Cultureplex ciné-club

What is the course about?

André Bazin’s ciné-club was set up by him not simply as an opportunity for the screening and discussion of films, but as a tool for education. Bazin was as much a passionate advocate for the transformatory effects of community learning as he was for the significance of cinema and the ciné-club represented an opportunity for him to promote both. As one commentator has noted, ‘though he didn’t live to see the first flowering of academic film theory in the late 60s, the pedagogic side of Bazin would doubtless have been gratified that cinema was no longer a trivial pursuit but henceforth a serious discipline calling for the most concentrated attention and rigour’. In following Bazin, the Cultureplex Ciné-Club shares these same goals. This is a film studies course that foregrounds the importance and the value of the collective film viewing experience, but which also is concerned to ensure that the films screened are curated, introduced and discussed with the rigour associated with the study of film at City Lit.

This will be the third of the three Cultureplex Ciné-Club courses this year (the others ran in Terms 1 and 2). Films screened will come from the list below and might include:

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (F. W. Murnau 1927 US)
Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer 1932 Germany/France)
L’Atalante (Jean Vigo 1934 France)
The 400 Blows (François Truffaut 1959 France)
Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa 1954 Japan)
Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray 1955 India)
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock 1958 US)
La dolce vita (Federico Fellini 1960 Italy)
Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola 1979 US)
Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky 1979 USSR)
Blade Runner (Ridley Scott 1982 Hong Kong/US)
Il Divo (Paolo Sorrentino 2008 Italy)

Please note that films screened are subject to availability and may change.

What will we cover?

• The history of film as expressed through individual, indicative films
• The historical development of film form
• The development of cinematic self-expression through the articulation of a distinct visual style
• Film spectatorship, understood in both personal, historical and theoretical terms.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

• Subject a film to detailed critical analysis
• Demonstrate familiarity with the key technical terms necessary for critical film analysis
• Have a broad awareness of important moments in film history as expressed through individual indicative films
• Be familiar with a range of theoretical perspectives in film studies
• Feel confident in discussing films in a group setting.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

The course is suitable for all levels and you do not require any particular skills - just an enthusiasm for film and discussing film. The course will provide an introduction to aspects of the film subject area, in part through the collective viewing of films, but it will also be useful for those wishing to build on existing film knowledge.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

An introduction by the tutor, the screening of entire films, and large group discussions after the films have been shown. It might also be a good idea to see what you can find out about a given film in advance of the class but this is not essential.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

You will require a pen and paper (or laptop/device) but the tutor will provide all other materials such as handouts.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

Look also for other Film Studies courses under History Culture and Writing/Film Studies at www.citylit.ac.uk.