Film Studies Syllabus -- Reickel - FCPS



Film Studies Syllabus -- Reickel

Fall 2011

Week 1 August 29 – Sept. 2 What Makes a Film Great? Part 1

Film Structure (12.10)

Class Film: The Shawshank Redemption 1994 142 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: Manchurian Candidate 1962 126 m.

Taxi Driver 1976 113 minutes

Raging Bull 1980 129 minutes

Fight Club 1999 139 minutes

Sixth Sense 1999 107 minutes

A Beautiful Mind 2001 135 minutes

Mystic River 2003 137 minutes

Garden State 2004 102 minutes

The King’s Speech 2010 118 minutes

Week 2 Sept. 6 – Sept. 9 What Makes a Film Great? Part 2

Cinematography (12.20)

Class Film: Casablanca 1942 102 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: Birth of a Nation 1915 159 minutes

Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920  69 min.

Potemkin  1925  65 minutes

Metropolis  1927  120 minutes

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 129 min.

Rebecca 1940 130 minutes

Citizen Kane 1941 119 minutes

The Magnificent Ambersons  1942  88 minutes

It’s a Wonderful Life  1947  129 minutes

Week 3 September 12 – 16 Should We Fear Machines?

Editing (12.40)

Class Film: The Matrix 1999 136 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968  139 m.

Alien  1979  117 minutes

Star Wars IV  1977  120 minutes

Star Wars V 1980 127 minutes

Blade Runner  1982  118 minutes

The Terminator  1984   108 minutes

Aliens  1986  137 minutes

Total Recall  1990  109 minutes

Terminator 2  1991   136 minutes

Star Trek: First Contact 1996 106 minutes

Matrix Reloaded 2003 138 minutes

Matrix Revolutions 2003 129 minutes

Avatar 2009 162 minutes

Week 4 September 19 – 22 War Film Week

Production Design and Performance (12.30)

Class Films: Saving Private Ryan 1998 169 minutes

Restrepo 2010 93 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: High Noon  1952  84 minutes

The Great Escape 1963 172 minutes

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 1966 161 min.

Once Upon a Time In the West 1969  165 min.

Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid 1969 110 m.

Unforgiven  1992  131 minutes 

The Deer Hunter 1978 182 minutes

Apocalypse Now 1979 153 minutes

Silverado 1985 132 minutes

Platoon 1986 120 minutes

Full Metal Jacket 1987 116 minutes

The Hurt Locker 2008 131 minutes

Inglourious Basterds 2009 153 minutes

Week 5 September 26 - 30 Hobbits, Robots and Epic Sound

Sound Design (12.50)

Class Films: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 208 minutes

Wall-E 2008 98 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: Gone With the Wind  1939  222 min.

Bridge Over River Kwai 1957 161 m.

Judgment at Nuremberg 1961 186 minutes

Lawrence of Arabia 1962 216 minutes

Apocalypse Now 1979 202 minutes

Gandhi 1982 188 minutes

The Right Stuff 1983 193 minutes

The Two Towers  2002  223 minutes

The Return of the King  2003   200 minutes

Week 6 October 3 – October 7 Forwards and Backwards

Narrative (12.60)

Class Films: Eternal Sunshine … Spotless Mind  2004 108 m.

Memento 2001 113 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: Reservoir Dogs  1991  100 minutes

Groundhog Day   1993   103 minutes

Pulp Fiction  1994  154 minutes

Run, Lola, Run 1998 81 minutes

Sliding Doors   1998  99 minutes

Donnie Darko 2001 113 minutes

Adaptation  2003  115 minutes

Kill Bill Volume 1 2003 111 minutes

Kill Bill Volume 2 2004 134 minutes

Week 7 October 10 – 14 Will You Suspend Your Disbelief?

Modes of Screen Reality (12.70)

Class Films: Singin’ In the Rain 1952 102 minutes

Moulin Rouge 2001 128 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: Oklahoma!  1955  145 minutes

South Pacific  1958  151 minutes

West Side Story  1961  151 minutes

My Fair Lady 1964 170 minutes

Oliver! 1968 153 minutes

Grease  1978  110 minutes

All That Jazz  1979  123 minutes

The Blues Brothers 1980 133 minutes

Amadeus 1984 158 minutes

Nightmare Before Christmas 1993 76 minutes

Chicago 2002 113 minutes

Hairspray 2007 117 minutes

Week 8 October 17 – 20 “Never Go Against the Family”

Influence of Hollywood (12.80)

Class Film: The Godfather 1972 175 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: Little Caesar  1930  79 minutes

The Public Enemy  1931  83 minutes

The Godfather Part II  1974  200 minutes

Scarface  1983  170 minutes

Once Upon a Time In America  1984  226 min.

Goodfellas  1990  146 minutes

Miller’s Crossing  1990  115 minutes

The Godfather Part III 1990 162 minutes

The Departed 2006 151 minutes

Week 9 October 24 – October 28 Views from Abroad

International Film (12.90)

Class Films: Pan’s Labyrinth 2006 120 minutes

Slumdog Millionaire 2008 120 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: Rashomon 1951 88 minutes

Throne of Blood 1957 108 minutes

Yojimbo 1961 110 minutes

Ran 1985 161 minutes

Akira 1988 124 minutes

Princess Mononoke 1999 134 minutes

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000 120 min.

Spirited Away 2002 124 minutes

Howl’s Moving Castle 2004 119 minutes

Nobody Knows 2005 141 minutes

Mid-Term Examination – October 28

Week 10 October 31 – Nov. 3 What Makes a Film Great? Part 3

Film Theory (12.100)

Class Film: No Country For Old Men 2007 122 minutes

Atonement 2007 130 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: On the Waterfront 1954 108 min.

Rebel Without a Cause 1955 111 min.

East of Eden 1955 115 minutes

The Hustler  1961  135 minutes

The Great Escape 1961 172 minutes

The Pawnbroker  1965  116 minutes

Bonnie and Clyde  1967  111 minutes

The Graduate  1967  105 minutes

Easy Rider  1969  94 minutes

The Last Picture Show 1971 118 minutes

The Sting 1973 129 minutes

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest  1975 133 min.

Week 11 November 7 – 11 What Makes Us Laugh?

Film Theory (12.100)

Class Films: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 1986 103 minutes

Kick Ass 2010 117 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: City Lights  1931  86 minutes

Modern Times 1936 89 minutes

The Great Dictator  1940  128 minutes

Some Like It Hot 1959 120 minutes

Dr. Strangelove  1964  93 minutes

The Producers 1968 88 minutes

Young Frankenstein 1974 106 minutes Monty Python & the Holy Grail 1975 91 min.

Animal House 1978 109 minutes

This Is Spinal Tap 1984 82 minutes

Ghostbusters 1984 107 minutes

Back to the Future 1985 116 minutes

The Breakfast Club 1985 97 minutes

Midnight Run 1988 126 minutes

The Big Lebowski 1998 117 minutes

Love Actually 2003 135 minutes

Mean Girls 2004 97 minutes

Sideways 2004 123 minutes

Napoleon Dynamite 2004 82 minutes

Wedding Crashers 2005 119 minutes

The 40 Year Old Virgin 2005 116 minutes

Little Miss Sunshine 2006 101 minutes

Superbad 2007 118 minutes

Knocked Up 2007 129 minutes

Week 12 November 14 - 18 Race and Communication

Film Theory (12.100)

Class Films: Crash 2004 112 minutes

Schindler’s List 1993 195 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 129 min.

In the Heat of the Night 1967 109 minutes

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner 1967 108 min.

The Color Purple 1985 154 minutes

Mississippi Burning 1988 128 minutes

Glory 1989 122 minutes

Do the Right Thing 1989 120 minutes Mississippi Marsala 1991 118 minutes

Malcolm X 1992 202 minutes

My Family 1995 128 minutes

He Got Game 1998 136 minutes

American History X 1998 119 minutes

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2002 95 minutes

Miracle at St. Anna 2008 160 minutes

Week 13 November 22 – 23 Film Noir

Cinematography (12.20) and Narrative (12.60)

Class Film: The Usual Suspects 1995 106 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: M 1931 117 minutes

The Maltese Falcon 1941  100 minutes

Double Indemnity  1944  106 minutes

The Big Sleep 1946 114 minutes

The Third Man 1949 104 minutes

Sunset Blvd. 1950 110 minutes

Sweet Smell of Success 1957 96 minutes

Chinatown 1974 131 minutes

Fargo 1996 98 minutes

L.A. Confidential 1997 138 minutes

Requiem for a Dream 2002 102 minutes

Sin City 2005 124 minutes

Week 14 November 28 – December 2 Woody Allen Week

Narrative (12.60) and Film Theory (12.100)

Class Films: Matchpoint 2005 124 minutes

Play It Again, Sam 1972 85 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: Sleeper 1973 89 minutes

Love and Death 1975  82 minutes

Annie Hall  1977  94 minutes

Interiors  1978  92 minutes

Manhattan 1979 96 minutes

Broadway Danny Rose 1984 86 minutes

Purple Rose of Cairo 1985 84 minutes

Hannah and Her Sisters  1986  106 minutes

Crimes and Misdemeanors  1989  104 minutes

Shadows and Fog 1992 85 minutes

Mighty Aphrodite 1995 98 minutes

Deconstructing Harry 1997 96 minutes

Sweet and Lowdown 1999 95 minutes

Small Time Crooks 2000 94 minutes

Melinda and Melinda 2004 100 minutes

Scoop 2006 96 minutes

Cassandra’s Dream 2007 108 minutes

Vicky Christina Barcelona 2008 96 minutes

Week 15 December 5 – 9 Why Do We Enjoy Being Scared?

Sound Design (12.50), Editing (12.40) and Production (12.30)

Class Films: The Silence of the Lambs 1991 118 minutes

The Descent 2005 99 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: Frankenstein  1931   71 minutes

Dracula  1931  75 minutes

King Kong  1933  103 minutes

Bride of Frankenstein 1935 75 minutes

The Night of the Hunter 1955 93 minutes

Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1956 80 min.

Night of the Living Dead  1968  88 minutes

The Exorcist 1973 122 minutes

Jaws  1975  124 minutes

Halloween  1978  91 minutes

The Shining 1980 119 minutes

Friday the 13th 1980 95 minutes

Evil Dead  1981  85 minutes

The Thing 1982 109 minutes

Nightmare On Elm Street 1984 91 minutes

Evil Dead II 1987 85 minutes

The Ring 2000 123 minutes

28 Days Later 2002 113 minutes

Shaun of the Dead 2004 99 minutes

Grindhouse 2007 191 minutes

I Am Legend 2007 101 minutes

Paranormal Activity 2007 86 minutes

The Strangers 2008 86 minutes

Drag Me to Hell 2009 99 minutes

Week 16 December 12 - 16 The Master Filmmaker – Hitchcock

All indicators (review week)

Class Films: Strangers On a Train  1951 101 minutes

Psycho 1960 109 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: The 39 Steps  1935  87 minutes

Rebecca 1940 130 minutes

Spellbound 1945 111 minutes

Notorious  1946  102 minutes

Dial M for Murder 1954 105 minutes

Rear Window 1954 112 minutes

To Catch a Thief 1955 106 minutes

The Trouble With Harry  1956  99 minutes

The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956 120 min.

Vertigo  1958  128 minutes

North By Northwest 1959  136 minutes

The Birds  1963  120 minutes

Week 17 December 19 – 22 Disney, Color and Animation

Cinematography (12.20) and Hollywood (12.80)

Class Film: Ratatouille 2007 111 minutes

Fantasia  1940  120 minutes

Suggested Films: The Wizard of Oz 1939 101 min.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937 83 min Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 102 minutes

Bambi 1942 70 minutes

Cinderella 1950 72 minutes

Lady and the Tramp 1955 75 minutes

Mary Poppins  1964  139 minutes

The Secret of N.I.M.H. 1982 82 minutes

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 1988 103 minutes

The Little Mermaid 1989 83 minutes

The Rescuers Down Under 1990 74 minutes

Beauty and the Beast  1991  84 minutes

Aladdin 1992 90 minutes

Toy Story 1995 81 minutes

The Iron Giant 1999 86 minutes

Shrek 2001 90 minutes

Spirited Away 2001 125 minutes

Finding Nemo  2003  100 minutes

The Incredibles 2004 115 minutes

Shrek 2 2004 92 minutes

Up 2009 96 minutes

Toy Story 3 2010 103 minutes

Week 18 January 2 - 6 Expanding Our Horizons

International Film (12.90) and Narrative (12.60)

Class Films: The Seven Samurai 1954 141 minutes

Life Is Beautiful 1997 116 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: The Rules of the Game 1939  113 min.

The Seventh Seal  1956  96 minutes

Wild Strawberries  1957  90 minutes

Breathless  1959  89 minutes

Four Hundred Blows  1959  99 minutes

Jules and Jim  1961  104 minutes

8 1/2  1962  135 minutes

Red Desert  1964  118 minutes

Blowup   1966   111 minutes

The Bride Wore Black  1968  107 minutes

Aguirre, the Wrath of God 1972 94 minutes Mad Max 1979 93 minutes

The Road Warrior 1981 91 minutes

Das Boot 1981 149 minutes

Galipoli 1981 110 minutes

Wings of Desire  1988  128 minutes

City of God 2002 130 minutes

Bride and Prejudice 2004 107 minutes

Week 19 January 9 - 13 Sports and Film

Modes of Screen Reality (12.70) and Hollywood (12.80)

Class Films: Gladiator 2000 155 minutes

Bend It Like Beckham 2002 112 minutes

Suggested Homework Films: Brian’s Song 1971 73 minutes

Slap Shot 1977 123 minutes

Breaking Away 1979 100 minutes

Hoosiers 1986 114 minutes

Bull Durham 1988 108 minutes

Field of Dreams 1989 107 minutes

Hoop Dreams 1994 170 minutes

Jerry Maguire 1996 139 minutes

Tin Cup 1996 135 minutes

Remember the Titans 2000 113 minutes Miracle 2004 135 minutes

Coach Carter 2005 136 minutes

Final Exam January 17

Genre Presentations – January 6, 12, 13, 18, 19

Three excellent websites for film, which I consulted extensively in writing this syllabus, can help you with research on your films:

(International Movie Database)

(American Film Institute)

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