Professor Gordana Crnković [email protected] Office: Padelford A-212, phone: 206-543-7641 Office Hours: MW 2-2:50 Teaching Assistant: Matt Boyd [email protected] Office: TBD Office Hours: MW 2:10-3:10

EAST EUROPEAN FILM IN THE COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

SLAV 423 A/C LIT 423 A, 5 credits, VLPA SPR 2016, MW 3:30-5:20, Johnson 175

Course Description: This course takes a comparative look at the films of East European directors. The first part of the class focuses on East European directors who moved to the “West” to work. Among these are Miloš Forman, from Czechoslovakia, and Agnieszka Holland and Roman Polanski, from Poland. We will spend the most time working with the cinema of Miloš Forman, a director who made outstanding films in his native Czechoslovakia during the so-called Czech New Wave of the late sixties, and then succeeded in making such quintessentially “American” Hollywood films as One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The People vs. Larry Flynt. The second part of the course will compare East European films with films from other parts of the world by examining these films’ distinctive cinematic technique of juxtaposing seemingly unrelated stories taking place in different countries in order to reveal unexpected connections. We will here look at films such as Dušan Makavejev’s iconic WR: Mysteries of the Organism (Yugoslavia) and Milcho Manchevski’s Before the Rain (Macedonia), comparing them with Michael Haneke’s Code Unknown (France). This course will also familiarize students with some of the basic features of Eastern European cinema in the post-World War II period. These include the vibrant production of experimental and animated films and the issues associated with filmmaking in a non-market- based society.

Film Viewings: Please note that all of the films we study in this course are on reserve in the Suzallo Library Media Center. You can find more about the use of this “Physical Course Reserves SLAV 423” at the end of this syllabus; please consult those instructions before using the reserves. Many of our films are also available in a number of video stores around the city. Scarecrow Video in particular has an excellent selection of East European films, one of the best in the US, and carries almost all of the films made by the directors we will study in their “directors” section. Their address is 5030 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105; phone: (206) 524-8554. For more on Scarecrow, see: https://www.scarecrow.com/8/aboutus.html The films are also streaming online. Streams can be found on the course Canvas site. Go to "Modules" and select a film. The list is organized by director. Some streams are served directly from Canvas, and others from the off-site Kanopy streaming service. Please contact Matt immediately with any streaming problems or questions. Also note that there are some additional films on Canvas site; these are for optional and not required viewing.

Important: Unless noted otherwise in our course schedule below, you are required to watch the films we discuss in class prior to the class in which we discuss them. Also, please note that some of the films, especially Makavejev’s WR and Forman’s The People vs. Larry Flynt, contain explicit sexual content that may be disturbing to some viewers.

Reference Texts: We will provide several texts during the class, via Canvas, for required or optional reading.

Requirements: Film viewings, 3 quizzes, reading of required texts.

NOTE ON THE USE OF LAPTOPS, TABLETS, AND CELL PHONES: No laptop, tablet, or cell phone use is allowed during class, regardless of whether we are having a discussion, a lecture, or viewing a film clip. Please put away your laptops and tablets and turn off your cell phones when in class, and do not disturb the class by leaving the room to make or take your texts or calls.

COURSE SCHEDULE: M, Mar 28 Introduction to the Class W, Mar 30 Loves of a Blonde (Miloš Forman) Introduction and partial in-class viewing (please note: you do not need to view Loves of a Blonde prior to this class)

M, Apr 4 Loves of a Blonde (Miloš Forman) (discussion; film should be viewed prior to this class) W, Apr 6 Daisies (Vera Chytilová)

M, Apr 11 One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Miloš Forman) W, Apr 13 Amadeus (Miloš Forman)

M, Apr 18 The People vs. Larry Flynt (Miloš Forman) W, Apr 20 Quiz #1 Europa, Europa (Agnieszka Holland), Introduction (please note: you do not need to view Europa, Europa prior to this class)

M, Apr 25 Europa, Europa (discussion; film should be viewed prior to this class) Washington Square (Agnieszka Holland) W, Apr 27 Two Men and a Wardrobe (Roman Polanski, short film; in-class viewing and discussion)

M, May 2 Chinatown (Roman Polanski) W, May 4 Death and the Maiden (Roman Polanski)

M, May 9 The Pianist (Roman Polanski) W, May 11 Quiz #2 Man of Marble (Andrzej Wajda), Introduction (please note: you do not need to view Man of Marble prior to this class)

M, May 16 Man of Marble (discussion; film should be viewed prior to this class) WR: Mysteries of the Organism (Dušan Makavejev)

W, May 18 Before the Rain (Milcho Manchevski)

M, May 23 Code Unknown (Michael Haneke) W, May 25 A View from the Eiffel Tower (Nikola Vukčević)

M, May 30 Memorial Day, no class W, June 1 Final discussions and review of the course Quiz #3

Physical Course Reserves SLAV 423: Please make sure you have the appropriate call numbers (see below) to the materials as this will be the easiest way to have items pulled from the shelf. All course reserves should be returned to the Media Center Desk directly to avoid fines.

Items: 1. Loves of a Blonde, Miloš Forman, DVD CRIT 467 2. Daisies, Vera Chytilova, DVD CRIT 659 3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Miloš Forman, DVD WHV 454 4. Amadeus, Miloš Forman, Director's cut, DVD WHV 136 5. The People vs. Larry Flynt, Miloš Forman, DVD CTHV 007 6. Europa, Europa, Agnieszka Holland, DVD MGM 313 7. Washington Square, Agnieszka Holland, DVD MILLC 007 8. Knife in the Water, Roman Polanski, 2-disc Criterion edition, DVD CRIT 710 (Two Men and a Wardrobe, Disc 2) 9. Chinatown, Roman Polanski, DVD PARA 003 10. Death and the Maiden, Roman Polanski, DVD AA 010 11. The Pianist, Roman Polanski, DVD UNIV 075 12. Man of Marble, Adrzej Wajda, DVD VANF 058 13. WR: Mysteries of the Organism, Dušan Makavejev, DVD CRIT 244 14. Before the Rain, Milcho Manchevski, DVD CRIT 300 15. Code Unknown, Michael Haneke, DVD CRIT 880