Introduction to Italian Cinema

From Silents to the New Anti-Mafia Films

Italian 80 / Comparative Literature 280 / Film Studies 240

Fall, 2002

Professor Victoria Kirkham

534 Williams Hall

Office hours: Tues. 4-5; Thurs. 11-12

8-6028; vkirkham@sas.upenn.edu

Goals of the course

This course 1) introduces cinema as a medium, teaching vocabulary of film analysis, criticism, and theory; 2) introduces Italian cinema through the work of twelve major directors from 1912 to the present, focussing on major movements and genres, while exploring the close connections between film and national culture in Italy; 3) provides a cultural background on Italian history and society since the Risorgimento (unification movement) in the 19th century, considering such issues as the struggle for independence, Fascism and the Holocaust, nationalism vs. regionalism, gender roles, and contemporary problems of government corruption and the Mafia.

Structure of the course

In general, the Tuesday evening class will be to introduce and screen films. The Thursday afternoon class will be for lecture and class discussion, organized around clips and launched by 3-min. prepared oral presentations by class members who have volunteered to be designated respondents that day. The Tuesday night film introductions, which will include review and discussion of previous sessions as the semester progresses, will range from one half to one hour and are required class meetings, integral to the course. The screenings that follow are posited on the conceptual identity of film as a medium designed for large public audiences, not private individual viewing. Individual viewing is, of course, possible and recommended to supplement class activity, for midterm and final exam review and preparation of written assignments. Films are available at Van Pelt Library, Rosengarten Reserve (screening facility available) and in the Center for Italian Studies, 549 Williams, tel. 8-6040. They may also be rented from TLA Video, which has branches on 4th St. (between Lombard and South, tel. 922-3838) and in Center City (1520 Locust, tel. 735-7887); or the Video Library, 4040 Locust St., tel. 387-5440.

Week 1. Sept. 5.

Course intro. Italian silent cinema. Clips from Enrico Guazzone, Quo vadis? (1912); and Mervyn LeRoy, Quo Vadis?" (Hollywood, 1951)

Reading: Bondanella, Ch. 1, "Background: The Silent Era and the Fascist Period"

Week 2. Sept. 10, 12

Silent cinema, cont. Clips from Giovanni Pastrone, Cabiria (1914); clips from Count Giulio Antimoro, The Christus (1915)

Fascist cinema. Alessandro Blasetti, 1860 (1934)

Readings: Duggan, Ch. 4, "The Emergence of the National Question"; Duggan, Ch. 5, "Italy United"

Week 3. Sept. Sept. 17, 19

Vittorio De Sica, I bambini ci guardano / The Children are Watching Us (1942)

Readings: Giannetti, Ch. 1, "Photography"; Giannetti, "Glossary" (pp. 531-43)

Week 4. Sept. 24, 26

Roberto Rossellini, Roma città aperta / Rome, Open City (1946)

Readings: 1) Giannetti, Ch. 2, "Mise-en-scène"; 2) Bondanella, Ch. 2, "The Masters of Neorealism: Rossellini, De Sica, Visconti"

Week 5. Oct. 1, 3

Vittorio De Sica, Ladri di biciclette / The Bicycle Thief (1948)

Reading: Giannetti, Ch. 3, "Movement"

Oct. 3: 7-min. Quiz. "Mise-en-scène"

Week 6. Oct. 8, 10

Federico Fellini, Lo sceicco bianco / The White Sheik (1952)

Readings: 1) Giannetti, Ch. 4, "Editing"; 2) Bondanella, Ch. 4, "The Break with Neorealism"

Week 7. Oct. 15, 17

Viaggio in Italia / Voyage in Italy (1953)

Oct. 17. Midterm Hour Exam. (The exam will last 60 mins.)

Week 8. Oct. 22, 24

Luchino Visconti, Senso / The Wanton Countess (1954)

Readings: Giannetti, Ch. 5, "Sound"; Chs. 3, "Exploring the Boundaries of Neorealism"

Week 9. Oct. 29, 31

Pietro Germi, Divorzio all'italiana / Divorce Italian Style (1961)

Readings: Giannetti, Ch. 6, "Acting"; Bondanella, Ch. 5, "A Decisive Decade" (esp. "Commedia all'Italiana")

Week 10. Nov. 5, 7

Vittorio De Sica, Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini / The Garden of the Finzi-Contini (1970)

Reading: Duggan, Chs. 7-8, "The Rise of Fascism," "Fascism"; Giannetti, Ch. 8, "Story"

Week 11. Nov. 12, 14

Giuseppe Tornatore, Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Readings: Giannetti, Ch. 7, "Drama"; Bondanella, Ch. 9, "Politics and Ideology in the Contemporary Italian Cinema"

Week 12. Nov. 19, 21

Gianna Amelio, Porte aperte / Open Doors (1990)

Readings: Giannetti, Ch. 9, "Writing"; Ch. 10, "Ideology"

Week 13. Nov. 26. Final 5-7 pp. paper due (on a film of your choice)

Roberto Benigni, La vita e' bella / Life is Beautiful (1998)

Reading: Bondanella, Ch. 12, "The Italian Cinema Enters the New Millennium"

Nov. 28 Thanksgiving

Week 14. Dec. 3, 5

Marco Tullio Giordana, I Cento Passi / The One Hundred Steps (2000)

Reading: Duggan, Ch. 9, "The Republic"

Final Review

Required texts:

Peter Bondanella, Italian Cinema from Neorealism to the Present. 3rd ed.

Christopher Duggan, A Concise History of Italy. Cambridge, 1994.

Louis Giannetti, Understanding Movies. Englewood Cliffs. Most recent ed.

Course requirements:

Regular class attendance and participation by contributing to discussions as a designated correspondent; 7-min. quiz in fourth week; midterm hour exam; 2-hour final during regular exam period; final paper of 5-7 pp. The final paper will be based on a film you have chosen and screened independently, to be selected with prior approval of instructor. Students may receive extra credit by handing in from time to time a 1-2 pp. film review. Should an emergency prevent your presence at class, you should notify the instructor in advance by email, if possible. Although attendance will not be formally taken, absences are noted, and repeated absences may endanger an otherwise passing grade.

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