41827 - History and Methodology of Cinematographic Criticism (1)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student: - knows  the interpretive procedures used for interpreting and assessing films and audio-visual texts; - knows the history of the major critical trends as well as the conceptual tools used in the field of film criticism; - is able to contextualise film criticism within the broader framework of the history of cinema and film.

Course contents

The course aims to provide students with historical, methodological and practical notions to analyse critical opinions in the film culture.
The first part will analyse the main methodological problems of the critical opinion and will look back on the major historical lines of evolution of film criticism.
The second part will focus on the forms of Italian film criticism from the post-war period to present day, more specifically:
The publishing market and the professionalization of criticism;
Non-specialized criticism;
Realism between criticism and theory;
The connection between criticism and Italian film genres;
The changes in film criticism in the digital age.

Meetings will be held with experts, critics and professionals, as essential integral part of the course

Readings/Bibliography

Part A (for all the students)

Claudio Bisoni, La critica cinematografica. Un'introduzione, Archetipolibri, Bologna, 2013.
Alberto Pezzotta, La critica cinematografica, Carocci, Roma, 2018.

Part B (for all the students)
One text among:
Guido Aristarco, Il mestiere del critico: quando il cinema era nuovo (a cura di Lorenzo Pellizzari), Falsopiano, Alessandria, 2007.
Claudio Bisoni, Gli anni affollati: la cultura cinematografica italiana (1970-1979), Carocci, Roma, 2009.
Roy Menarini, Le nuove forme della cultura cinematografica. Critica e cinefilia nell'epoca del web, Mimesis, Milano-Udine, 2012.
Alberto Moravia, Cinema italiano. Recensioni e interventi 1933-1990 (a cura di Anna Gilardelli e Alberto Pezzotta), Bompiani, Milano, 2010.
Lorenzo Pellizzari, Critica alla critica. Contributi a una storia della critica cinematografica italiana, Bulzoni, Roma, 1999.
Gianni Volpi, Alfredo Rossi e Jacopo Chessa (a cura di), Barricate di carta. “Cinema&Film”, “Ombre Rosse”, due riviste intorno al ’68, Mimesis, Milano-Udine, 2015.

Parte C (for non attending students):
Maria Cristina Russo, Attacco alla casta. La critica cinematografica al tempo dei social media, Le mani, Recco, 2013.

Teaching methods

Lectures. They will be read/analysed: articles, essays, reviews, websites, video reviews. Attending students will be considered those registered to the teachers/students list and able to demonstrate attendance to the lectures.

Assessment methods

Students will be assessed only by the final examination. It will consist of two parts: a written test and an interview. The written test lasts 30 minutes and consists of 20 single-answer questions on Part A. Students will be immediately given the text results and they may sit the oral part only with a minimum grade of 12/20. The interview will be based on both other aspects of Part A and details of Part B or C (for non-attending students).
Please Note: 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 written part and the interview are aimed to verify whether students have achieved the following learning outcomes:

- full knowledge of the main evolutions of film criticism through the twentieth century;

- full knowledge of the names of critics and thinkers who contributed to the development of cinematic criticism during the twentieth century;

- knowledge of critical writing methods and techniques;

- knowledge of the techniques of film criticism;

- the ability to personally re-elaborate the course texts and connect the basics of the subject with the course contents (for those attending) or the additional readings (for those non-attending).

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 on the course contents.
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.

Attending students shall take a compulsory test in the second half of the course (not affecting the final grade) and a written test within two weeks of the course end. 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.

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Noto