Theory and Analysis of Cinematographic Language
A.Y. 2019/2020
Learning objectives
This university course introduces to the knowledge of the cinematic language, as well as to the history of its main expressive forms. It also introduces to the analytical tools through which students learn how to "watch" a motion picture, as an art work, but also as a communication device. Namely, this year this course deepen the knowledge of the Nouvelle Vague.
Expected learning outcomes
The aim of this course is to provide a good mastery of the technical and descriptive terminology of the discipline, as well as to supply the analytical tools allowing to learn how to "watch" a movie with a critical eye, to analyze it and to understand its way of functioning (space ad time organization, the range of shot scales, editing, language figures, talking and sound strategies etc.). All this in a theoretical, historical and analytical perspective.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
Teaching unit A (20 h. - 3 CFU)
This teaching unit traces a brief excursus of the history of cinematic language, from early cinema to the advent of modernity. It also dwells on the most important moments of the parallel theoretical elaboration.
Teaching unit B (20 h. - 3 CFU)
This teaching unit introduces to the Nouvelle Vague and to the film analysis of its first film production.
Teaching unit C (20 h. - 3 CFU)
This teaching unit further deepens the knowledge and analysis of the major motion pictures realized by the Nouvelle Vague film directors.
This teaching unit traces a brief excursus of the history of cinematic language, from early cinema to the advent of modernity. It also dwells on the most important moments of the parallel theoretical elaboration.
Teaching unit B (20 h. - 3 CFU)
This teaching unit introduces to the Nouvelle Vague and to the film analysis of its first film production.
Teaching unit C (20 h. - 3 CFU)
This teaching unit further deepens the knowledge and analysis of the major motion pictures realized by the Nouvelle Vague film directors.
Prerequisites for admission
No prior knowledge is required.
Teaching methods
Frontal lessons.
Teaching Resources
THIS BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FILMOGRAPHY PROGRAM IS VALID UNTIL MAY 2022
Teaching unit A
Bibliography for attending students
-G. RONDOLINO, D. TOMASI, Manuale del film. Linguaggio, racconto, analisi, Torino, UTET, 2011 (second edition or f. edizions).
-E. DAGRADA, The Great Train Robbery, Milano, Mimesis, 2011 (o ristampe successive).
-A. BAZIN, "Ontologia dell'immagine fotografica", "Montaggio proibito", "Evoluzione del linguaggio cinematografico", saggi contenuti in Che cos'e' il cinema?, Milano, Garzanti, 1973 (o ristampe successive).
Teaching unit A
Bibliography for non attending students
-G. RONDOLINO, D. TOMASI, Manuale del film. Linguaggio, racconto, analisi, Torino, UTET, 2011 (seconda edizione o edizioni successive).
-E. DAGRADA, The Great Train Robbery, Milano, Mimesis, 2011 (o ristampe successive)
-A. BAZIN, "Ontologia dell'immagine fotografica", "Montaggio proibito", "Evoluzione del linguaggio cinematografico", saggi contenuti in Che cos'e' il cinema?, Milano, Garzanti, 1973 (o ristampe successive).
-E. DAGRADA, Woody Allen. Manhattan, Torino, Lindau, 1997 (o ristampe successive).
Teaching unit B
Bibliography for attending students
-M.MARIE, La Nouvelle Vague, Torino, Lindau, 1998 (o ristampe successive).
-V. BUCCHERI, "Uno stile recitativo per la Nouvelle Vague", L'asino di B., a. XI, n. 12, gennaio 2007 (numero speciale, Atti del Convegno Teorie, storia e arte dell'attore cinematografico e televisivo, a cura di Mariapaola Pierini), pp. 69-78.
Teaching unit B
Bibliography for non attending students
-M.MARIE, La Nouvelle Vague, Torino, Lindau, 1998 (o ristampe successive).
-V. BUCCHERI, "Uno stile recitativo per la Nouvelle Vague", L'asino di B., a. XI, n. 12, gennaio 2007 (numero speciale, Atti del Convegno Teorie, storia e arte dell'attore cinematografico e televisivo, a cura di Mariapaola Pierini), pp. 69-78.
-J. CHESSA, Jean-Luc Godard. Fino all'utimo respiro, Torino, Lindau, 2005
Teaching unit C
Bibliography for attending students
-A. DE BAEQUE, Assalto al cinema, Milano, Il Saggiatore, 1993 (chapter 4, "I «Cahiers» alla svolta della Nouvelle Vague", pp. 173-230).
-E. DAGRADA, "Piano-sequenza", Enciclopedia del cinema Treccani, Volume IV, 2004, pp. 427-431.
Teaching unit C
Bibliography for non attending students
-A. DE BAEQUE, Assalto al cinema, Milano, Il Saggiatore, 1993 (chapter 4, "I «Cahiers» alla svolta della Nouvelle Vague", pp. 173-230). -E. DAGRADA, "Piano-sequenza", Enciclopedia del cinema Treccani, Volume IV, 2004, pp. 427-431.
-A. BAZIN, Sulla politique des auteurs, in G. GRIGNAFFINI (a cura di), Il cinema secondo la Nouvelle Vague, Trento, Temi, 2006, pp. 117-131.
FILMOGRAPHY FOR ATTENDING AND NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
This list of films is compulsory. All titles ara viewable at the Biblioteca di Storia dell'arte, della musica e dello spettacolo (via Noto, 6, second floor).
Teaching unit A:
-Non attending students must see The Great Train Robbery (available on-line) and Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979).
-For attending students it is compulsory the vision of all these films and part of films, all of them analysed in class. A special DVD including all films and part of films is viewable at the Biblioteca di Storia dell'arte, della musica e dello spettacolo (via Noto, 6, second floor).
-La nuit ame'ricaine (Effetto notte, François Truffaut, 1973)
-Sortie des usines/Repas de Be'be'/Le jardinier et le petit espie'gle/Arrive'e des congressistes/Arrive'e d'un train en gare/Pompiers a' Lyon/Leaving Jerusalem by Train (Lumie're)
-L'homme-Orchestre (Georges Me'lie's, 1900)
-The Ballet Master's Dream [Le rêve du maître de ballet] (Georges Me'lie's, 1903)
-De'molition d'un mur (Lumie're)
-The Countryman and the Cinematograph (R.W.Paul, 1901)
-Ladies Skirts Nailed to a Fence (Bamforth, c1900)
-The Big Swallow (Williamson, 1901)
-Let Me Dream Again (George Albert Smith, 1900)
-Grandma's Reading Glass (George Albert Smith, 1900)
-As Seen Through a Telescope (George Albert Smith, 1900)
-The Kiss in the Tunnel (George Albert Smith, 1900)
-Voyage a' travers l'impossible (Georges Me'lie's, 1904)
-The Miller and the Sweep (George Albert Smith, 1898)
-That Fatal Sneeze (Hepworth, 1907)
-Rescued By Rover (Hepworth, 1905)
-Fire! (Williamson, 1901)
-The Life of an American Fireman (Edison - Edwin S.Porter, 1903)
-The Great Train Robbery (Edison - Edwin S.Porter, 1903)
-Histoire d'un crime (Pathe' Fre'res - Ferdinand Zecca, 1901)
-The Drunkard's Reformation (David Wark Griffith, 1909)
-The Lonely Villa (David Wark Griffith, 1909)
-The New York Hat (David Wark Griffith, 1912)
-Mary Jane's Mishap (George Albert Smith, 1903)
-Lonesome (Paul Fejos, 1928)
-The Crowd (La folla, King Vidor, 1928)-Show People (Maschere di celluloide, King Vidor, 1928)
-Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (Il gabinetto del Dr.Caligari, Robert Wiene, 1920)
-La Chute de la Maison Usher (La caduta della Casa Usher, Jean Epstein, 1928)
-Napole'on (Abel Gance, 1928)
-La corazzata Potëmkin (Sergej M. Ėjzenštejn, 1926)-Ottobre (Sergej M. Ėjzenštejn, 1928)
-The Jazz Singer (Il cantante di Jazz, Alan Crosland, 1927)
-Le Me'pris (Il disprezzo, Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
-City Lights (Luci della citta', Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
-The Spiral Staircase (La scala a chiocciola, Robert Siodmak, 1946)
-Stagecoach (Ombre rosse, John Ford, 1939)
-Le ballon rouge (Il palloncino rosso, Albert Lamorisse, 1956)
-Sunrise (Aurora, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, 1927)
-Greed (Rapacita', Eric von Stroheim, 1923)
-Citizen Kane (Quarto potere, Orson Welles, 1941)
-Cronaca di un amore (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1950)
Teaching unit B:
LIST OF FILMS COMPULSORY FOR ATTENDING AND NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
-Les mistons (François Truffaut, 1958) v.o. st.it. -Les quatre-cent coups (I quattrocento colpi, François Truffaut, 1959) v.o. st.it. -A bout de souffle (Fino all'ultimo respiro, Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) v.o. st.it. -Tirez sur le pianiste (Tirate sul pianista, François Truffaut, 1960) Teaching unit C:
LIST OF FILMS COMPULSPORY FOR ATTENDING AND NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
-Vivre sa vie (Questa è la mia vita, Jean-Luc Godard, 1962)
-Jules et Jim (Jules e Jim, François Truffaut, 1962) v.o. st.it.
-Le Mépris (Il disprezzo, Jean-Luc Godard, 1963) v.o. st.it.
Teaching unit A
Bibliography for attending students
-G. RONDOLINO, D. TOMASI, Manuale del film. Linguaggio, racconto, analisi, Torino, UTET, 2011 (second edition or f. edizions).
-E. DAGRADA, The Great Train Robbery, Milano, Mimesis, 2011 (o ristampe successive).
-A. BAZIN, "Ontologia dell'immagine fotografica", "Montaggio proibito", "Evoluzione del linguaggio cinematografico", saggi contenuti in Che cos'e' il cinema?, Milano, Garzanti, 1973 (o ristampe successive).
Teaching unit A
Bibliography for non attending students
-G. RONDOLINO, D. TOMASI, Manuale del film. Linguaggio, racconto, analisi, Torino, UTET, 2011 (seconda edizione o edizioni successive).
-E. DAGRADA, The Great Train Robbery, Milano, Mimesis, 2011 (o ristampe successive)
-A. BAZIN, "Ontologia dell'immagine fotografica", "Montaggio proibito", "Evoluzione del linguaggio cinematografico", saggi contenuti in Che cos'e' il cinema?, Milano, Garzanti, 1973 (o ristampe successive).
-E. DAGRADA, Woody Allen. Manhattan, Torino, Lindau, 1997 (o ristampe successive).
Teaching unit B
Bibliography for attending students
-M.MARIE, La Nouvelle Vague, Torino, Lindau, 1998 (o ristampe successive).
-V. BUCCHERI, "Uno stile recitativo per la Nouvelle Vague", L'asino di B., a. XI, n. 12, gennaio 2007 (numero speciale, Atti del Convegno Teorie, storia e arte dell'attore cinematografico e televisivo, a cura di Mariapaola Pierini), pp. 69-78.
Teaching unit B
Bibliography for non attending students
-M.MARIE, La Nouvelle Vague, Torino, Lindau, 1998 (o ristampe successive).
-V. BUCCHERI, "Uno stile recitativo per la Nouvelle Vague", L'asino di B., a. XI, n. 12, gennaio 2007 (numero speciale, Atti del Convegno Teorie, storia e arte dell'attore cinematografico e televisivo, a cura di Mariapaola Pierini), pp. 69-78.
-J. CHESSA, Jean-Luc Godard. Fino all'utimo respiro, Torino, Lindau, 2005
Teaching unit C
Bibliography for attending students
-A. DE BAEQUE, Assalto al cinema, Milano, Il Saggiatore, 1993 (chapter 4, "I «Cahiers» alla svolta della Nouvelle Vague", pp. 173-230).
-E. DAGRADA, "Piano-sequenza", Enciclopedia del cinema Treccani, Volume IV, 2004, pp. 427-431.
Teaching unit C
Bibliography for non attending students
-A. DE BAEQUE, Assalto al cinema, Milano, Il Saggiatore, 1993 (chapter 4, "I «Cahiers» alla svolta della Nouvelle Vague", pp. 173-230). -E. DAGRADA, "Piano-sequenza", Enciclopedia del cinema Treccani, Volume IV, 2004, pp. 427-431.
-A. BAZIN, Sulla politique des auteurs, in G. GRIGNAFFINI (a cura di), Il cinema secondo la Nouvelle Vague, Trento, Temi, 2006, pp. 117-131.
FILMOGRAPHY FOR ATTENDING AND NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
This list of films is compulsory. All titles ara viewable at the Biblioteca di Storia dell'arte, della musica e dello spettacolo (via Noto, 6, second floor).
Teaching unit A:
-Non attending students must see The Great Train Robbery (available on-line) and Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979).
-For attending students it is compulsory the vision of all these films and part of films, all of them analysed in class. A special DVD including all films and part of films is viewable at the Biblioteca di Storia dell'arte, della musica e dello spettacolo (via Noto, 6, second floor).
-La nuit ame'ricaine (Effetto notte, François Truffaut, 1973)
-Sortie des usines/Repas de Be'be'/Le jardinier et le petit espie'gle/Arrive'e des congressistes/Arrive'e d'un train en gare/Pompiers a' Lyon/Leaving Jerusalem by Train (Lumie're)
-L'homme-Orchestre (Georges Me'lie's, 1900)
-The Ballet Master's Dream [Le rêve du maître de ballet] (Georges Me'lie's, 1903)
-De'molition d'un mur (Lumie're)
-The Countryman and the Cinematograph (R.W.Paul, 1901)
-Ladies Skirts Nailed to a Fence (Bamforth, c1900)
-The Big Swallow (Williamson, 1901)
-Let Me Dream Again (George Albert Smith, 1900)
-Grandma's Reading Glass (George Albert Smith, 1900)
-As Seen Through a Telescope (George Albert Smith, 1900)
-The Kiss in the Tunnel (George Albert Smith, 1900)
-Voyage a' travers l'impossible (Georges Me'lie's, 1904)
-The Miller and the Sweep (George Albert Smith, 1898)
-That Fatal Sneeze (Hepworth, 1907)
-Rescued By Rover (Hepworth, 1905)
-Fire! (Williamson, 1901)
-The Life of an American Fireman (Edison - Edwin S.Porter, 1903)
-The Great Train Robbery (Edison - Edwin S.Porter, 1903)
-Histoire d'un crime (Pathe' Fre'res - Ferdinand Zecca, 1901)
-The Drunkard's Reformation (David Wark Griffith, 1909)
-The Lonely Villa (David Wark Griffith, 1909)
-The New York Hat (David Wark Griffith, 1912)
-Mary Jane's Mishap (George Albert Smith, 1903)
-Lonesome (Paul Fejos, 1928)
-The Crowd (La folla, King Vidor, 1928)-Show People (Maschere di celluloide, King Vidor, 1928)
-Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (Il gabinetto del Dr.Caligari, Robert Wiene, 1920)
-La Chute de la Maison Usher (La caduta della Casa Usher, Jean Epstein, 1928)
-Napole'on (Abel Gance, 1928)
-La corazzata Potëmkin (Sergej M. Ėjzenštejn, 1926)-Ottobre (Sergej M. Ėjzenštejn, 1928)
-The Jazz Singer (Il cantante di Jazz, Alan Crosland, 1927)
-Le Me'pris (Il disprezzo, Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
-City Lights (Luci della citta', Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
-The Spiral Staircase (La scala a chiocciola, Robert Siodmak, 1946)
-Stagecoach (Ombre rosse, John Ford, 1939)
-Le ballon rouge (Il palloncino rosso, Albert Lamorisse, 1956)
-Sunrise (Aurora, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, 1927)
-Greed (Rapacita', Eric von Stroheim, 1923)
-Citizen Kane (Quarto potere, Orson Welles, 1941)
-Cronaca di un amore (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1950)
Teaching unit B:
LIST OF FILMS COMPULSORY FOR ATTENDING AND NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
-Les mistons (François Truffaut, 1958) v.o. st.it. -Les quatre-cent coups (I quattrocento colpi, François Truffaut, 1959) v.o. st.it. -A bout de souffle (Fino all'ultimo respiro, Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) v.o. st.it. -Tirez sur le pianiste (Tirate sul pianista, François Truffaut, 1960) Teaching unit C:
LIST OF FILMS COMPULSPORY FOR ATTENDING AND NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
-Vivre sa vie (Questa è la mia vita, Jean-Luc Godard, 1962)
-Jules et Jim (Jules e Jim, François Truffaut, 1962) v.o. st.it.
-Le Mépris (Il disprezzo, Jean-Luc Godard, 1963) v.o. st.it.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The examination consists of an oral exam intending to ensure the knowledge of the topics (films and themes) covered in class and listed in the Bibliography and Filmography.
Unita' didattica A
L-ART/06 - CINEMA, PHOTOGRAPHY AND TELEVISION - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-ART/06 - CINEMA, PHOTOGRAPHY AND TELEVISION - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-ART/06 - CINEMA, PHOTOGRAPHY AND TELEVISION - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours