Intro to History of Film

Dawn of Cinema I

List of Mandatory Readings:

Mandatory movies for this learning unit:

  • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920)
  • Un Chien Andalou (Luis Buñuel, 1929)

Catching the Light

(Reading: Birth of Cinema)

Camera Obscura

Daguerreotypes, (silver-plate copper emulsion)

Silver nitrate

Celluloid (George Eastman)

The  Lumières

  • August (1862-1954) and Louis (1864-1948) Lumière
  • Cinématograph Lumière
  • First Film Show:
    • December 25th 1895
    • Salon Indien in the Grand Café in Paris

George Méliès

  • »French Illusionist (1861-1938)
  • The father of narrative film
  • Producer / director / writer / designer / cameraman / actor
  • His Star Film company made between 1896 and 1906 more than 500 movies (only 140 survive)
  • Impressive range of subjects:
    • Fantasies (Cinderella, 1899)
    • Historical reconstructions (Benvenuto Cellini, 1904)
    • Docudramas (The Dreyfus Affair, 1899)
    • Science-fiction adventures (A trip to the Moon, 1902)

A Trip to the Moon

The Terrible Turkish Executioner

German Expressionism

  • Expressionism: Style of art in which the intention is not to create beauty or to reproduce any subject accurately, but to explore all the aspects of life and the human soul.
  • Precursors:
    • Caravaggio
    • Rembrandt
    • Goya

Caravaggio

Caravaggio- JeromeCaravaggio- Jerome
Caravaggio-death-virginCaravaggio-death-virgin
Caravaggio-st-peter’s crucifixionCaravaggio-st-peter’s crucifixion
Caravaggio-The Martyrdom of St. MatthewCaravaggio-The Martyrdom of St. Matthew

Rembrandt

Rembrandt-meditationRembrandt-meditation
Rembrandt-bathing in a riverRembrandt-bathing in a river
Rembrandt-The slaughtered-oxRembrandt-The slaughtered-ox

Goya

Goya-FusilamientosGoya-Fusilamientos
goya-Saturngoya-Saturn
goya-The Colossgoya-The Coloss
goya-The Incantationgoya-The Incantation

Contemporary Expressionism – Edvard Munch

The ScreamThe Scream
VampireVampire

Abstract Expressionism

Willem De Kooning

German Expressionism

  • Light versus Shadow
  • Exploration of the dark sides of the human soul
  • Oppressive interiors
  • Supernatural, mystic, or uncanny elements
  • Evil individuals with the power to control the will of people (premonition of Adolph Hitler)

Films

  • Stellan Rye (The Student of Prague, 1913)
  • Paul Wegener ( The Golem, 1915)
  • Robert Wiene (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1919)
  • Fritz Lang (Destiny, 1921; Mabuse, The Gambler, 1922)
  • Friedrich W. Murnau (Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror, 1922)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

(Reading: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)

Nosferatu

(reading: Nosferatu)

Surrealism

  • André Breton (1924)
  • Strongly influenced by Sigmund Freud’s Theories.
  • Sub-Conscious governs our life.
  • It emphasizes the importance of dreams, dreamy landscapes and other sub-conscious symbolism.
RelojesRelojes
Magrittte’ Son of ManMagrittte’ Son of Man
The Great MasturbatorThe Great Masturbator
The Temptation of St. AnthonyThe Temptation of St. Anthony
SwansReflectingElephantsSwansReflectingElephants
Bizarre RomanceBizarre Romance

French and Spanish Surrealism

(Reading: Un Chien Andalou)

  • René Clair (The Crazy Ray, 1923; Entre’acte, 1924)
  • Jacques Feyder (L’Atlantide, 1921)
  • Jean Cocteau (The Blood of a Poet, 1930)
  • Jean Vigo (A Propos de Nice)
  • Luis Buñuel (Un chien andalou, 1928; L’Age d’or, 1930)

Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí: A Chien Andalou

(A higher definition copy, unfortunately with ads)

(Lower definition copy – no ads)

Readings:

Literature

  • Parkinson, David:
    • “History of Film”. Thames and Hudson, 1995
  • Thompson, Kristin and Bordwell, David:
    • “Film History: An Introduction”. McGraw-Hill, 2002.