SELCS

French Film


Course code: FREN1106.
Course unit value: 0.5.

This course is taught in the Autumn Term

These seminars introduce the student to the methodology of film study, including sequence analysis, in the context of French cinema between 1957 and 2009. This course is compulsory for French with Film Studies students and available to single-subject students as well as to francophone CS/ML/MLP/ESPS students.

Assessment: one unseen three-hour written exam (100%). Satisfactory completion of the coursework is normally a prerequisite for examination entry.

Tutor: Dr J Matlock

Preparatory reading and principal films to be studied:

  • Louis Giannetti, Understanding Movies, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall (any edition after 3rd edition). This is an expensive volume to buy new; you are advised that used copies are readily available from the US version of www.amazon.com at much reduced rates. Before purchasing, you should make sure that the dealer represented by Amazon is able to ship internationally. Also check the shipping charges.
  • L'Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (Louis Malle 1957)
  • Le Petit Soldat (Jean-Luc Godard 1960)
  • L’Année dernière à Marienbad (Alain Resnais 1961)
  • Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda 1961)
  • La Noire de... (Ousmane Sembene 1966)
  • La Nuit américaine (François Truffaut 1973)
  • Céline et Julie vont en bateau (Jacques Rivette 1974)
  • L'Argent (Robert Bresson 1983)
  • Rois et Reine (Armand Desplechin 2004)
  • White Material (Claire Denis 2009)
  • Students will also watch a second, complementary film in their own time each week.