B5333 - History and Culture of Italian Cinema

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student: - knows the history of Italian national cinemato in the context of the international development of the medium; - knows the industrial, aesthetic and communicative models of Italian cinema; - relates cinema and films to the social and cultural history of Italy; - contextualises Italian film production in relation to other art forms in the wider scenario of the national and international cultural industries

Course contents

The course consists of an institutional part, aimed at identifying some key issues in the history of Italian cinema, and a monographic part dedicated to contemporary Italian cinema produced with public funding.

Readings/Bibliography

Institutional part: Gian Piero Brunetta, Guida alla storia del cinema italiano (1905-2003), Einaudi, Turin, 2003;

Monographic part: Marco Cucco-Giacomo Manzoli (eds.), Il cinema di Stato, il Mulino, Bologna, 2017.

Attending students must supplement the program with the study of one (of their choice) of the following texts: Emiliano Morreale, Cinema d'autore degli anni sessanta (Il castoro cinema, Milan, 2011); Mariapia Comand, Commedia all'italiana (Il castoro cinema, Milan, 2011); Lucia Cardone, Il melodramma (Il castoro cinema, Milan, 2012), Alberto Pezzotta, Il western italiano (Il castoro cinema, Milan, 2012), Ilaria De Pascalis, Commedia nell'Italia contemporanea (Il castoro cinema, Milan, 2012), David Bruni, La commedia degli anni trenta (Il castoro cinema, Milan, 2013).

Non-attending students must prepare two texts from among those listed above.

Teaching methods

Lecture with video support. Classes will be held exclusively in person, as required by University guidelines. Any mid-term tests and exercises will be communicated at the beginning of the course.

Assessment methods

Oral exam aimed at assessing the student's knowledge of the program. In particularly large exam sessions, the discussion may be preceded by a preliminary open-ended test, the purpose of which is to verify, in a schematic and purely theoretical manner, basic knowledge (titles and year of production of particularly representative films, filmography of major directors, chronology of events that have most marked the history of Italian cinema). This test will be held on the morning of the exam and will be followed by an oral exam: the final grade will be the average of the two tests.

The achievement of a comprehensive understanding of the topics covered, the use of specific language, originality of thought, and familiarity with historiographical and analytical tools will be evaluated with grades of excellence. Manual knowledge of the subject, an inability to synthesize and analyze, or correct but not always appropriate language, as well as a school-level mastery of the discipline will result in fair grades. Gaps in knowledge or inappropriate language, as well as a poor knowledge of historical and analytical tools will result in grades that are just above the passing threshold. Gaps in knowledge, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliography, and inability to analyze will be evaluated negatively.

Students with SLDs or temporary or permanent disabilities: it is recommended that you contact the relevant university office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it) in good time: It will be their responsibility to propose any adjustments to the students concerned, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance for approval by the teacher, who will assess their appropriateness in relation to the educational objectives of the course.

Teaching tools

Mandatory viewing of the following films:

Cabiria di G. Pastrone; La nave di G. D'annunzio; Camicia Nera; Luciano Serra, pilota; Roma città aperta; Ladri di biciclette; Rocco e i suoi fratelli; Roma ore 11; La dolce vita; La Ricotta; Comizi d'amore; Il sorpasso; La vita agra; Il mio nome è Nessuno; Ultimo tango a Parigi; Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto; Il caso Mattei; Caro Diario, L'odore della notte; Gomorra; La grande bellezza; C'è ancora domani.

Office hours

See the website of Giacomo Manzoli