[Austin] = Austin, Guy_. Contemporary French Cinema: An Introduction_. Manchester University Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780719078293.
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WEEK #
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TOPICS
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FILMS AND READINGS
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1
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Introduction
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See the Study Materials section for general resources.
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2
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Cinema, the Seventh Art?
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Films
Paris qui dort. Directed by René Clair. Black and White, 35 min. 1924. [Watch on YouTube]
À nous la liberté. Directed by René Clair. Black and White, 97 min. 1931. [Watch on YouTube]
Discussion
- [FFT&C] Canudo, Ricciotto. “Reflections on the Seventh Art.” (1923), pp. 291–302.
- [FFT&C] Cendrars, Blaise. “The Modern: A New Art, the Cinema.” (1919), pp. 18283.
- Michelson, Annette. “Dr. Crase and Mr. Clair.” The MIT Press 11 (1979): 30–53.
- Abel, Richard. “Distribution: The Divided Country” and “Exhibition: We’re in the Money.” In French Cinema: The First Wave, 1915_–1929_. Princeton University Press, 1987, pp. 38–59. ISBN: 9780691008134.
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3
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The Avant-garde
Special Guest: Prof. Sarah Keller
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Films
Six et demi onze. Directed by Jean Epstein. Black and White, 1927.
Le Tempestaire. Directed by Jean Epstein. Black and White, 22 min. 1947. [Watch on YouTube]
Discussion
- Jean Epstein. “The Cinema Seen from Etna,” “Certain Characteristics of Photogénie,” “Seeing and Hearing Thought,” “The Counterpoint of Sound,” and “The Close-up of Sound.” In Jean Epstein: Critical Essays and New Translations. (PDF - 4.0MB) Edited By Sarah Keller and Jason Paul. Amsterdam University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9789089642929.
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4
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1930s, Realism and the Popular Front
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Film
La Grande Illusion. Directed by Jean Renoir. Black and White, 114 min. 1937.
Discussion
- [FFT&C] Vigo, Jean. “Toward a Social Cinema (1930).”, pp. 60–63.
- [FFT&C] Renoir, Jean. “How I Give Life to my Characters.” pp. 125–27.
- Ferro, Marc. “La Grande Illusion and its Receptions.” In Cinema and History. Wayne State University Press, 1988, pp. 132–8. ISBN: 9780814319055. [Preview with Google Books]
- Jackson, Julian. “Boundaries and Border Crossings.” In La Grande Illusion. British Film Institute, 2009, pp. 50–72. ISBN: 9781844572854.
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5
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Occupation & Liberation
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Film
Le Corbeau. Directed by Henri-Georges Cluzot. Black and White, 92 min. 1943.
Discussion
- [Republic] “War and Occupation.” pp. 246–71.
- Mayne, Judith. “Henri-georges Clouzot’s Le corbeau and the Crimes of Women.” The Journal of Twentieth-century / Contemporary French Studies revue d’études français 4, no. 2 (2000): 319–41.
- Burch, Noël, and Geneviève Sellier. “Le Corbeau.” In The Battle of the Sexes in French Cinema, 1930_–1956_. Duke University Press Books, 2013, pp. 203–11. ISBN: 9780822355618.
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6
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Is France where the movies go to become classic?
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Film
Funny Face. Directed by Stanley Donen. Color, 103 min. 1957.
Discussion
- Schwartz, Vanessa. “The Belle Epoque that Never Ended” and “The Cannes Film Festival and the Making of Cosmopolitanism.” In It’s so French!: Hollywood, Paris, and the Making of Cosmopolitan Film Culture. University of Chicago Press. 2007. ISBN: 9780226742434.
- Scott, A. O. “I Love Paris in the Movies,” The New York Times, August 13, 2010. [Images]
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7
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A Hexagon-shaped World?
Special Guest Prof. James Cahill
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Film
Le Monde du Silence. Directed by Jacques Cousteau. Color, 86 min. 1956. [Watch on YouTube]
Discussion
- Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. “The World of Perception and the World of Science.” In The World of Perception. Routledge, 2004. ISBN: 9780415773812.
- Bazin, André. “Cinema and Exploration.” In What is Cinema? Vol. 1. Translated by Hugh Gray. University of California Press, 2004, pp. 154–63. ISBN: 9780520242272. [Preview with Google Books]
- Barthes, Roland. “The Nautilus and the Drunken Boat.” 1957.
- Césaire, Aimé. “Discourse on Colonialism.” (PDF) Translated by Joan Pinkham. This version published by Monthly Review Press: New York and London, 1972. Originally published as Discours sur le colonialisme by Editions Presence Africaine, 1955.
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8
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Classic French Stars: Brigitte Bardot
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Film
Et Dieu créa la femme. Directed by Roger Vadim. Color, 95 min. 1956.
Discussion
- Vincendeau, Ginette. “Brigitte Bardot: The Old and the New: What Bardot Meant to 1950s France.” In Stars and Stardom in French Cinema. Bloomsbury Academic, 2000, pp. 82–109. ISBN: 9780826447319.
- Beauvoir, Simone de. “Bridgitte Bardot and the Lolita Syndrome.” Translated by Bernard Frechtman. Esquire (1959): 2–38.
- [Cahiers] Truffaut, François. “A Full View (1953).” pp. 273–4. [Preview with Google Books]
- [Cahiers] Rohmer, Eric. “The Cardinal Virtues of CinemaScope (1954).” pp. 280–3.
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9
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The New Wave
Special Guest Prof. Brian Jacobson
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Film
Breathless. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Black and White, 90 min. 1960.
Discussion
- [Republic] “The Fourth Wave.” pp. 327–53.
- Monaco, James. “Introduction: The Camera Writes.” In The New Wave: Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol, Rohmer, Rivette. Oxford University Press, 1977, pp.13–21. ISBN: 9780826447319. [Preview with Google Books]
- Astruc, Alexandre. “The Birth of a New Avant-garde: La Caméra-stylo.”
- [Cahiers] André Bazin, et al. “Six Characters in Search of Auteurs: A Discussion about French Cinema.” pp. 31–46.
- Andrew, Dudley. “Breathless: Old as New.” In Breathless: Jean-luc Godard Director. Rutgers University Press, 1988. pp. 3–20. ISBN: 9780813512532.
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10
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1970s Sex and Sectarianism
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Film
Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob. Directed by Gérard Oury. Color, 95 min. 1973.
Discussion
- Mulvey, Michael. “What’s so Funny about Rabbi Jacob? Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob (1973) and the Multicultural Politics of French Cinematic Comedy.” French Politics, Culture & History. Berghahn Journals.
- Lanzoni, Rémi Fournier. “Comedy in the Modern Era.” In French Comedy on Screen: A Cinematic History. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, pp. 121–52. ISBN: 9780230338425. [Preview with Google Books]
- [Austin] “The French Comic Tradition and the Grotesque Body and Café-théâtre from Stage to Screen.” pp. 199–202.
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11
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The “Cult” Classic I: the Cinéma du Look
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Film
Nikita. Directed by Jean-Luc Besson. Color, 117 min. 1990.
Discussion
- [Texts] “Recycled Woman and the Postmodern Aesthetic: Luc Besson’s Nikita (1990).” pp. 297–309.
- [Austin] pp. 144–55.
- Jäckel, Anne. “Production Financing and Co-production.” In European Film Industries. British Film Institute, 2004, pp. 42–66. ISBN: 9780851709475.
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12
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The “Cult” Classic II: La Haine
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Film
La Haine. Directed by Mattheiu Kassovitz. Black and White, 98 min. 1995.
Discussion
- [Texts] Vincendeau, Ginette. “Designs on the banlieue: Mathieu Kassovitz’s La Haine (1995).” pp. 310–27.
- Konstantarakos, M. “Which Mapping of the City? La Haine (Kassovitz, 1995) and the cinéma de banlieue.” In French Cinema in the 1990s: Continuity and Difference. Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 160–71. ISBN: 9780198159582.
- Sharma, Sanjay, and Ashwani Sharma. “‘So Far So Good…:’ La Haine and the Poetics of the Everyday.” Theory, Culture & Society 17, no. 3 (2000): 103–16.
Optional
Hussey, Andrew. “La Haine 20 Years on: What has Changed?” The Guardian, May 3, 2015.
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13
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What is “classic” Today?: The Popular
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Film
Intouchables. Directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. Color, 112 min. 2011.
Discussion
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14
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What is “Classic” Today?: The Art House
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Film
Bande de filles. Directed by Céline Sciamma. Color, 113 min. 2014.
Discussion
- Wilinksy, Barbara. “The Image of Culture: Art Houses and Film Exhibition.” In Sure Seaters: The Emergence of Art House Cinema. University Of Minnesota Press, 2001, pp. 1–7 and 139–40. ISBN: 9780816635634. [Preview with Google Books]
- Steve Neale. “Art Cinema as Institution.” Screen 22, no. 1 (1981): 11–40.
- Read at least 2 reviews of Sciamma’s films online.
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