medium of communication that can be manipulated with psychological complexity;

• open and closed forms are two distinct attitudes about reality and loosely related to the concepts of realism and formalism.


• How does mise en scène create meaning?

• How does form reveal theme?


Students will know

• the difference between montage and mise en scène;

• key terminology about the 15 elements of a mise en scène analysis;

• the shots: the apparent distance of the camera from the subject;

• the angles: looking up, down, or at eye level;

• lighting styles: high, key, low key, high contrast;

• how lenses distort subject matter;

• the symbolic implications of the geography of the frame: top, bottom, center, edges;

• how images are structured;

• where to look first in the frame;

• the territorial imperative: how space can be used to communicate ideas about power;

• staging positions vis-à-vis the camera and what they suggest;

• the difference between tight and loose framing;

• the difference between open and closed forms;

• the proxemic patterns and how they define relationships between people;

• the storyline of The Graduate .


• analyze a single frame by following the guidelines of a systematic mise en scène examination;

• synthesize essential information from that analysis into an explanation of the frame’s dramatic context;





•

Complete a systematic mise en scène of one of six frames from The Graduate . First, identify the frame you are analyzing by describing the basic action: Who are the characters? What is the setting? What is happening? Next, complete the systematic analysis by answering the questions about the fifteen elements. Finally, explain the dramatic context of the shot. What information is conveyed through the image and the way the elements in the shot are arranged and weighted?

Other Evidence:


• initial mise en scène response sheet;



• introduction of aspect ratio (proportion of the screen)and how the same frame from 2001: A Space

Odyssey conveys different meanings with a different aspect ratio;

• overview of how montage conveys meaning through the relationship between shots via the shower scene from Psycho ;

• introduction of the fifteen elements of a mise en scène analysis;

• extraction of the 15 elements of a mise en scène through a guided analysis of a frame from North by Northwest in which meaning is achieved through the relationship of things within a single shot;

• group mise en scène analysis of a second frame from North by Northwest ;

• viewing of The Graduate with commentary and inter-active discussion with emphasis on frame composition and design;

• tracking the action and turning points of The Graduate during the viewing;

• The Graduate mise en scène assignment.


SUSPENSE: ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S REAR WINDOW



The students will study Rear Window as representative of the suspense-thriller genre and the epitome of Hitchcockian movie-making. Toward those ends, the students will view Rear Window and apply strategies (written and spoken) to communicate information using the visual language of the cinema.

Understandings:


• the audience must be informed, not denied information, to create suspense;

• the “MacGuffin” is “really nothing at all”;

• we are all (cinematic) voyeurs.


• What is the Hitchcockian difference between surprise and suspense?

• What is a “MacGuffin”?

• “Is it ethical to watch other people with binoculars and long-focus lenses?”


Students will know

• the mastery of montage contributes to the mastery of suspense;

• the design of this film is purely cinematic in the way it explores the notion of looking;

• the storyline of Rear Window ;

• the film’s music, speech, and other sounds are diegetic in nature;

• the film’s fades-to-black serve as set-up for the story’s climactic moment.






•

Writing Assignment: Trace the mounting excitement of the climactic sequence(s) in Rear

Window ; as Jeff’s anxiety grows, the audience’s also builds accordingly.

•

Alternate Writing Assignment: Examine how what we view through Jeff’s rear window represents possibilities for Jeff’s own life with Lisa, how the lives in the other apartments connect to what is going on in Jeff’s apartment, how Jeff’s outer world connects to his inner world.

Other Evidence:





• introduction to “Montage”: clip from Psycho (“The Shower Scene”);

• introduction to “Suspense”: “The Master of Suspense on Suspense” from The Men Who Made the

Movies ;

•

“The Bomb Theory” in practice: clip from Sabotage (“The Boy Boards the Death Bus”);

• viewing of Rear Window with commentary, inter-active discussion, and SCREAMS!

;

• tracking the action and turning points of Rear Window during the viewing;

•

“The Master Exposed”: Hitchcock cameo appearances;

• Rear Window writing assignment.


ROMANCE AND NOBILITY: CASABLANCA



The students will study Casablanca in light of the time in which it was made, a time when it seemed possible that Nazi Germany would overrun civilization, and how the film is not just about love, but even more about nobility. Toward those ends, the students will view Casablanca and apply strategies (written and spoken) to communicate information using the visual language of the cinema.

Understandings:


• the film reflects a world in which things seem to be simpler and clearer, a wartime reality of romantic idealism;

•

“the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in [a] crazy world.”


• Why don’t they make movies like Casablanca any more?

•

“What about us?” – When must personal interests surrender to a greater cause?


Students will know

• the storyline of Casablanca ;

• “Liberté,” “Egalité,” and “Fraternité” serve as signposts to the film’s plot and major characterizations;

• sometimes love cannot — and should not — conquer all.;

• the impact of World War II on this film; Rick is America in December 1941.






•

Writing Assignment: Develop and support this topic sentence with examples of Rick’s noble sacrifices in the story through specific plot details, images, and dialogue.

Near the end of 1943’s Best Picture, director Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca , Rick tells

Ilsa, “I’m no good at being noble”; despite Rick’s admission and the A.F.I.’s having named the film America’s greatest love story, Casablanca is not just about love, but even more about nobility.

Other Evidence:





• introduction of Casablanc a : Roger Ebert retrospective and Lauren Bacall preface;

• viewing of Casablanca with commentary and inter-active discussion;

• tracking the action and turning points of Casablanca during the viewing;

• “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” from Cabaret to set-up “Die Wacht am Rhine” vs. “La Marseillaise”;

• an homage to Casablanca from Play It Again, Sam ;

• American Film Institute 100 Years, 100 Passions: “America’s Greatest Love Stories”;

•

Casablanca writing assignment.


PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER: CITIZEN KANE



The students will study Citizen Kane as demonstrative of the way various filmic language systems interact within a single filmic text. Toward that end, the students will view Citizen Kane and apply strategies (written and spoken) to communicate information using the visual language of the cinema.

Understandings:


• the motion-picture medium has an extraordinary range of expression (visual composition, movement, rhythm, etc.) as it synthesizes many language systems simultaneously;

•

Citizen Kane is a “discourse on method” because of its technical range.


• What makes Citizen Kane so cinematically revered?

• How do we read a life? (“I don’t think a word can sum up a man’s life.”)

• “What’s Rosebud?”


Students will know

• the storyline of Citizen Kane ;

• the film is structured like a jigsaw puzzle, a search through a series of flashbacks narrated from different points of view that need to be put together;

• the film’s combination of storytelling and visual techniques was groundbreaking in 1941;

• deep-focus photography adds virtuosity and functionality to the narrative;

• expressionistic lighting underscores emotional and thematic motifs;

• the motif of low angle shots emphasize the power of the protagonist;

• camera movement generally equates with the vitality and energy of youth while a static camera tends to be associated with age and death.






• Writing Assignment: In a single paragraph, a single page (or so) — is to shed light on how that single word “Rosebud” might explain Charles Foster Kane’s life.

•

Alternate / Complementary Assignment: Analyze a single frame from Citizen Kane by completing a systematic mise en scène of the shot.

Other Evidence:





• introduction of Citizen Kane (Mick LaSalle): “”It’s very easy to like — harder to love”;

• introduction to Citizen Kane : original theatrical trailer;

• introduction to Citizen Kane : from The Battle over Citizen Kane [DVD 1:31

⇒

7:21]

• the matte shot: “flip page illustration” from The Invisible Art (Chronicle Books);

• viewing of Citizen Kane with commentary and inter-active discussion;

• tracking the action and turning points of Citizen Kane during the viewing;

• William Randolph Hearst research; comparisons/contrast to Charles Foster Kane;

• Welles statement to the press on William Randolph Hearst and “Rosebud”;

• Spielberg homages to Citizen Kane from Raiders of the Lost Ark and Schindler’s List ;

• Citizen Kane writing assignment and/or mise en scène film activity.

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