85100 - HISTORY OF ITALIAN CINEMA (1) (LM)

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

At the end of the course, students will have learned the basic concepts required for them to find their bearings in the history of Italian cinematography. In particular, they will be capable of tackling a number of common focal points that can link cinema with the history of Italian culture (method of representation, cultural industry, relationships with other expressive forms).

Contenuti

The class starts with an analysis of the concept of “national cinema” for better understanding both the focus and the approach adopted by the lecturer in presenting the Italian case study. After this methodological introduction, the class investigates the history of Italian cinema from the silent era to nowadays. In doing that, Italian films will be analysed both as art form and as economic good. The aim of the class is twofold. On the one hand it investigates an historical path in order to retrace the evolution of Italian films in terms of style, aesthetics, themes, etc. On the other hand, it detects relationships between Italian films, Italian history, Italian art forms and Italian cultural industry.

The investigation of Italian film history will be supported by the analysis of some films which are particularly important for understanding key-periods, key-genres and key-trends of Italian film history. The films are:

-Ossessione (1943), by Luchino Visconti

-Ladri di biciclette (1948), by Vittorio De Sica

-Riso amaro (1949), by Giuseppe De Santis

-La strada (1954), by Federico Fellini

-Divorzio all’italiana (1961), by Pietro Germi

-Per un pugno di dollari (1964), by Sergio Leone

-Blow-up (1966), by Michelangelo Antonioni

-Profondo rosso (1975), by Dario Argento

-Call me by your name (2017), by Luca Guadagnino

Testi/Bibliografia

Bondanella, P. (2009), A History of Italian Cinema. New York, Continuum.

Brunetta, G. P. (2009), The History of Italian Cinema, Princeton, Princeton UP.

Higson, A. (1989), The concept of national cinema, "Screen" 30(4): 36-46.

Metodi didattici

The course will be structured in lecture/seminars led by the teacher. Sessions will be accompanied with power point presentations, video clips and film screenings. 

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

All students are required to attend the class, the screenings and to actively participate in class discussion. The final oral exam will be based on lectures, film screenings, readings provided by the lecturer, and in class discussions.

Students are requested to watch the films listed above.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Power point presentations provided by the lecturer; film screenings.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Marco Cucco