LCC  3256N      Major Filmmakers: Orson Welles & Stanley Kubrick

TTh: 12:05-1:25pm Screenings Thursdays 3-5, 343 Skiles

Prof. Robert Kolker:  358 Skiles (x47000)

Email: robert.kolker@lcc.gatech.edu

Office Hours: Thursday, 1:30-3:00, By Appointment.

Class Discussion List: kw@lists.gatech.edu

Those who are in the class must subscribe to the email discussion list immediately: https://lists.gatech.edu/sympa/subscribe/kw

This course will examine in close detail the films made by two of the most influential and serious filmmakers, Orson Welles and Stanley Kubrick. We will approach these films as cinematic and cultural texts. That is, each film will be closely analyzed in order to understand how its form and structure creates meaning. We will also look at the films in their cultural and historical contexts, as well as part of artistic life of the filmmakers. We will concentrate on how the films speak to us, to the world we live in, to our history and the history of other films (all films grow out of other films).

There will be readings in film theory to accompany each class meeting,  and these meetings will be “moderated” by a group of three class members. Their job will be to provide direction to the conversations about the films, ask and urge others to ask questions about the films and the accompanying readings, and to choose clips (in consultation with other class members) for close analysis. The moderators—again in consultation with the other class members—may bring in clips from other films to compare or show influences. Each meeting will be a collaborative effort between all members of the class and the instructor. Grades will be partially based on the quality of the collaboration and individual contributions.

Grades will also be based in part on class attendance. The largest part of the final grade will be based on two written essays and a brief proposal for the first essay. The essays may be written on any aspect of the films we study, on other films by the directors (check the International Movie Database, www.imdb.com for their complete filmography), or on films that bear a relationship to their work. The topics must be chosen in consultation with me and have to include outside research (non-internet, unless approved in advance by me). The first essay may use the class texts; the second must include library research. The Final Exam will consist of the existing groups (or new ones formed for the occasion), who will present—through one clip—an analysis of one of the director’s films seen in class or one that was not screened.

Books: Braudy, Film Theory and Criticism, 5^th ed. (FTC) Readings listed below.

Naremore, The Magic World of Orson Welles (Read chapters or sections relating to the film we are discussing).

Kolker, Film, Form, and Culture, 2^nd ed. Please read and go through CD immediately.          

___A Cinema of Loneliness, 3^rd ed. (CoL—appropriate sections of Kubrick Chapter).

Note that, unless otherwise indicated, Tuesdays and Thursdays are reserved for discussion of the film and readings seen and read following the previous week’s screenings. Therefore, most Tuesdays are not listed on the syllabus