Silent Film Selection for Analysis Homework Assignment & Extra Credit Silent Film Options

Here are some full silent film selections. Please choose at least 1 to watch and analyze. See handout. There are several to choose from, so please pick something you might be interested in. You may watch more films, of course, for extra credit.

If you'd like extra credit, watch and critique one (or more) of these films. Reviews should follow the review format we discussed earlier in the course. All extra credit assignments are due by end of marking period. You may do as many of them as you'd like from this list.

• Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)
• Oktober (Sergei Eisenstein, 1927)
• Nanook of the North (Flaherty, 1922)

Horror & German Expressionism, Mystery/Suspense

• Nosferatu (1922) Full film
• Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (full film with star actor Conrad Veidt)
• Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire (full film, Robert Wiene, 1920)
• The Hands of Orlac (full film, Robert Wiene, 1924 with star actor Conrad Veidt)
• Der Golem (full film)
• The Cat and the Canary (full film - silent)
• The Phantom of the Opera (full film)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (full film)
• Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (full film)
• The Lost World (1925 full film)
• The Lodger (1927) (Alfred Hitchcock's first film, full film)

Adventure/Action, Suspense & Romance:

Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

• The Mark of Zorro (1920)
• The Mark of Zorro (1920)
• The 3 Musketeers (1921) 
• Robin Hood (1922)
• The Thief of Baghdad (1924)
• The Black Pirate (1926)

Rudolph Valentino

• The Sheik (1921)
• Camille (1921)
• Blood and Sand (1924) 
• The Eagle (1925) 
• Cobra (1925) 
• The Son of the Sheik (1926)

Mary Pickford

• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917) 
• Poor Little Rich Girl
• Pollyanna (1919) 
• Daddy Long Legs (1919)

Janet Gaynor & Charles Farrell: 

• 7th Heaven (full film 1927)
• Lucky Star (full film 1929) 
• Sunnyside Up (full film 1929, a talkie!)

Clara Bow

• It 
• Get Your Man (1927) 

Conrad Veidt: 

• The Man Who Laughs (full film 1928)
• Different From Others (full film 1919); 

Lon Chaney, Sr. 

• The Phantom of the Opera (complete silent film, 1925), 
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (full film 1923); 
• Shadows (full film 1922); 
• The Shock (full film 1923); 
• Oliver Twist (full film 1922)

Cecil B. DeMille:

• The King of Kings (Biblical epic: 1927, Cecil B. DeMille)
• Male & Female (full film 1919 with Gloria Swanson, Cecil B. DeMille)

Oscar Micheaux:

• Within Our Gates (1919)
• Body and Soul (1925)
• The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920)
• The Scar of Shame (1927)

King Vidor:

• Hallelujah! (1929, early talkie)

Charlie Chaplin:

• The Gold Rush (1925)
• The Kid (1921)

Buster Keaton:

• Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1925)
• The General (1926)

HOMEWORK: Silent Film Analysis sheets are due March 24.

Eisenstein, Montage & Charlie Chaplin

Eisenstein & The Importance of Montage

As film continued to gain popularity, the film culture around the world inspired various directors and auteurs to create new and exciting films. The most influential film maker of early Russian film was Sergei Eisenstein.

Eisenstein is remembered in film for his contribution of the montage. The montage changed the way filmmakers approached film. It allows a filmmaker to tell a story through a sequence of shots that manipulate time. It is still used today and carries with it a psychological impact. In a script it is indicated by a series of descriptive lines, each spaced apart to indicate a series of shots, rather than description that would indicate one shot or scene. Click here for an example.

Here's a few clips from some of his films:

• Battleship Potemkin (Odessa Step Sequence) (1925)
• Oktober
• Alexander Nevsky (1928) (battle on the ice sequence) - Music by Sergei Prokofiev. We can see how the invention of sound in the next few years will revolutionize film. The exciting tone of the music, nicely reflects the glory, fear, and trepidation of the characters in this scene.

And now for something completely different--our first look at silent film comedy with Charlie Chaplin:

Charlie Chaplin
The Circus (1928, short film)
The Idle Class (1921, short film)
The Rink (1916, short film)

HOMEWORK: None.

Jaws (conclusion & discussion); German Expressionism

After screening Jaws (1975), please spend some time in discussion of the film. Use your notes to help create an intelligent discussion about the film.

Expressionism

“Why should an artist duplicate the real world when it already exists for everyone to see?”

• Begins in Europe around 1906 in painting and theatre
• Style is unrealistic, stylized
• Attention often given to angles
• Distorted perspectives
• Narrow, tall streets and buildings (set pieces)
• Lighting is “dramatic”; Use of shadows
• Actors are grotesque, exaggerated make-up
• Dark, nightmarish tones & moods
• Attempt to show the interior lives of characters through exteriors
• Expressionism influences Futurism (and Modernism)
• Expressionism influences Film Noir in the 1930’s (more on that later...)

Cabinet of Dr. Caligari – Robert Weine (director) 1919

On Youtube.com, please view clips from the following:

• F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922)
• Paul Wegener's Der Golem (1920)
• Carl Laemmle's Phantom of the Opera (1925)
• F. W. Murnau's Faust (1926, full film)
• Paul Leni's' The Cat and the Canary (1927)

These movies, along with Dr. Caligari, are influential in creating the "horror" genre in film. Why, do you think, is expressionism a good stylistic choice for horror films?

Here are some film selections. If you'd like extra credit, watch and critique one (or more) of these films. Reviews are due by end of marking period.

Nosferatu (1922) Full film
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (full film with star actor Conrad Veidt)
Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire (full film, Robert Wiene, 1920)
The Hands of Orlac (full film, Robert Wiene, 1924 with star actor Conrad Veidt)
Der Golem (full film)
The Cat and the Canary (full film - silent)
The Phantom of the Opera (full film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (full film)
Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (full film)
The Lost World (1925 full film)
The Lodger (1927) (Alfred Hitchcock's first film, full film)

Contemporary films like these also pay homage to the style: Careful by Guy Maddin (1992), the Shadow of the Vampire (2000) and The Call of Cthulhu (2006), The Artist (2011)

Carl Laemmle's 100 Years of Universal (director/producer of Universal studios)
F.W. Murnau's bio
Robert Weine's bio

Father of Documentary Film: Robert Flaherty
Nanook of the North (Robert Flaherty, 1922)

The Star Machine (Popular Actors of the Golden Age of Film):

From your notes you should also know the following blockbuster film stars of the early screen. Please watch their clips. Various famous Hollywood actors:

• Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in the Thief of Baghdad (1924), The Mark of Zorro (1920); the full version of The Thief of Baghdad can be found here. It's really a good film, all told. Douglas Fairbanks was known for doing his own stunts. Along with Chaplin and Pickford, he helped establish United Artists. Full film: The Black Pirate (1926); The Mark of Zorro (1920); The 3 Musketeers (1921); Robin Hood (1922)
• Rudolph Valentino's The Son of the Sheik (1926) & the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), Blood and Sand (1924); Full films can be found here: The Sheik (1921); The Son of the Sheik (1926); Blood and Sand (1924); The Eagle (1925); Cobra (1925), Camille (1921)
• Mary Pickford (1917) The Poor Little Rich Girl; Full films: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917); Poor Little Rich Girl; Pollyanna (1919); Daddy Long Legs (1919)
• America's Lovebirds or America's Sweethearts: Janet Gaynor & Charles Farrell; 7th Heaven (full film 1927); Lucky Star (full film 1929); Sunnyside Up (full film 1929, a talkie!)
• Clara Bow in It (1927); It (full film); Get Your Man (full film 1927) 
• Conrad Viedt (mentioned above): Different From Others (full film 1919); The Man Who Laughs (full film 1928)
• The Man of a Thousand Faces, Lon Chaney, The Phantom of the Opera (complete silent film, 1925), The Unmasking Scene from Phantom (clip), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (full film 1923); Shadows (full film 1922); The Shock (full film 1923); Oliver Twist (full film 1922)
• And a few others: The King of Kings (full film 1927, Cecil B. DeMille)
• Gloria Swanson in: Male & Female (full film 1919, Cecil B. DeMille)

Jaws (Conclusion)

If you have not yet done so, please turn in your film concept worksheet for partial participation credit.

Today we will screen the conclusion of Jaws (1975).

Geva's Playwriting Contest is due tomorrow (March 9). Please submit a 10-minute play. You have them--submit! Submit here: Attn: Young Playwright's Contest:

to youngwriters@gevatheatre.org.

HOMEWORK: Read the handout on The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (German Expressionism), Nanook of the North, and the Hayes Code chapters. Answer the questions as homework.

Student Film Documentaries: Early History of Film; Characteristics of Blockbusters; Jaws (Part 1)

EQ: Who were some of the early film stars, producers, and directors? What are some of the qualities of a blockbuster and how might we apply these characteristics to the film Jaws (1975)?

Student Film Documentaries

Rashid: Billy Bitzer
Robert: Thomas Harper Ince
Cameron: Nickelodeons
Jasmina: Lilian & Dorothy Gish, Mae Marsh
Rosalia: Vitagraph & Co.
Frieda: Kinemacolor
Alannah: Goldwyn, Fox, Warner Bros.
Olivia: Alice Guy Blanche
Avana: Lon Chaney, Sr.
Nandi: Lois Weber
Jahde: Frances Marion

Creative Writing Prompt: After screening these student films, please come up with your own idea for a "blockbuster" film. If you had an unlimited budget, what kind of film would you make? Take a few minutes and create an idea. See handouts.

Characteristics of a Blockbuster

Blockbuster films make money. So much money. Films that make money are often called "blockbuster" films. Those that lose money are called "bombs."

Here are some tongue-in-cheek rules concerning blockbuster films by Charlie Jane Anders:

• If your kid hasn't heard of it, don't spend $200 million on it
• Genre mash-ups only work if both genres are popular
• Spend less on the first film in a series and more on the sequels
• When dealing with a familiar hero or character, go back to the source material or original concept
• Pay attention to the structure of the original (particularly in sequels)
• Blockbuster films have to play overseas in the foreign market
• Things that sound funny, should be funny (Sharknado, for example...)
• Remember the human element: special effects does not a blockbuster make
• Fans are a double-edged sword: they love your content/subject matter--but then...they love your content/subject matter.

Blockbusters are usually:

• Advertised or heavily marketed
• Based on advertised/heavily marketed material (books, games, pop cultural items, etc.)
• Use familiar (well-known) directors or actors in major roles
• Action films
• Epic in scope and story (life versus death stuff...; the fate of all hangs in the balance...)
• Costume dramas or historical fiction
• Include special effects that involve explosions
• Have a male protagonist
• Deal with themes that can be easily recognizable (life, nature, death, love...)
• Have an underlying religious theme or strong belief in the power of good
• End happily for the protagonist, usually by saving the day

Of course there's no set guarantee that your film will be a blockbuster, but if you hit upon some of these elements, it is more likely you are making a blockbuster.

So let's see how this holds up as we watch the film Jaws (1975). Directed by Steven Spielberg. Written by Carl Gottlieb & Peter Benchley (from his novel: originally titled The Stillness of the Water). Before we begin let's learn a little about the film and read the first few pages of the script. See your handouts for details.

For more information about the film, please check here: Jaws and the full script is here.

HOMEWORK: None.

Complete Documentary Projects; Academy Awards Discussion & the Modern Blockbuster

Please use the first 30 minutes of class this morning to complete your film projects. These are due. Several of you have completed your documentary and have sent me the link. Please make sure you do this after you upload your film to YouTube so that we can screen your work next class!

If you are done: please either review the Academy Award winners or...
Please check out the blockbuster information below. Read, watch video clips, and take notes on the material.

During 2nd period we will discuss the Academy Awards & Blockbusters.

The Modern Blockbuster

Sony unveiled their VTR (video tape recorder) in 1967, but it wasn't until the 1970's that it took the world by storm. The early versions cost a prohibitive $1,000 to $4,000! That's about 8-10 I-phones and at least as many TiVos--whoever uses those anymore?

Watching movies in your home threatened the movie industry, but under the Betamax VCR (1975) viewers could watch pornography without feeling guilty about it (the internet had not yet established itself). As fall-out, the porn and "X" film production grew, and later would help release a whole host of B-films which would not receive a wide release in cinemas. Many films today are not distributed except through direct-to-digital-video. Netflix, HBO, Amazon, etc. are all trying to create their own content as digital streaming becomes our next, greatest challenge to the movie industry. But first, a little history:

Steven Spielberg (American New Wave director/Auteur) filmed his blockbuster Jaws in 1975. The success of the book and the film began to show the possibility of mass-produced entertainment and gave film a legitimacy through popular culture. There were few film programs in colleges and schools at this time. You may recall Spielberg's other work (mostly blockbusters, like Jaws). After the Blockbuster phenomenon, film gained much attention (and money).

Writers like Michael Crichton and Stephen King became quite wealthy as popular authors since so many people went to see the movies based on their books. Now, bestsellers almost always get made into films as a way to capitalize on profits (J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, for example). Stan Lee is also doing nicely as every year or so another Marvel superhero movie leads the summer blockbuster scene. Here are a few of Spielberg's films:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
E.T. (1982)

George Lucas on the other hand created the single most influential film in the 1970's with his space opera (part IV) of the seminal Star Wars (1978). Both Jaws and Star Wars became the first two films to make more than $100 million, rocketing both directors into fame!

Star Wars (1977)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and the famous "melting face scene just for fun - SPOILER."

In 1982 the film Tron (1982) effectively used CGI for its special effects. Since then CGI has been married to the Hollywood Blockbuster.

Westworld (1973) (same author as Jurassic Park: Michael Crichton)
The Black Hole (1979)
Star Trek (1979) (VO by Orson Welles)

As you might note, CGI greatly improved the sci-fi genre.

Now, the goal of Hollywood remains to produce a blockbuster film. These are traditionally action-packed epics chock-ful of CGI and special effects. Many films also are mass produced so that even if the film fails at the box office, the production company can make back a loss by selling the music tracks, toys, or DVD's.

Recent blockbusters include:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Jurassic World (2015) 652.3 Million
Avatar (2009) $2,782,275,172 Billion
Titanic (1997) $2,185,246,990 Billion
The Avengers (2012) $552.7 Million (and counting)
The Dark Knight (2008) $533 Million
Spider Man (2002) $403.7 Million
E.T. (1982) $359.2 Million (see clip above)
Jurassic Park (1993) $357.1 Million
Forrest Gump (1994) $329.7 Million

Top 100 Box Office Blockbusters of All Time It pays to be a producer!

And for perspective, some top films that flopped:
47 Ronin (2013) 151 Million
Tomorrowland (2015)
Cutthroat Island (1995) loss of $147 Million
The Alamo (2004)  loss of $146 Million (we lost the battle as well)
The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) loss of $145 Million
Pan (2015) 

The Academy Awards; Film Documentary Project

This morning, please work on your documentary film projects. Aim to complete these today, if possible, and upload to Youtube. Please send me the URL link for your work in the comment section below. We will screen them next week.

If you finish early (before the end of the period) or even if you don't, please read and take notes on the following topic:

The Academy Awards

The Academy Awards®, known as the Oscars®, are the oldest, best known and famous film awards. The awards have been presented annually (the first ceremony was held in May, 1929) by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), based in Beverly Hills, California (founded in 1927).

"Except for the early years of the institution, the awards honored films made during the previous 12-month calendar year. Films also had to be over 40 minutes long to qualify as feature-length. Until 1954, the Oscars were presented mostly on a Thursday evening. From 1955 to 1958, they were presented on a Wednesday. From 1959 until 1998 the Oscars were, with a few exceptions, presented on a Monday night. Only since 1999 has the Awards ceremony taken place on a Sunday (traditionally in March). In 2004, the ceremony was moved even earlier (thus the February date) to improve ratings and to be more relevant to the awards 'season'.

Comments About the Awards Themselves:

The establishment of the Academy (and its awards system) has had a major effect and influence upon the film industry, due to the enormous boost a nomination or award (for a film, designer, or actor) creates, by giving prestige and bottom-line profits to a studio or performer.

Studios have often engaged in expensive marketing and advertising campaigns to sway votes. The Academy has, with limited success, tried to limit the influences of pressure groups and promotion, box office gross receipts, and studio public relations and marketing on voting results. It has also attempted to limit votes for melodramatic sentimentality, atonement for past mistakes, personal popularity, and "prestige" or epic scale, but those influences have often had a decided effect upon the outcome of some of the poll results.

Unfortunately, the critical worth, artistic vision, cultural influence, and innovative qualities of many films are not given the same voting weight. Especially since the 80s, moneymaking 'formula-made' blockbusters with glossy production values have often been crowd-pleasing titans (and Best Picture winners), but they haven't necessarily been great films with depth or critical acclaim by any measure." 

See Tim Dirk's site for "The Worst Academy Awards Oscars" for more information. Read the article online, then click "NEXT" at the bottom to continue viewing the article. This includes information about the Academy Award winners, as well.

"Like any other awards, recognitions, or "best" lists, the top nominees and winners do not necessarily reflect or objectively measure the greatest that cinematic history has to offer. Many of the most Deserving Films of All Time (see Films Without Awards) did not win Academy Awards® (and in some cases were not even included in the nominees). In addition, Top Box-Office Films aren't always guaranteed awards success either. And certain Film Genres (notably westerns, science fiction, and comedy) as well as independent films are not represented in balanced numbers throughout Oscar history." - Tim Dirks

For information about the 2016 Oscars, check out this site! You can find trailers for the Oscar nominations at this site. Please watch a few trailers. You might even predict the winners.

For those of you more socially conscious, consider this year's Academy Award boycott:

• Oscars So White (LA Times)
• Will Smith on 2016 Oscars Boycott
• The Oscars Diversity Controversy (a good summary from ThinkProgress.org)

HOMEWORK: Complete your documentary film project. Read the article on the Oscars and watch the Academy Awards this Sunday, Feb. 28 (or if you cannot you can review the winners Monday--or if you wish to protest with the boycott, read and understand the links above concerning this issue and be prepared to discuss in class.)

Monday's class will examine the issue at hand as well as Blockbusters and the Academy Awards. Please come prepared to participate.