27848 - Philology of Cinema (1) (2nd cycle)

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will acquire a knowledge of the philology of cinema from the traditional notions of text criticism (ecdotics). They will also acquire a knowledge of the historical-critical examination of the film texts belonging to the first Italian cinema, in comparison with other contemporary film texts.

 

Course contents

Problems of film philology and film restoration (silent films)

 

I. Fundamentals of restoration theory: starting with Cesare Brandi

I.1. Image and material

I.2. Structure and appearance

I.3. The treatment of gaps

 

II. Fundamentals of textual criticism

II.1 The "errors": direct, indirect, critical.

II.2 The "variants": author, edition, tradition.

II.3 "Guiding errors" and the construction of the emblem

 

III. Fundamentals of movie restoration

 

III.1. Damage repair

 

III.2. The treatment of gaps (punctual, local, extended)

 

III.4. Development and printing

 

 

IV. Textual restoration and reconstruction of films (silent films)

 

IV.1. According to the principle of "ultimate author intent"

 

IV.2. According to the principle of "first projection"

 

IV.3. According to the principle of "best copy"

 

Readings/Bibliography

To take the final examination, students are required to study at least one text chosen among each of the following four groups.

I.
Cesare Brandi, Teoria del restauro, Torino, Einaudi, 1977.
(English: Theory of Restoration, Firenze, Nardini, 2005;
French: Théorie de la restauration, [Paris], Ecole nationale du patrimoine/Monum, s.d.;
Portughese: Teoria da Restauração, Cotia, SP, Ateliê Editorial, 2004.)


II.
Alfredo Stussi, Introduzione agli studi di filologia italiana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2007.

Alternatively: Paola Italia, Giulia Raboni, Che cos'è la filologia d'autore, Roma, Carocci, 2014.

Alternatively: Armando Balduino, Manuale di filologia italiana, Firenze, Sansoni, 1995.

Alternatvely: Pasquale Stoppelli, Filologia della letteratura italiana, Roma, Carocci, 2019.

Alternatively: Paolo Trovato, Everything you Always wanted to know about Lachmann's metod. A non-standard handbook, Padova, Libreria Universitaria, 2015 (in English).

Optional text:

Paul Maas, La critica del testo, a cura di Giorgio Ziffer, Roma, Edizioni di storia e letteratura, 2017.

Enrico Malato, Lessico filologico. Un approccio alla filologia, Roma, Salerno Editore, 2008.

III.
M. Canosa, Per una teoria del restauro cinematografico, in G.P. Brunetta,Storia del cinema mondiale, vol. V, Torino, Einaudi, 2001, pp. 1069-1118.

IV.
Stella Dagna, Perché restaurare i film?, Pisa, ETS, 2014.

Alternatively: AAVV, Work/s in Progress. Digital Film Restoration Within Archives, Vienna, Synema, 2013. Testo in inglese.
Alternatively: Paul Read, Mark-Paul Meyer, Restoration of Motion Picture, Oxford, Buttrworth-Heinemann, 2000. Testo in inglese.
Alternatively: Giovanna Fossati, From Grain To Pixel. The Archival Life of Film in Transition, Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2009. Testo in inglese.
Alternatively: AAVV, Il cinema ritrovato. Teoria e metodologia del restauro cinematografico, a cura di G. L. Farinelli e N. Mazzanti, Bologna, Grafis, [1994].

 

[Please note: the texts above are available at the DARvipem Library, via Barberia 4.]

 

 

Teaching methods

Lectures.

Assessment methods

The final examination consists of an oral interview.

The final examination is based on the four parts in which the course is divided.

The final examination aims to verify:

1) the actual acquisition by the students of the essential notions of the theory of restoration (Cesare Brandi).

2) the appropriate knowledge by the students of the essential categories of textual criticism (Gianfranco Contini).

3) the appropriate knowledge of the main film restoration protocols.

4) the ability to critically deal with the links between textual criticism (reconstruction) and restoration of the film.

To pass the final examination, students are expected to show clarity in the exposition of the subject, critical ability and proper language.

At the exam date, students may submit a written report ("tesina"). The subject must be consistent with the topics dealt with in the course and agreed in time with the teacher.

 

Please note: the written work is optional and does not replace the oral examination but it will be considered in the final evaluation and, if deserving, will favor the excellence marks. As to the written report, they will be assessed the originality of the subject chosen, the mastery of the sources, the methodological reliability and the arguing ability; the correctness of the exhibition form, the layout of the notes and the bibliography will be equally taken into account.

 

Teaching tools

Screening of several cases of film restoration.

Office hours

See the website of Michele Canosa