Professor Michael Cowan 688 Sherbrooke, room 484 Office Hours: TBA

Introduction to European Cinema

This course provides students with an overview of major trends in European Cinema since 1895. Examining a range of (trans)national contexts, we will cover significant filmmakers, genres, media, concepts, theories and institutional developments from Europe over the past 120 years. There are no prerequisites, but students with no background in film analysis should familiarize themselves with the recommended reading from Bordwell/Thomson.

Meeting Times • Course: Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:00-5:30pm, ENGTR 0070 • Screenings: Mondays 6pm, 3475 Peel St., Room 101. *Screenings begin in week 4!

Requirements (late assignments will not be accepted) • In-Class Mid-Term 30% • Final Exam 30% • Short Essay 30% • Report from the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma 10%

Required Purchases • Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, Making Waves. New Cinemas of the 1960s (2013) • Coursepack (McGill University Book Store) • One ticket to the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (purchase early!)

Recommended • David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, Film Art (any edition) • Timothy Corrigan, Short Guide to Writing about Film (any edition)

Academic Integrity Policy • McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see http://www.mcgill.ca/integrity/ for more information).

Weekly Syllabus

*Students much watch assigned films and complete assigned readings before class on Tuesday. *Always bring the assigned reading for the week to class with you.

Week 1 (Sep. 3/5): What is “Early” Cinema? • Short films from the Lumière Brothers, Skladanowsky Brothers, Georges Méliès, Segundo de Chomón, etc. • Watch (online): Voyage dans la lune / A Trip to the Moon (France, Georges Méliès, 1902); 1- 2 short films each by Sklanadowksy Bros. (Germany); Lumière Bros. (France); Segundo de Chomón (Spain); Cecil Hepworth (England) • Read: Gunning (“Early Cinema and the Variety of Moving Images”), Gaudreault, Paci

Week 2 (Sep. 10/12): The Language of Silent Film (1910s, 1920s) • Films and excerpts by Sergei Eisenstein, Fritz Lang, Carl Th. Dreyer, etc. • Watch (online): Stachka / Strike (USSR, Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) • Read: Balázs, Pudovkin, Eisenstein, Benjamin

Week 3 (Sep. 17/19): Film Culture Beyond the Feature (1920s/1930s) • Experimental and documentary films by Walter Ruttmann, Germaine Dulac, John Grierson, Joris Ivens, Luis Buñuel, etc. • Watch (online): short films: Lichtspiel Opus 1 (Germany, Walter Ruttmann, 1921); Rhythmus 21 (Germany, Hans Richter, 1921-1923); Ballet mécanique (France, Fernand Léger, 1924); Regen (Holland, Joris Ivens, 1929), Las Hurdes (Spain, Luis Bunuel, 1932); Industrial Britain (UK, John Grierson, 1933); Night Mail (Grierson, 1936) • Read: Dulac, Grierson, Hagener

Week 4 (Sep. 24, 26): Film and Fascism • Films and excerpts by Jean Renoir, Leni Riefenstahl, Humphrey Jennings, etc. • Watch: Wunschkonzert / Request Concert (Germany, Eduard v. Borsody, 1940). • Read: Sontag, Rentschler

Week 5 (Oct. 1/3): Opening up Vision • Films and excerpts by Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Jean Rouche, Edgar Morin, etc. • Watch: Paisà / Paisan (Italy, Roberto Rossellini, 1945); • Read: Bazin; Deleuze

Week 6 (Oct. 8/10): Forging an Art-House Cinema • Films and excerpts by Ingmar Bergman, Robert Bresson, Alain Resnais, Michelangelo Antonioni, etc. • Watch: Det Sjunde Inseglet / The Seventh Seal (Sweden, Ingmar Bergman, 1957) • Read: Astruc, Truffaut, Sarris, Béranger

MID- TERM EXAM IN CLASS ON THURSDAY OCT. 10

Week 7 (Oct 15/17): New Waves • Films and Excerpts by Agnès Varda, François Truffaut, Věra Chytilová, Alexander Kluge, Ousmane Sembène, etc. • Watch: Cléo de 5 à 7 (France, Agnès Varda, 1962); • Attend: one screening at the FNC. Be sure to take notes on the film and the event. • Read: Nowell-Smith, pp. 1-15 (intro), 68-80 (outside the studio), 101-112 (narrative), 138- 152 (France), 163-176 (Czech New Wave)

Week 8 (Oct 22/24): Politics and 1968 • Films by J-L Godard, Harun Farocki, Kurt Kren, Valie Export, etc. • Watch: La Chinoise (France, Jean-Luc Godard, 1967) • Read: Baudry, Godard, Rancière

Festival Report due in class on October 22nd

Week 9 (Oct. 29/31): Animation • Films and excerpts by Ladislas Starevich, Lotte Reiniger, Jan Švankmajer, Bruno Bozzetto, etc. • Watch: Allegro non troppo (Italy, Bruno Bozzetto, 1977) • Read: Leslie; “Interview with Jan Švankmajer”

Week 10 (Nov. 5/7): Redrawing the Map • Films and excerpts by Emir Kusturica, Giani Amelio, Alexander Sukorov, etc. • Watch: Underground (Yugoslavia, Emir Kusturica, 1995) • Read: Galt; Žižek

ESSAY DUE IN CLASS NOVEMBER 5TH

Week 11 (Nov. 12/14): Film Meets Video • Films and excerpts from Thomas Vinterberg, Lars von Trier, Michael Haneke, etc. • Watch: Festen / The Celebration (Denmark, Thomas Vinterberg, 1998) • Read: Ostrowska; Dogme manifesto

Week 12 (Nov. 19/21): ‘Accenting’ European Cinema • Films and excerpts by Fatih Akin, Abdelatif Kechiche, Rachid Bouchareb, Gurinder Chadha, Tony Gatlif, etc. • Watch: Auf der anderen Seite / The Edge of Heaven (Germany/Turkey, Fatih Akin, 2007) • Read: Naficy, Appadurai

Week 13 (Nov. 26/28): Whither Cinema in the Digital Age? • Films and reading: TBA

FINAL EXAM DATE AND TIME: TBA

Detailed Description of Course Assignments

Exams. The mid-term and final exams will cover key concepts and ideas from the readings, lectures and discussions, as well as the main films covered in class. Both exams will include multiple choice, short answers and essays, as well as some image analysis. The final exam will be cumulative. Students should bring exam booklets to the midterm and the final. Please note that these exams will be based significantly on material covered in class. You must attend class regularly in order to succeed on the exams. I will not place lists of material or PowerPoint presentations online.

Essay. The essay assignment asks students to synthesize knowledge gathered from the readings, lectures and/or close analyses of key films. Essays will be based on questions distributed in class (students choose one question to answer in the essay). Essay questions will touch upon key issues covered in readings and lectures, and they will demand both close reading and theoretical reflection. Students do not need to consult outside materials for the essay. Essays should be 3 pages and use the following format: Times New Roman, 12 pt., double-spaced.

Festival Report. All students are required to attend one screening of a European film (or co-production involving Europe) at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema (Oct. 10-21). You may also attend the presentation by filmmaker Gustav Deutsch at McGill date TBA (more information to come in class). You should purchase your ticket as soon as the schedule is available since popular films sell out quickly. After attending the screening, write a short “festival report” (max. 2 pages). Festival reports may be written informally in the first person and should address at least two of the proposed discussion points from the list below. You will be graded on your ability to answer these questions convincingly with reference to specific aspects of the film you watched. • Referencing material covered in class, how would you contextualize the film you watched within traditions of European cinema. You might relate it to styles and forms covered in class (attractions, experimental cinema, auteur film, forms of documentary, political cinema, etc.). You might show how it can be approached using a theory or concepts from the readings. You might also compare it to specific films we have discussed, etc. • Discuss how you would situate the film within its (national or transnational) context. What kinds of questions are being addressed in the film and what kinds of answers being proposed? • Discuss how we could read this film as a “film about film”? Are there aspects of the film that suggest a concern with the status of film and/or moving images today? In what way? • If applicable (for example if a filmmaker is present), discuss the screening as event. How was the film’s significance framed for a festival audience? What conclusions can you draw about the festival and the meanings it attaches to film?