HISTORY OF CINEMA
No prerequisites are required.
The assessment of contents' knowledge will take place by means of two tests.
1) WRITTEN TEST lasting a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes, aimed at ascertaining knowledge of the contents of the Bordwell-Thompson textbook (History of cinema. An introduction) divided into
- 18 multiple choice questions
- 3 open questions
The entire written part-test will be marked in thirtieths according to the following criteria:
- Multiple choice test: correct answer 1 mark
- Open questions: each answer maximum 4 points
To access the oral test, the student must have reached a total score of 18/30.
2) ORAL TEST: aimed at assessing the analytical capacity of all the films in the programme and of Di Blasio's text (Cinema and history: interferences, confluences). The mark for the oral test (marked in thirtieths) will take into account the accuracy and quality of the answers (60%), as well as communication skills and the ability to adequately justify statements, analyses and judgements (40%).
The FINAL VOTE will result from the average of the mark acquired in the partial written test and the mark acquired in the oral test. In order to pass the learning assessment, the student must have achieved a total mark of 18/30.
Please note that the written test and the oral test must be taken on two different dates. Students will only be admitted to the oral test if they pass the written test with a mark of at least 18/30.
The course aims to provide historical, linguistic and theoretical tools useful for the knowledge and understanding of cinema at an international level, from its beginnings (end of the 19th century) to the present day, and for the reading of the cinematographic work, intended both as an aesthetic-cultural product and as an economic and social product. The general objective is to place the history of cinema within the broader framework of 20th Century History, investigating how and to what extent the medium has been permeable to the political, economic, cultural and social changes that have accompanied its development.
At the end of the course, students will be able to
- recognise and understand the main forms of expression in the history of cinema by relating them to the historical context of reference;
- grasp the evolutions that have affected the cinematographic language;
- read and analyse a film text in depth, taking into account the context of production and that of reception;
- develop communication and expository skills in the field of cinema.
Lessons are structured on three levels, which complement each other:
1) Definition and analysis of the methodological and theoretical issues of film history and historiography (approx. 5 hours).
2) Identification and stylistic-formal analysis of the main production trends in the history of cinema through the recognition of significant currents, works and authors. For each era, the following are to be identified: the relationship with the context (political, economic, social and cultural), the modes of reception and interpretation (also diachronically) and the repercussions on contemporary reality (approximately 33 hours).
3) Identification of an event or a historical problem of which the forms of representation and interpretation developed during the 20th century will be verified (approximately 10 hours).
The objectives of the course will be achieved through the face-to-face mode (48 hours in total).
The lecturer receives students by appointment, to be arranged by writing to m.piredda@uninsubria.it, at the Rossi Pavilion.