Undergraduate Course: Film Criticism and Analysis (CLLC10002)

Course Outline
School	School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate)	Availability	Available to all students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	Film Criticism and Analysis will introduce students to the interpretation of film through a consideration of the ways in which film style influences the meaning of any individual film. The course will also consider the history and development of film criticism and will present various theoretical and philosophical approaches to the study of film. This course is open to year 4 Honours students in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures who are interested in film (except DELC joint degree students). No prior film study is necessary but if you love cinema and are keen on engaging seriously with its study, then Film Criticism and Analysis will give you the opportunity to learn to think and write about film in more depth. The course will survey a broad range of film genres including contemporary popular film as well as art house cinema. At least 50% of films screened will be in English while any non-English language films will be subtitled. Delivery will be in English.
Course description	Proposed Syllabus for 2015-16: Week 1: Interpreting and Evaluating Film Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, USA, 2012) Week 2: Cinematic Narrative and Narration Mad Detective (San taam, Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai, Hong Kong, 2007) Week 3: Film Form and Meaning: Mise-en-scčne and Cinematography, Sound and Editing Berberian Sound Studio (Peter Strickland, 2012) Week 4: Semiotics and Film The Angels' Share (Ken Loach, UK, 2012) Week 5: Psychoanalysis and Film Maps to the Stars (David Cronenberg, USA, 2014) Week 6: Acting in Film Damsels in Distress (Whit Stillman, 2011) Week 7: Cognitivist Film Theory Memento (Christopher Nolan, USA, 2000) Week 8: Genre Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, UK, 2013) Week 9: Auteur Theory My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, Canada, 2007) Week 10: Realist theory Le fils (The Son) (Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, Belgium, 2002) Week 11: Affective and Haptic Approaches Leviathan (Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel, Russia, 2012) The course offers an introduction to the practice and theory of film criticism and analysis.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations	Students MUST NOT also be taking	Other requirements	Entry to honours in a degree owned by the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures. Division of European Languages & Cultures: this course is not open to students on joint degrees, only single honours.

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	Not open to visiting students.
High Demand Course?	Yes

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: 35
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 11, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 22, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 152 )
Additional Information (Learning and Teaching)	Practical = 2 hour film screening (weekly)
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 60 %, Coursework 40 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	2500 word essay (40%) 2 hour examination (60%)
Feedback	Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)			2:00

Academic year 2015/16, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)		Quota: 5
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 11, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 22, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 152 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 60 %, Coursework 40 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	2500 word essay (40%) 2 hour examination (60%)
Feedback	Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)			2:00

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: - To understand the development of film criticism and analysis - To be conversant with the major approaches to film criticism and theory - To analyse individual films using particular theoretical approaches - To understand film as an aesthetic art form - To write critically about film in an academic tone

Reading List
Bordwell, David (1989) Making Meaning: Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema. Harvard: Harvard University Press. Branigan, Edward (1992) Narrative Comprehension and Film. London: Routledge. Braudy, Leo and Marshall Cohen (eds.) (2004) Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. 6th edt. Oxford University Press: Oxford. Elsaesser, Thomas and Warren Buckland (2002) Studying Contemporary American Film: A Guide to Movie Analysis. Hodder Arnold: London. Etherington-Wright Christine and Ruth Doughty (2011) Understanding Film Theory. Houndmills: Palgrave McMillan. Gibbs, John (2002) Mise-en-Scčne: Film Style and Interpretation. London and New York: Wallflower. Hayward, Susan (2000) Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. Routledge: London & New York. Miller, Toby and Robert Stam (eds.) (1999) A Companion to Film Theory. Blackwell: Malden, Mass. and Oxford. Nichols, Bill (ed.) (1976) Movies and Methods: An Anthology, Volume I. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles and London. Orpen, Valerie (2003) Film Editing: The Art of the Expressive. London and New York: Wallflower. Nichols, Bill (ed.) (1985) Movies and Methods: An Anthology, Volume II. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles and London. Rushton, Richard and Gary Bettinson (2010) What is Film Theory? An Introduction to Contemporary Debates. New York: McGraw Hill and Open University Press.

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills	Critical thinking, Time organisation, Cultural awareness, Aesthetic sensibility
Keywords	Film Theory; Film-Philosophy; Criticism; Analysis; Cinema; Interpretation; Style; Aesthetics

Contacts
Course organiser	Dr David Sorfa Tel: Email: David.Sorfa@ed.ac.uk	Course secretary	Mr David Lonergan Tel: (0131 6)50 6949 Email: David.Lonergan@ed.ac.uk