Featuring the Artist International Cinema Course Syllabus, Summer I, 2010 CRN 022157, Course #1148 and CRN 022166 WI, Course #2097 COURSE/INSTRUCTOR INFO Instructor contact: Tamara Smithers: [email protected] Office hours: T/TH 4:15-4:45 and by appointment, Tyler School of Art B091C Meeting information: T/TH: 5:00- 8:00, Tyler School of Art B082, access via back stairwell COURSE DESCRIPTION We will watch and discuss a variety of commercial, independent, and international biographical movies about the life of twelve Western artists from the Renaissance to present-day. Assignments will entail writing reviews and evaluating past reviews of these films as well as a paper choice to further research and assess the historical accuracy of one film or to compare one film to the literary source it was based upon. FILM SCHEDULE Class 1: Agony and the Ecstasy Paley Media Reserve: PN1997 .A3146x 2005 About Michelangelo Buonarroti. Directed by Carol Reed, story and screenplay by Philip Dunne with Rex Harrison and Charlton Heston adapted from the novel written by Irving Stone, 1965, 138 min. Class 2: Caravaggio Paley Media Reserve: PN1997 .C3715x 2008 About Michelangelo Caravaggio. Written and directed by Derek Jarman with Nigel Terry and Sean Bean, 1987, 90 min. Class 3: Artemisia Paley Media Reserve: PN1997 .A763x 2001 About Artemisia Gentileschi. Screenplay by Agnés Merlet and Christine Miller, directed by Agnès Merlet with Michel Serrault, Valentina Cervi, Miki Manojlovic, Brigitte Catillon, Maurice Garrel, Emmanuelle Devos, 1997, 96 min. Class 4: Nightwatching Paley Media Reserve: PN1997.2 .N546x 2009 About Rembrandt van Rijn. Written and directed by Peter Greenaway, with Martin Freeman, Emily Holmes, 2007, 136 min. Class 5: Lust for Life Paley Media Reserve: DVD 10 123 About Vincent van Gogh. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, screenplay by Norman Corwin with Kirk Douglass an Anthony Quinn based on the novel by Irving Stone, 1956. 1 Class 6: Moulin Rouge Paley Media Reserve: PN1997 .M783x 2004 About Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Directed by John Huston, screenplay by Anthony Veiller and John Huston with Jose Ferrer and Zsa Zsa Gabor from the novel by Pierre La Mure, 1952, 119 min. Class 7: Little Ashes Paley Media Reserve: on order About Salvador Dalí. Directed by Paul Morrison, written by Philippa Goslett with Javier Beltrán, Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty, and Marina Gatell, 2008, 112 min. Class 8: Frida Paley Media Reserve: PN1997.2 .F753x 2003 About Frida Kahlo. Directed by Julie Taymor, screenplay by Clancy Sigal with Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina based on the novel by Hayden Herrera, 2002, 123 min. Class 9: Surviving Picasso Paley Media Reserve: DVD 10 130 About Pablo Picasso. Directed by James Ivory, screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala with Anthony Hopkins, Natascha McElhone, and Julian Moore based on the book by Arianna Huffington, 1996, 125 min. Class 10: Pollock Paley Media Reserve: PN1997 .P565x 2001 About Jackson Pollock. Directed by Ed Harris, screenplay by Barbara Turner and Susan J. Emshwiller, with Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden based on the book by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, 2001, 122 min. Class 11: Factory Girl Paley Media Reserve: PN1997.2 .F33835x 2007 About Andy Warhol. Directed by George Hickenlooper, story by Aaron Richard Golub, Captain Mauzner, and Simon Monjack, screenplay by Captain Mauzner with Sienna Miller, Guy Pearce, Hayden Christensen, and Jimmy Fallon, 2006, 83 min. Class 12: Basquiat Paley Media Reserve: PN1997 .B3424x 2002 About Jean-Michel Basquiat. Written and directed by Julian Schnabel, with Jeffrey Wright, David Bowie, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Michael Wincott, Benico Del Toro, and Claire Forlani, 1996, 106 min. ADDITIONAL FILMS ON RESERVE Rembrandt Paley Media Reserve: PN1997.R4575x 2009 Directed by Alexander Korda, taken from the film play by Carl Zuckmayer, with Charles Laughton and Gertrude Lawrence, 1936, 85 min. Girl with a Pearl Earring Paley Media Reserve: PN1997.2 .G576x 2004 About Jan Vermeer’s mistress. Screenplay by Olivia Hetreed, directed by Peter Webber, with Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson, based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier, 2003, 100 min. 2 Goya’s Ghost Paley Media Reserve: PN1997.2 .G693x 2008 About Francesco Goya. Directed by Milos Forman, written by Milos Forman & Jean- Claude Carriere with Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgård, and Randy Quaid, 2006, 114 min. Vincent and Theo Paley Media Reserve: PN1997 .V5354x 2005 About Vincent Van Gogh. Written by Julian Mitchell, directed by Robert Altman, with Tim Roth and Paul Rhys, 1990, 140 min. Lautrec Paley Media Reserve: DVD 10 112 About Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Written and directed by Roger Planchon, with Régis Royer, 1998. Edvard Munch Paley Media Reserve: PN1997 .E3527x 2006 About Edvard Munch. Directed by Peter Watkins, 1976, 174 min. Klimt Paley Media Reserve: PN1997.2 .K635x 2007 About Gustav Klimt. Written and directed by Raúl Ruiz English, screenplay adaptation by Gilbert Adair with John Malkovich and Veronica Ferres, 2006, 97 min. RESOURCES and SOURCES Blackboard (Bb): for links and course documents Gallery/ MDID: online image viewing database accessible through your Bb account Oxford Art Online: accessible through Temple’s Database Finder on the library home page. DVDs of films: all films shown in class plus many supplementary films are on Paley Media Reserve. Films may be checked out for 2 hours and viewed in the basement Media Center. Online film databases: AllMovie (AM): www.allmovie.com Internet Movie Database (IMDb): www.imdb.com BFI Screenonline (for British films): www.screenonline.org.uk/index.html Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com is a fun site which may funnel you to review links in the journals listed below (but not an acceptable source). Film review sources: Suggested sources for finding credible reviews from reputable newspapers and journals such as the New York Times, Rollingstone, Washington Post, People, Philadelphia Inquirer, etc are available online (sometimes with a free subscription). Tabloids, personal blogs, etc. are not acceptable sources either. Journals and newspapers are available at the library in hardcopy and microfilm/form and may need to be consulted for older pre-internet films. 3 Scholarly art history sources: An introductory Art History textbook may also be consulted for HW (many are available on reserve for other classes). For each film shown in class there is at least one scholarly biographical source on 2 hours Paley Course Reserve available for use for HW or papers. Scholarly art history resources: Suggested online resources for finding scholarly articles for papers are: JSTOR, accessible through Temple’s Database Finder on the library home page BHA (Bibliography of the History of Art), the old database closed but fortunately an archived, simplified version is still accessible via the Getty Foundation website: http://library.getty.edu:7101/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First Literary sources: If you opt to do the Literary Comparison Paper, you may choose to purchase the novel on your own. Otherwise, these are on 2 hour reserve. If you’re the only one in the class using a novel, the 2 hour limit can be removed. DAILY HOMEWORK DESCRIPTION 2 pages typed, double spaced, 12 total worth 10 points each: You will be required to write a synopsis/ analysis for the first 11 films shown in class plus 1 from the list above, found on your own (contact me for approval before beginning), or Basquiat (contact me if you choose the last film min class for HW #12). In order to receive full credit, 3 components must be met and at least 3 sources must be used: the AM or IMDb for background information of the film, director, etc; the Oxford Art Online; and one legitimate film review. Avoid plagiarism by documenting each source after it is used: complete parenthetical notations with are fine for HW. Your assignment must include a section on each: 1: Brief Introduction: Biography of the Artist (and the Director) (3 points) Write a brief biographical summary on the featured artist taken from the online Oxford Art Online as relevant to the film. You may also choose to make use of any supplementary book sources such as an art history survey textbook or a scholarly biography. At least one biography is on reserve at Paley for each film shown in class. Be sure to correctly and thoroughly notate author/ source after it is used. 2: Synopsis of film: your summary and review, and other critiques (5 points) By using the AM or IMBd begin by introducing the film by title, date, awards received or other related information you would like to include such as biographical information about the director. Give your brief summary of the plot, main characters, etc and give your critique of the film. Include the discussion of at least one film review in relation to your own observations. Is it a fair assessment? Do you agree or disagree? Why? In this short time allotted for the homework assignment, it may be difficult to find reviews on-line for older, pre-internet films and may be 4 something to look into for the examination papers. Be sure to correctly and thoroughly notate author/ source after it is used. 3: Questions about the film (2 points) In this concluding paragraph you should raise questions and possible avenues for future investigation for the examination papers. What questions do you have regarding the accuracy of events? How would you approach separating fact from film fiction? What potential avenues of inquiry did you find in the film? Are there any artworks, events, and/ or personal or private relationships would you like to learn more about? Were you able to come to any conclusions bases on your perfunctory investigation? What research would need to be done in order to answer these questions? Do you know if there are any primary sources (first-hand accounts, letters, diaries, interviews) existing about or written by this artist that would provide useful in this inquiry? To what degree do you think this film based on primary sources and to what degree is it an invention of the writers or adapted from a fictional novel? HW DUE DATES Because we discuss HW in class, missed homework (whether you were absent or present) cannot be made up.