Film review assignment

I detailed this cursorily in class. Here's the skinny:

The idea is for you to interact with the reviews of others. I often read movie reviews of films I haven't seen and may not ever see; I enjoy the act of critical examination, even if ultimately it's not a movie I'll see or that even interests me. (I also like reading book reviews, of course, but additionally I get a kick out of critical reviews of new buildings or painting exhibitions. I have no ability to paint or design architecture, but the kind of craft that goes into any of these forms is analogous to the craft that goes into writing, which is my own specialty.)

I want you to "interact with" two reviews by professional reviewers. Pick something you've seen recently (in the past few days) or go see something in the next week or so. I want to hear your thoughts on the movie, but I want to read them as a kind of argument or discussion you're having with these other reviewers. (It is to be written in essay form, however—not in dialogue form or some sort of free form.) Ebert does this in some of his essays, mentioning other reviewers and how they perceive something. Use proper form when quoting or paraphrasing the other reviewers.

On the lower right of this page is a link to the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com). Any movie may be found there; from any movie's site, you can, lower down on the page, link to "External reviews." You should be reading reviews from major newspapers (San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun-Times [those are available at ebert.com]) or magazines (Salon, Rolling Stone, the New Yorker (available at newyorker.com), not from unaffiliated reviewers or from someone's amateur blog.

This assignment, of 500-750 words, is due on Thursday, February 28. 

Reading assignment

See the calendar link at the right.

Reading assignment

Although I told you to check the calendar (link at right), I'll post the reading assignment here: Read from the start of the introduction up through Ebert's review of La Dolce Vita. Also read "The Legacy of Star Wars," p. 341. Mark up the reading so you can ask about terms or ideas with which you're unfamiliar.

End-of-semester assignment

As I said, you're to write a paper of at least two pages on the film of your choice (a choice you'll confirm with me) and prepare to give a talk about at most ten minutes (three minutes of that can be a movie clip, showing us a scene that's indicative of what you like or is distinctive about the movie). I expect the talk to largely contain the contents of the paper, though you might need to shorten it somewhat for the presentation. We'll have these presentations over the final two or three days of the class. Prior to that, we'll watch The Station Agent, and I'll give you an example of what I'm after.

Writing Assignment: The Shining

This should be 1-2 pages, double-spaced, of reaction to the film. (NOT less than a page.)

To consider:

Had you seen the movie previously? If so, has your reaction changed and in what ways?

What were your initial reactions to the film? What parts did you find particularly disturbing, scary, interesting, or what-have-you? What films might you compare it to, either favorably or unfavorably?

What did you think of our discussion of the movie?

What outstanding questions do you have about the film?

That's due on Monday, Dec. 17.

Long-term assignment

Due: Nov. 27, your first class after Thanksgiving.

The object is to keep a log about a film, tracking what you notice and your responses as you move through the film. You may choose from among these films (do not choose one you've already seen):

Bonnie and Clyde
Bride of Frankenstein
Casablanca
Do the Right Thing
Dr. Strangelove
On the Waterfront
Pulp Fiction
Raging Bull
The Shawshank Redemption
Vertigo

(There will be other chances to write about a film entirely of your own choosing.)

The way the log should work is like so:

A. Opening scene.
Stop after the first scene and describe what you noticed: Opening titles; introduced characters; what is shown and discussed to start the film in motion; what questions do you have; does the movie tell you at the outset what the trajectory will be.

B. Approximately half an hour in.
Is the film following the trajectory you thought it would? What do you like so far? What's well done? What questions do you still have? What are you noticing about the visual style? The writing? The acting?

C. Approximately another half hour.
Same as above.

D. Conclusion.
When the film is finished: What's your initial reaction? Did the film go where you expected? Is the climax satisfactory? Do you still have outstanding questions?

More on film noir (and plurals!)

If you enjoyed our foray in film noir with Double Indemnity, perhaps you'd be interested in the Film Noir Foundation:

http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/home.html

And just so you know: Although we might describe a film as "film noir," and we call the whole genre "film noir," if you want to refer to several individual films, you say you've seen several "films noir." As in passerby/passersby or attorney general/attorneys general, the "s" doesn't go where you might think.