Wed. 30th Film...CANCELLED

I'm afraid Wed. bonus film will not be possible. I have a dental emergency on that day to attend to (broke a tooth!).

See you in class Friday!

A Tip on the First Exam...

Just thought I'd mention, for those of you who are reading the blog: I'm not a stickler for dates of these films. While I consider that to be important information, and I would hope you would know that Edison's "Frankenstein" predates Fritz Lang's "Metropolis", I don't consider it to be important in terms of testing.

General knowledge of dates is fine, and on the exam you will not be required to specifically pinpoint an exact date. I'm letting all of you know because I don't want you to waste study time trying to learn exact dates of the films. I would, however, make sure I know the directors, stars and the individuals associated with each work....good chance that will pop up!

REMEMBER: This is an art course. Anything concerning art movements, particular artists we've talked about in class, and techniques and styles is more than just a little likely (hint..hint) to pop up on the test.

OCTOBER 2nd: FIRST TEST

Please review your study notes on the material we've covered up to now ("Frankenstein", "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", "Nosferatu" and "Metropolis"). Our first test is this Friday. Expect a good variety of fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, possibly matching and an brief essay question of your choosing.

We will do some reviewing in class (I will answer questions you may have and we will discuss), and then we'll take the test.

I will also distribute topic choices for your term paper as well. We'll do this at the conclusion of the test.

Monday/Wed. Films

Monday: 2:30 Rm. 106-"Metropolis" (re-play)
Wednesday: 2:30 Rm. 106-"Nosferatu" (re-play)

New Weimar Cinema Book!

Jill Carrington has turned up quite an interesting book that fits in perfectly with what we've been discussing. She sent me this link to it. I'll see if I can secure a copy of it at our library. Can you identify the scene from the cover?

Silents On Dvd

Several sets worth picking up!

German Horror Classics (Nosferatu (1922) / The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / Waxworks / The Golem) (1929)

American Silent Horror Collection (The Man Who Laughs/The Penalty/The Cat and the Canary/Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde/Kingdom of Shadows)

German Expressionism Collection (The Hands of Orlac / The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / Secrets of a Soul / Warning Shadows)

"Exils: de Hitler à Hollywood": Segment

Wait until you see this! Hang in there until around 2:40. That's where it gets pertinent to our class study. You don't have to watch the rest of it, but you should watch all that's posted here at least. Great footage of Weimar era Germany too!

Images From the Incredible "Caligari"

HEY KIDS!...Lon Chaney Paper Doll from "The Penalty" (1920)!

Make your very own Lon Chaney toy! Copy off the page, glue to cardstock, cut out and there you you go...Holy...er, "unholy" cow! How cool is THAT!? Look into this, you won't regret it....

CLICK RIGHT HERE!!

Get more info. here!

Lon Chaney: "The Unholy Three" (1925)

THE 497 MONSTER CLUB!

Chelsea and Augustina want to talk about forming the class movie club. You may wish to work on that here through "comments". I will monitor and assist if you have questions for me.

"The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema"

Click here to pick up an excellent book on the very topic we are studying right now...German Expressionism and the films of the Weimar Republic. I'm waiting for my copy to get here now. Looks like a great book!

Creeping Terrors!...Works of Art and the Notion of "The Nightmare"

Here's are works by Henry Fuseli, one by Edvard Munch and still another by Phillip Burne-Jones that echo that scene where the Monster, in the Edison version of "Frankenstein", peers through the curtains at the Doctor who has fainted dead away on the bed. All of these paintings mention vampires, nightmares and/or incubuses in their titles, and all were executed in the 1800s.

This symbolistic notion of "the nightmare" and it's invasion of the bed-chamber is found in a lot of classic works of art of this period. A study of these would make interesting fodder for a paper, since this notion of "creeping terror" pops-up in "Nosferatu" and "Calagari" as well (and probably others that I haven't thought of off the top of my head, laying here at 5 am, unable to sleep....wait a minute...what was that!? Arrrgh!!....Heh. heh. heh.).

Tip of the hat to Dr. Robinson who mentioned this great scene while in discussion over the film!

First Class Session: September 4, 2009

Well, hope all of you enjoyed the first class lecture and screening of "Frankenstein", the 1910 version. In case you missed class, you can get the notes on the lecture from a classmate and you can watch the film from here on the blog.

Things to give some thought on this one and perhaps good fodder for a research paper: Why does the film seem to exude a message of morality? What is the historical significance of the "morality play" format, ie. how does it fit into the ideas of a turn-of-the-century changing America? What fears were present that caused this?

From a content perspective: In the film the Monster finally gives in to the fact that he cannot replace the love of Frankenstein's life. With arms outstretched in dramatic posturing, the poor Monster vanishes from our reality and only his reflection is left in the mirror. The Doctor comes in, sees the Monster in the mirror and then the image suddenly changes to the Doctor himself. Give some thought to what this sequence means, and what is it's message do you think?

What did each of you think about the sequence that depicted the creation of the Monster in Frankenstein's lab? How about the Monster in general? Pretty strange looking Frankenstein Monster, eh? This scene along with the mirror sequence is an example of playing tricks with the camera: Something early film-makers really enjoyed using on an audience. These sorts of things were the "special effects" of their day.

Excellent Essay on Edison's "Frankenstein" (1910)

Click here to gain further insight into the lecture on "morality plays", Edison and the censors. A nicely done article on the subject.