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COM 320, History of Film, Fall 2016 Midterm Exam Study Questions, 10/13/16
The in-class midterm exam on Thur., Oct. 20, will be constructed exclusively from this list. The exam will ask you to answer three essay questions, one from each of three groupings to be selected by your instructor. Not all questions on this sheet will appear on the exam.
Paper will be provided to you for the exam; you need a pen or pencil, but do not need to bring a blue book. You may bring two sheets of paper (8.5 x 11) with you for use during the exam, with anything on both sides.
In all cases, provide answers that demonstrate knowledge attained from class lecture/discussion, viewing of clips and full films, and reading the textbook. For the midterm, you will be responsible for Chapters 1-8, and Chapter 10, and the Color Technologies section between Chapters 11 and 12, from the Cook textbook (read Chapter 9 after the midterm).
You will be responsible for the following films to be viewed outside of class: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919, Robert Wiene, Germany) Strike (1924, Sergei Eisenstein, Soviet Union) Seven Chances (1925, Buster Keaton, U.S.) Rebecca (1940, Alfred Hitchcock, U.S.) Citizen Kane (1941, Orson Welles, U.S.; “remedial” viewing–need to view only if you’ve never seen it before)
1. Consider the technologies listed in the Stroboscopic Toys and Devices handout. Explain which of these you think were critical to the development of motion pictures, and why.
2. Who invented movies? Build your own argument for your answer to this, taking into account the class handout and PowerPoint.
3. Discuss the role of music in your reception to all four of these: Strike, Ballet Mecanique, Easy Street, and Broken Blossoms. Include some notions from The Hollywood Soundtrack Story.
4. Discuss how Abel Gance challenged notions of film at the time of his great films (e.g., J'accuse (1919), La Roue (1923), Napoléon (1927)) and what his innovations were (using examples from The Charm of Dynamite).
5. Discuss early Soviet and German film, and how the films reflected what was happening in their respective societies at the time. Be sure to consider the particular structure of the Soviet film system (flowchart handout), and the degree to which each country developed a “national cinema.”
6. Carefully assess those aspects of German Expressionism that you believe have been the most important to the long-term history of the moving image. Include specific references to sequences we saw in segments from Siegfried and in Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
7. Carefully assess those aspects of French Impressionism that you believe have been the most important to the long-term history of the moving image. Include specific references to sequences we saw in Napoleon and other Abel Gance films as shown in The Charm of Dynamite. 2
8. Compare and contrast French Impressionism, German Expressionism, and Soviet Montage as film movements. How are they similar? How do they differ? Use at least three comparison points from the class handout.
9. Discuss the contributions of the very early British filmmakers featured in The Movies Begin, including Cecil Hepworth, G. A. Smith, and James Williamson. Refer to specific content we viewed.
10. Taking everything you've learned about D.W. Griffith (the documentary portion we saw in class, including clips from Birth of a Nation and Way Down East, and the substantial info. in your textbook), analyze Broken Blossoms--use specific examples of techniques, motifs, portrayals of different types of people, etc., that show aspects of it to be (a) quintessential Griffith, and (b) not at all typical of Griffith’s work.
11. Select two of the following individuals, and indicate what their lasting contributions were to the development of the moving image: a. Augustin LePrince b. Eadweard Muybridge c. Etienne-Jules Marey d. Thomas Edison (& Kinetoscopes) e. Louis Daguerre f. George Eastman g. Louis & Auguste Lumiere (including content we viewed in class) h. Georges Melies (including content we viewed in class) i. Edwin S. Porter (textbook + Great Train Robbery clips)
12. Select two of the following individuals, and indicate what their lasting contributions were to the development of the moving image: a. Fernand Leger (including content we viewed in class) b. Chris Marker (including content we viewed in class) c. Charlie Chaplin (including content we viewed in class) d. Buster Keaton (including content we viewed for class) e. Fritz Lang (including content we viewed in class) f. Max Linder (including content we viewed in class)
13. Select two of the following events, and indicate what its lasting contributions were to the development of the moving image: a. The move west to “Hollywood” by American filmmakers b. The Lumieres’ showing at the Grand Café in Paris in 1895 c. The popularity of Magic Lantern shows in the 19th century d. The actions of The Patents Trust against those not using Edison’s patents e. Eisenstein and Pudovkin’s manifesto on sound, including contrapuntal sound (textbook)
14. Select two of the following innovations or institutions, and indicate what their lasting contributions were to the development of the moving image: a. Stroboscopic toys b. The Vitaphone (textbook) c. D. W. Griffith’s innovation in interframe and intraframe narrative (textbook) d. The Soviet State Film School e. UFA 3
f. The empire of Pathe Freres (textbook + Moscow Clad in Snow + Max Linder film)
15. Analyze your own sense(s) of humor according to the four-part typology presented in class—which types do you prefer, and which (if any) do you not appreciate? Then apply this to content we saw for class from Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and the Marx Brothers. What worked for you, and what didn’t?
16. Compare Chaplin’s Easy Street and the clips from the Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup and Night at the Opera with regard to silent vs. sound filmmaking. Explain how at least one positive and one negative aspect from the Introduction of Sound handout are exemplified by these films/clips.
17. Based on the documentary The Hollywood Soundtrack Story, textbook material, and the viewings we’ve had of “silent” films, provide a discussion of music and silent film–how was/is it produced, and what impacts is it presumed to have? Use specific examples from films and clips we viewed.
18. Apply the main points on the first page of the U.S. Hollywood Studio System handout to the case of Paramount described in the video, The American Cinema—The Studio System. Which points seem to readily apply?
19. Using our textbook as a research source, trace the influence on the history of the moving image by two of the following auteurs. Consider each auteur’s country of origin and where he worked throughout his career. (NOTE: The list may be shortened for the exam). a. Erich von Stroheim b. Fritz Lang c. G. W. Pabst d. Ernst Lubitsch e. Howard Hawks f. Cecil B. DeMille g. Vsevolod Pudovkin h. Josef von Sternberg i. Mack Sennett j. Hal Roach k. Harold Lloyd
20. Based on the chapter in our textbook and your viewing of Citizen Kane, provide a full discussion of the use of sound and music to support, contrast, and otherwise moderate the impact of the film’s visual information. Cite information from both chapters 7 and 10 of the textbook.
21. [NOTE: THIS ITEM IS GUARANTEED TO BE ON THE EXAM!] Using the optional online reading from the Schatz book The Genius of the System (available on the class website in the “Assignments” section), analyze Rebecca with respect to the comparative roles of (a) the director, (b) the producer, and (c) the power of the studio system. (What about the film was determined primarily because of each of the three?) How is this film NOT a typical Hitchcock film?
22. Think about two films—Rescued by Rover and Rebecca. Use the first as an example of narrative filmmaking at the dawn of filmmaking, and the second as an example of “mature” studio filmmaking. What are the major differences, i.e., what are the significant advancements that you notice? Use specific details from the films to make your points.