1 Introduction to British Cinema 1930 to 1960 Semester A Screening: Thursday 0900, Arts One G34 Lecture: Thursday 1100, Arts Lecture Theatre Seminar Group A: Thursday 1300-1400, Laws 1 Seminar Group B: Thursday 1400-1500, Maths MB 203 Course organiser: Adrian Garvey Email:
[email protected] Office hour: Friday, 1415-1515 room 1.02 Arts One Course Description The course looks at some of the key films of the British cinema from the 1930s through to the 1950s, providing both a historical and critical overview of this rich period. While most of the films that will be screened during the course have been chosen as examples of the work of distinguished directors, room has also been made for films more squarely in the tradition of popular cinema. The aim is to provide an opportunity for the analysis of some of the characteristics of British national cinema, and to question some of the assumptions relating to that cinema, such as that it is too literary or theatrical. The chosen films will provide a focus for discussion in the seminars of such topics as British ‘auteurs’ (e.g., Hitchcock), stars (e.g., James Mason), genre (e.g., the Gainsborough melodrama), form (e.g. the tensions between realist and ‘expressionist’ approaches to film-making), censorship, the influence of the documentary tradition and the industry’s links with theatre, broadcasting and the state. Assessment Assessment consists of two 1000-word sequence analysis assignments (each worth 25% of the overall grade) and one 2000-word essay (worth 50%). The deadline for the first sequence analysis is Sunday 3 November (end of week 6).