27104 - Film Analysis (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student: - knows the history of the film analysis and the different methodologies it uses; - can analyse the film as a system and the different components of the text; - can interpretat films in analytical terms.

Course contents

By studying exemplary texts from the history of cinema, this course provides the essential elements for the segmentation, analysis and interpretation of the film and film history. It also analyses the history of this discipline and the contribution of human sciences and text analysis methods to the development of film analysis. More specifically, this course focuses on the practice of the "desert script" as a tool for analysing and articulating interpretative hypotheses over films.

Readings/Bibliography

For attending students:
Paolo Bertetto (a cura di), Metodologie di analisi del film, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2006.
David Bruni, Il cinema trascritto. Strumenti per l'analisi del film, Bulzoni, Roma 2006.
Francesco Casetti, Federico di Chio, Analisi del film, Bompiani, Milano 1990.

For non-attending students:
Paolo Bertetto (a cura di), Metodologie di analisi del film, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2006.
David Bruni, Il cinema trascritto. Strumenti per l'analisi del film, Bulzoni, Roma 2006.
Francesco Casetti, Federico Di Chio, Analisi del film, Bompiani, Milano 1990.
Roy Menarini, Il corpo nel cinema. Storie, simboli e immaginari, Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2015.

Filmography (for all the students):
Nosferatu (Friedrich W. Murnau, 1922)
October (Sergej M. Ėjzenštejn, 1928)
Un Chien Andalou (Luis Luis Buñuel e Salvador Dalì, 1929)
Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 1945)
Shoeshine (Vittorio De Sica, 1946)
Sunday in August (Luciano Emmer, 1950)
East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955)
La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960)
Before the Revolution (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1964)
Two or Three Things I Know About Her (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967)
Once upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968)
The Conversation (Francis F. Coppola, 1974)
The Killer (John Woo, 1989)
Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino, 1998)
Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2002)

Teaching methods

Lectures with projection of film extracts. Story and screenplay analysis. Students are invited to discuss collectively the topics of the lectures and the teaching materials presented. Attending students will be considered those registered to the teachers/students list and able to demonstrate attendance to the lectures.

Assessment methods

The final examination will be in a written form, last 75 minutes and taken by a video terminal. At the exam date, students shall show their university badge or ID card to access the computer system by their institutional credentials (firstname.surname @ studio.unibo.it + personal password). They are invited to check their institutional credentials before the exam. Students with DSA certification may extend the test duration communicating this request to the teacher upon exam registration.

The test is made of 24 multiple choice questions to assess the basic knowledge of the students, and 2 open questions, in which students are required to in-depth analyse the main course contents on the basis of extracts from the recommended filmography.

Attending students (that is those who will attend at lest 3/4 of the classes) will take a written test within a few weeks after the end of the course. Students negatively graded or those refusing the grade shall take the exam as non-attending.

Non-attending students shall take a written examination during the academic year.

It will be assessed as excellent the performance of those students achieving an organic vision of the course contents, the use of a proper specific language, the originality of the reflection as well as the familiarity with the tolls for analysing films.
It will be assessed as discrete the performance of those students showing mostly mechanical or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, not articulated synthesis and analysis capabilities, a correct but not always appropriate language, as well as a scholastic study of the discipline. It will be assessed as barely sufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, lack of knowledge of the discipline. It will be assessed as insufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, no orientation within the recommended bibliography and inability to analyse the subject.

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Noto