Film Studies 550 - Arthouse Cinema

This seminar will examine the cultural phenomenon of the "art film" during the first three decades of the postwar period (1950s, 60s, 70s). The nature and characteristics of, as well as the relationships connecting and distinguishing, modernist cinema, art cinema, and avant-garde film during this vital period in film history will be one of the course's concerns. We will examine the notion of the auteur and consider its usefulness for thinking about this multiform, innovative cinema. What is the relationship between cinematic modernism and the core principles and representational strategies of modern art? Does modern cinema, as Gilles Deleuze suggests, function as a mental substitute for the lost connection between the individual and the world? Can it restore our belief in the world? The course will pay particular attention to distinctive stylistic attributes but will also look at dominant patterns of narrative form as well as persistent thematic concerns. Most weeks we will watch and analyze two films.

"This course is reserved for Film Studies majors, film certificate students, and graduate students. Students should have taken an introduction to film course and at least two film courses at the 300 level."