42768 - Cinema and Literature

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will be able to investigate the interconnections between texts and languages in the field of film and literature. They will develop a good capacity of analysis through the exercise on exemplary study cases. They will be able to set analysis against the background o f film history and cultural history

Course contents

The course analyzes various forms of writing nurturing to the complex cultural ecosystem of cinematic entertainment. From film journalism to gossip, artistic autobiography and drama, these forms of writing influence films in various ways. The general context is Hollywood. We will analyze production and narrative structure, actors' engagement on- and off-screen. Examples of texts and films draw from the Hollywood period between 1940s and 1960s. We will concentrate on the following personalities: the actors Elizabeth Taylor, Anna Magnani, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Cliff, Audrey Hepburn and the gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. Each study case will be investigated in comparison to American cinema, to the Studio System and Star System and to national culture, celebrity culture of the period of reference.

The course contains an insight on the work of:

1.Tennessee Williams, his influence on a new actorship in the United States, his bridging Italian neo-realismo with American cinematic imaginary.

2. Truman Capote, his depiction of new lifestyles and celebrity styles in the American 1950s.

 

Readings/Bibliography

Collection of critical articles including a series of  essays on the theme of the relation between cinema and literature in the specific American context of reference and on the themes of the course. These materials will be available on Virtuale from mid September 2022.

There is no distinction between attending students and non-attending students.

Teaching methods

Lecture with examples from the films and texts indicated in the program. Projection of all films in the filmography.

The filmography includes film adaptations from literary texts and films that have been crucial in the career of an actor of actresses.

All films are to be watched integrally

Citizen Kane, Orson Welles 1941

Casablanca, Michael Curtiz, 1942

A Streetcar Named Desire, Elia Kazan, 1951

Bellissima, Luchino Visconti, 1951

The Rose Tattoo,Daniel Mann, 1955

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Elia kazan, 1958

Suddenly, Last Summer, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1959

Baby Doll, Elia Kazan,1956

The Fugitive Kind, Sidney Lumet, 1960

Breakfast at Tiffany, Blake Edwards, 1961

Assessment methods

Written exam including multiple choice questions and open questions. Students will be examined on the basis of their knowledge of the collection of critical articles and their ability to analyze critically the films included in the filmography.

Teaching tools

Film projections, videos, slides, powerpoint

Office hours

See the website of Sara Pesce