Metropolis Research; Charlie Chaplin: Day 1

Our class ends today at 9:15.

Period 1: We will continue the documentary The Metropolis Case, directed by Enno Patalas (2003), Transit Film. Until 8:30, please prepare and work on either your silent film or your Metropolis paper. Research papers are due Tuesday, March 26.

• Your paper should be between 3-5 pages, double spaced.
• It should include AT LEAST 3 secondary sources that are referred to and cited in your paper. (please include an MLA formatted works cited page with your paper). MLA format can be found here. 
• PLEASE NOTE: You may not use Wikipedia as one of your 3 sources. You may use it as a 4th or 5th or 6th source if you wish.
• Your MLA formatted citation page does NOT count as one of your 3-5 page, double-spaced pages.
• You will need to take notes, research your topic, and type your final paper. 
• Please include a title for your paper that clarifies to your paper's thesis/topic. 
• The paper is due March 26. 

To cite a film or video found on a website, use the following structure:

Last name, First name of the creator or director. “Title of the film or video.” Title of the website, role of contributors and their First name Last name (if known), Version, Numbers, Publisher, Publication date, URL.

Use this citation structure if citing a film or video found on a database, such as Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and/or HBO Go.

Last name, First name of the creator or director. Title of the film or video. Role of contributors and their First name Last name, Version, Numbers, Publisher, Publication date. Database name, url.

At 8:30, let's begin our discussion of Charlie Chaplin.

Charlie Chaplin, an Overview

"All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman, and a pretty girl." -Sir Charles Chaplin

Sir Charles Chaplin (1889-1977)

• Born in 1889 in London, UK to theatrical parents
• Chaplin’s childhood was one of extreme poverty and hardship
• Abandoned by an alcoholic father and left with a mentally unstable mother who was unable to support him, he struggled through life in the poor house and on the streets
• He learnt much of his timing and technique in the employment of impresario Fred Karno (1866-1941) whose troupe he left during an American tour in 1913
• Offered a contract by Keystone Films
• After 1914, he convinced Keystone producer Mack Sennett to allow him to direct his own films - often wrote, directed, acted and composed his own musical scores for his films
• In many silent shorts, he established the grammar and ground rules of screen comedy using his physical dexterity and pantomime skills to create expertly choreographed, visually humorous entertainment that mixed irreverence, romance, and pathos (feeling)
• Co-founder of United Artists in 1919
• Married Oona O’Neill (daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill)
• His left-wing sympathies caused him to emigrate to Switzerland during the 1950’s, McCarthy period
• He published his autobiography in 1964 and was knighted in 1975
• Chaplin died on Christmas day, 1977
• A writer Performer, director, composer and icon, he was a vital figure in the development of the screen comedy Films (incomplete list): Making a Living (1913) Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914) The Champion (1915) The Tramp (1915) The Pawnshop (1916) The Rink (1916) A Dog’s Life (1918) The Kid (1921) The Gold Rush (1925) City Lights (1931) Modern Times (1936) The Great Dictator (1940) Limelight (1952) A King in New York (1957) A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)

The Rink (1916, short film)

HOMEWORK: Complete your Metropolis papers drafts; shoot your silent films.

Metropolis: Day 3 (Conclusion)

As we watch the last part of Metropolis, continue taking notes about your chosen paper topic. See previous posts for materials/links for secondary sources. Here are a few more:

The Magic of Metropolis (web article/blog)
1927 Magazine Looks at Metropolis (Smithsonian web article)
Fantastic Explanations of Movie Trickery (web article)
Visual Themes and Special Effects in Metropolis (web article/blog)
Suit Acting and Android Fashion (web article)
Theatre's Great Influence on the Set Design and Acting (web article/blog)
Mise-en-Scene in Metropolis (web article)
Observations on Film Art (web article)
Expressionist Mise-en-Scene in Metropolis (web article)
Structures of Narrativity in Metropolis (article)
The Full Metropolis: Footage Restored to Fritz Lang's Metropolis (NY Times Article)

For scholarly articles and resources (which you should use...) check out Google scholar.

Chicago Style: Footnotes; for this paper, you may use Chicago Style footnotes (see link) instead of MLA formatted citations to reference when you are citing a source. Remember that when you report information you had to look up (not common knowledge, your own experience or ideas, or something you didn't know before you looked it up), you need to cite your source!

How to Footnote a Website

• Visit the website for which the footnote is being created.
• Locate (if possible) the name of the web page author. Write down the name of the website, the date the information was published online, the site URL and the date that you visited the page.
• List the recorded information in order, using commas. MLA format example: John Smith, “The Hot Summer Sidewalk,” 2009, http://www.thehotsidewalk.com (accessed September 25, 2010).
• Note whether or not the website has a date of publication by using “n.d.” to signify “no date”.

NOTE: Only one sentence is used in a Footnote or Endnote citation, i.e., only one period or full stop is used at the end of any Footnote or Endnote citation. In a Bibliography, each citation consists of a minimum of three statements or sentences, hence each entry requires a minimum of three periods, e.g., a period after the author statement, a period after the title statement, and a period after the publication statement (publication/publisher/publication date).

I should expect to see at least 3 secondary sources that you use in your 3-5 page research paper. Remember that the first 3 sources cannot include Wikipedia.

HOMEWORK: None.

Metropolis: Day 2

Film history and analysis:

Reviews are written to encourage an audience for a film. The film historian's job is to connect history (both world history and events, as well as the history of film) with the artistry of film and the film industry (including the actors, director, producers, editors, technicians, cinematographers, and writers).

You are going to pick a topic for a film PAPER--a scholarly research paper that examines an aspect of Metropolis, the film.

1. Write about the effective use of special effects (including titles and music to affect tone); You may look here for further help in writing your paper.
2. Write about the effectiveness of the cinematography (the shots, angles, lighting, composition of the shots, mise-en-shot, mise-en-scene, etc.) and the cinematographer of the film: Karl Freund
3. Pick a major character in the movie and analyze the actor's portrayal of the character: i.e., examine his/her acting, effective portrayal of the role, etc. The cast list can be found here at IMDB.com.
4. Write about the effectiveness of the plot, film script, and story elements of the film: Frequency, Narration, Story, Plot, Order, Narrative Format, Sequence, etc. and the film's author: Thea von Harbou (see link above).
5. Write about the film as a historical vehicle. Answer: how is Metropolis the epitome and culmination of the Golden Age of silent film? What events in the 1920's triggered it--how did it affect the people of its period, etc?
6. Write about the effective use of theme in the film. Why is the film still relevant today? How has the film inspired other films after it? Why is this theme important for us to learn? What does it say or criticize about humanity?

The nitty-gritty details:

• Your paper should be between 3-5 pages, double spaced.
• It should include AT LEAST 3 secondary sources that are referred to and cited in your paper. (please include an MLA formatted works cited page with your paper). MLA format can be found here. 
• PLEASE NOTE: You may not use Wikipedia as one of your 3 sources. You may use it as a 4th or 5th or 6th source, if you wish.
• Your MLA formatted citation page does NOT count as one of your 3-5 page, double-spaced pages.
• You will need to take notes, research your topic, and type your final paper. 
• Please include a title for your paper that clarifies to your paper's thesis/topic. 
• The paper is due March 26. As we watch the film, you should begin to conduct your research and gather your sources. You may find it helpful to use the links I've provided as a starting point:

The Metropolis Case (part 1; parts 2-3 can be viewed online as well...)
Roger Ebert's Film Review
IMC's Film Review
Metropolis' Occult Symbolism
Metropolis: Masterpiece or Museum Piece (podcast review & analysis)
Metropolis Special Effects (clip)
Hyperinflation in Germany, 1920's
Rise of Communism & Fascism in the 1920's 
Why was the Weimar Period the Golden Age of Germany?
The Spartacist Rising
The Roaring 20's: Crash Course

HOMEWORK: Work on your silent film projects.

Fritz Lang - Metropolis: Day 1

Period 1: Until 7:45: plan your silent film project. No ideas? Take a look at last classes student films as an example. Still confused and unsure? Take a look at this article for other ideas. 

Then, we'll finish our look at Eisenstein, the Montage, and German cinema in the 1920's with the director Fritz Lang.

Fritz Lang born in Vienna, Germany, 1890 -- the son of an architect, he dropped out of college to fight in the Great War (WWI)

After the war, Lang met producer Erich Pommer who worked for the movie company Declar--
Later Declar becomes UFA (the largest film company in Europe)

1919 - Lang directs his first film “Halbblut” (the Half-Caste)
1920 - Meets writer Thea von Harbou, marries her in 1922

Thea von Harbou wrote all of Lang’s films (including Metropolis) until 1933 when they divorced.

1925-1926 - Lang makes the film Metropolis which is drastically cut and distributed over the world Lang forms his own production company; Thea is his main writer
1931 - Lang directs M (with actor Peter Lorre)
1932 - The Testimony of Dr. Mabuse (banned because it criticized the Nazi party)
1933 - Lang immigrated to the U.S.
1934 - Lang is offered a contract by David Selznick, a producer at MGM. He goes on to make several films (mixing styles), ends up going blind and dying in 1975.

MAJOR FILMS: Halbblut (Half-Caste) (1919) Dr. Mabuse (1922) (serial) Die Niebelungen (Siegfried; Kriemhild's Revenge) (1924). Metropolis (1926) Spies (1928) M (1931) The Last Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1932) Fury (1936) You Only Live Once
(1937) Western Union (1941) Man Hunt (1941) The Ministry of Fear (1944) Cloak and Dagger (1946) Secret Beyond the Door (1948) The Big Heat (1953) Moonfleet (1955) While the City Sleeps (1956). Die Tausend Augend des Dr. Mabuse ("The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse") 1960

Film history and analysis:

Reviews are written to encourage an audience for a film. The film historian's job is to connect history (both world history and events, as well as the history of film) with the artistry of film and the film industry (including the actors, director, producers, editors, technicians, cinematographers, and writers).

You are going to pick a topic for a film PAPER--a scholarly research paper that examines an aspect of Metropolis, the film.

1. Write about the effective use of special effects (including titles and music to affect tone); You may look here for further help in writing your paper.
2. Write about the effectiveness of the cinematography (the shots, angles, lighting, composition of the shots, mise-en-shot, mise-en-scene, etc.) and the cinematographer of the film: Karl Freund
3. Pick a major character in the movie and analyze the actor's portrayal of the character: i.e., examine his/her acting, effective portrayal of the role, etc. The cast list can be found here at IMDB.com.
4. Write about the effectiveness of the plot, film script, and story elements of the film: Frequency, Narration, Story, Plot, Order, Narrative Format, Sequence, etc. and the film's author: Thea von Harbou (see link above).
5. Write about the film as a historical vehicle. Answer: how is Metropolis the epitome and culmination of the Golden Age of silent film? What events in the 1920's triggered it--how did it affect the people of its period, etc?
6. Write about the effective use of theme in the film. Why is the film still relevant today? How has the film inspired other films after it? Why is this theme important for us to learn? What does it say or criticize about humanity?

The nitty-gritty details:

• Your paper should be between 3-5 pages, double spaced.
• It should include AT LEAST 3 secondary sources that are referred to and cited in your paper. (please include an MLA formatted works cited page with your paper). MLA format can be found here. 
• PLEASE NOTE: You may not use Wikipedia as one of your 3 sources. You may use it as a 4th or 5th or 6th source, if you wish.
• Your MLA formatted citation page does NOT count as one of your 3-5 page, double-spaced pages.
• You will need to take notes, research your topic, and type your final paper. 
• Please include a title for your paper that clarifies to your paper's thesis/topic. 
• The paper is due March 26. As we watch the film, you should begin to conduct your research and gather your sources. You may find it helpful to use the links I've provided as a starting point:

The Metropolis Case (part 1; parts 2-3 can be viewed online as well...)
Roger Ebert's Film Review
IMC's Film Review
Metropolis' Occult Symbolism
Metropolis: Masterpiece or Museum Piece (podcast review & analysis)
Metropolis Special Effects (clip)
Hyperinflation in Germany, 1920's
Rise of Communism & Fascism in the 1920's 
Why was the Weimar Period the Golden Age of Germany?
The Spartacist Rising
The Roaring 20's: Crash Course

HOMEWORK: Begin researching and taking notes about the film as homework. Bring your notes to class during the viewing of the film. Find 3 sources on your own regarding the film and the topic you chose.

The Call of Cthulhu (2005); Sergei Eisenstein & The Montage

This morning we'll return to finish our discussion of German Expressionism and its influence on horror film, then screen "The Call of Cthulhu" as an example of the form.

By now you should have a premise for your own silent film project. If you still need inspiration and ideas, you are welcome to view these past student films on your own time:

Student Silent Film Projects: 

• It's a Skyscraper's Life
• Czar Wars
• Mismatch Made in Heaven
• The Sadistic Satanic Sixes
• The Cloning Machine

And remember not to do something like this... (running in the halls is not interesting...)

With time remaining in class, we'll come back to this project today. Otherwise, start planning your silent film ideas and we'll return to this project in the days to come. Again, the project is due April 13-19.

Period 2: Montage & Sergei Eisenstein

• Battleship Potemkin (Odessa Step Sequence) (1925); & Battleship Potemkin (1925, full film)
• Soviet Montage: Crash Course #8

The most influential filmmaker of early Russian film was Sergei Eisenstein.

Eisenstein is remembered in film for his contribution of the montage. Unlike continuity editing (editing a film to create a clear and concise sequence of events in the narrative (linear)), montage used the juxtaposition of images to create an emotional impact on the viewer.

The montage changed the way filmmakers approached film narrative. It allows a filmmaker to tell a story through a sequence of shots that manipulate time. The jumble of images and cuts of a montage affect the psychological impact and effect of the film's content. See the crash course #8 for more details on how this works. There are 5 types of montage:

Metric

Rhythmic 

Tonal

Over-tonal

Intellectual/Ideological

We will discuss these in further detail next class.

The montage technique is still used in editing today. 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 and click at this link for an explanation of how this works.

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

• Oktober; and (Oktober: the full film 1928)
• 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.

Eisenstein was not the only early Russian filmmaker genius. Enter: Dziga Vertov: Man With a Movie Camera (1929, trailer)

Man With a Movie Camera (1929, full film by Dziga Vertov--another very influential Russian filmmaker. You may watch this film for extra credit if you'd like.

HOMEWORK: Please read the article on Sergei Eisenstein (from last class's handout) and complete the crash course videos (#1-#8) if you missed any.

German Expressionism; The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)

Take the first 10 minutes of class this morning to read Robert Weine's "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and F. W. Murnau's "Sunrise" articles--we will cover these fellows during class.

Watch the following video on German Expressionism. Take notes.

Expressionism

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

• Expressionism begins in Europe around 1906 in painting and theatre
• Style is unrealistic, stylized
• Attention is often given to angles
• Depicts distorted perspectives
• Narrow, tall streets and buildings, odd angles (set pieces)
• Lighting is “dramatic”; Use of shadows
• Actors are grotesque, exaggerated make-up
• Dark, nightmarish tones & moods suggest horror
• 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...)

Robert Weine's bio

• Cabinet of Dr. Caligari – Robert Weine (director) 1919; Let's take a look.
• Hands of Orlac (1924, trailer); Hands of Orlac (1924, fan review)
• Hands of Orlac (1924, full film--extra credit option)

F.W. Murnau's bio

• F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922); Nosferatu (1922, full film); or Nosferatu with Erdmann's score (better music) 
• F. W. Murnau's Sunrise (trailer, 1927)

The following 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?

• Paul Wegener's Der Golem (1920), (full film, 1920)
• Carl Laemmle's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923); (full film, 1923), starring Lon Chaney (the man of a thousand faces...  watch this film and the documentary and critique it for extra credit)
• Carl Laemmle's Phantom of the Opera (1925); Phantom of the Opera (full film, 1925) with Lon Chaney (see above)
• Harry Hoyt's The Lost World (really sci-fi/romance/adventure...) (1925) (full film, 1925)
• Paul Leni's' The Cat and the Canary (1927), (full film, 1927)

Contemporary films that use expressionism in part or whole:

• The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1972, trailer & full film)
• David Lynch's Eraserhead (1977, trailer); David Lynch: Surrealist of Americana (short documentary)
• Guy Maddin's Careful (1992, Trailer); Guy Maddin documentary
• Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula (1992, trailer); the making of Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola)
• Shadow of the Vampire (2000, trailer)
• The Call of Cthulhu (2005, trailer)
• Pan's Labyrinth (2006, trailer), interview with Guillermo Del Toro

Screening: The Call of Cthulhu (contemporary silent film model; 2005)

HOMEWORK: Read the two articles in your packet ("The Hays Code" & "Sergei Eisenstein & the Montage") for homework. Take notes on key ideas/information.

Begin planning your silent film project (due early April). 

Raiders of the Lost Ark: Conclusion

Please turn in your film pitch projects. (See previous post for details!)

We will view the conclusion of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Please complete your film notes and turn in by the end of class today. We will discuss the film at its conclusion.

• What elements make this film a good example of a summer blockbuster?
• What are the most memorable scenes or images from the film? Why?
• How might the film have inspired other "comic book" blockbuster films?
• If you were to write a blockbuster film script, what kind of shots or scenes might you include?
• Does the film have any value in our society today? Why might the film be considered one of the best films of all time? Explain.
• Other*

Elements of Narrative Film:

• Story: a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end focusing on one or more characters.
• Plot: the order of events and actions of a story.
• Characters: major characters and minor characters anchor the events of a narrative.
• Characters are generally a mid-point between ordinary and extraordinary. They can represent ideas (minor characters usually) or stand in for the typical movie-going viewer (major; protagonist). Antagonists generally reflect the opposite aspects of the protagonist.
• Characterization can include the values, actions, behaviors of the character; actors, directors, and writers tend to represent characters, sometimes through stereotypes or archetypes.
• Characters are developed through a change of status. This may be an external or internal change. Change may be progressive (growth) or regressive.
• A film's narrative is affected by the diegetic and non-diegetic elements. 
• Narrative patterns can be linear storylines, flashbacks/flashforwards, or non-linear patterns.
• One temporal scheme in a narrative film is the deadline structure. This structure accelerates the action toward a central event or action that must be accomplished before the resolution. For example, how does this temporal scheme work in a film like Raiders of the Lost Ark?
• Parallel plots use two or more plots that occur simultaneously; they often intersect by the climax of the narrative.
• Narrative duration refers to the length of time within which an event or action is presented (shown) in the film.
• Frequency refers to how often plot elements repeat.
• Narrative frames depict the POV of a narrative. Often the camera determines whose POV we are supposed to identify with.
• The narrative can also be reflexive (commenting on itself--like The Disaster Artist), unreliable, or use multiple narrations. 
• Classical film narrative centers on one or more central characters who propel the plot with cause-and-effect logic, whereby an action generates a reaction. It usually develops a linear plot, with progressive characters. Acting, setting, and cinematography tend to be realistic in style. 
• Avant-garde or Formalistic film narrative tends to deviate from the classical/realistic narrative style. Plots are reflexive, or question/challenge realism; Expressionistic; plots, characters, settings may be metaphorical or symbolic. Camera work or photography tends to bring attention to itself. 

When writing about narratology, you want to examine your film's script for its narrative techniques. You should be able to identify the narrative style, the beginning, middle, and end of the plot; major events that provide meaning (duration/frequency, etc.), identify the use of characters, setting, meaning; identify the diegetic and non diegetic elements of the film, the structure of the plot, important scenes, and use the vocabulary listed here and in the articles you have read.

HOMEWORK: Read the handouts.