BA Film Studies and French

This course provides students with a grounding in the origins of film as a creative medium and introduces them to major developments in early film history, running from the 1890s to the 1950s. Key practitioners, styles of cinema and technological innovations (including the introduction of synchronous sound, colour and widescreen) will be explored and the course will encourage students to identify the ongoing influence and impact of these developments on contemporary film and culture more broadly. Case study films and filmmakers will be placed in their broader socio-historical context and the course will address forms of cinema from around the world rather than focusing exclusively on Hollywood or Anglophone cinema. The course paves the way for SALC11002: Introduction to World Cinema, which considers the ‘new wave’ movements which began to emerge in the 1950s, by closing with a discussion of the decline of the dominant system of film production in the 1950s and the growth of independent and new forms of cinema.

• To develop students’ understanding of the origins of film and major developments in early film history
• To expand students’ awareness of both mainstream and non-mainstream film cultures including seminal examples of non-Anglophone cinema
• To encourage students to discuss and debate the cultural significance of film and its wider socio-political relevance and impact
• To encourage students to make connections between early and contemporary film practice and understand how current tendencies in film have been shaped and enabled by earlier practitioners and movements

• An increased awareness of the origins of film as a creative medium and key developments in early film history
• An enhanced familiarity with the broader historical shifts that have affected film production in its early decades, including the Great Depression, the rise of fascism, the Second World War and the invention of television
• An increased awareness of the technological innovations that have impacted on the development of film, including the introduction of synchronous sound, colour and widescreen cinemaAn improved understanding of the aesthetic strategies employed by filmmakers working in various styles and movements, including German expressionism, Surrealist film and classical Hollywood
• An enhanced ability to be able to identify the legacy and influence of aspects of early film on contemporary cinema and culture more broadly

• Critically analyse and interrogate films and related sources (posters, trailers, reviews and industry documents)
• Learn how to historically contextualise films and practitioners, and to draw on contextualisation to develop understanding
• Critically evaluate a series of films, practitioners, industrial and technological developments in relation to key moments of socio-political change in relevant territories
• Synthesise theoretical terms and concepts and apply these to analysis and argument

• Research academic and non-academic materials, and evaluate the effectiveness of these materials as supporting evidence for individual essays and group presentations
  Plan, undertake and evaluate independent critical work
• Work efficiently as a member of a small group engaged in research and presentation
• Use relevant software to collect, compile and present audio-visual material for presentations
• Communicate research material both verbally, audio-visually and in writing

• Work to a deadline
• Collaborate with peers
• Have developed and implemented their independent research skills
• Stimulate and facilitate the intellectual and creative work of others

Allen, Robert C and Gomery, Douglas. 1985. Film History: Theory and Practice. New York: McGraw Hill.

Bordwell, David, Thompson, Kristin. 2009. Film History: An Introduction (Third Edition). New York: McGraw Hill.

Braudy, Leo and Cohen, Marshall. 2009. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings (Seventh Edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Chapman, James. 2003. Cinemas of the World. London: Reaktion Books.

Cook, Pam. 2007. The Cinema Book (Third Edition). London: British Film Institute.

Dix, Andrew. 2016. Beginning Film Studies (Second Edition). Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Grainge, Paul, Jancovich, Mark and Monteith, Sharon (eds). 2007. Film Histories: An Introduction and Reader. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Hayward, Susan. 2013. Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts (Fourth Edition). Abingdon and New York: Routledge.

Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey (ed). 1997. The Oxford History of World Cinema. Oxford: Oxford University Press.