Reading film narrative A
B McFarlane
6 points * 4 hours per week * First semester * Caulfield
Through a study of six to eight films selected for their clearly diverse approaches to narrative, and through a theoretical study of the processes of narrative, students will consider such issues as formal narrative elements (eg patterns of repetition and variation, patterns of alternation), the extent to which film narrative may be said to depend on a `language' and `syntax' peculiar to film, the narrational function of mise-en-scene (as compared with the discursive prose of novels) and the function of montage and other specifically cinematic codes in the creation of film narrative. A typical selection of film texts might include Psycho (1960), It's A Wonderful Life (1947), Citizen Kane (1941), Battleship Potemkin (1926), Radio Days (1987), The Searchers (1956), The Third Man (1949) and Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988). Film texts will change from year to year.
Assessment
Written (2000 words): 40% * Examination (1.5 hours): 30% * Class paper, written up as essay: 30%
Prescribed texts
Bordwell D and Thompson K Film art: An introduction 4th edn, McGraw-Hill, 1992