Lecture and discussion. Priority given to declared film majors. Fee: $75. Basic principles of film study--film aesthetics (mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, sound); film history (interaction of historical, economic, ideological, and technological determinants); film theory (realism, cinema specificity, relationship of film to other arts); and film criticism (feminist, Marxist, structuralist, semiotic, psychoanalytic, auteurist, and generic approaches).Discussion Section Required.

Film screening, lecture, and discussion. Fee: $75. Documentary film from the late 1890s to the mid-1980s. Attention focuses on the documentary as a means of either supporting or attacking the status quo, on the relationship between the creators and consumers, on claims to truth and objectivity, and on how new technology influences the oldest form of filmmaking.

Fee: $75. Exercises in the use of video for fiction shorts. For film majors only.

Fee: $75. Survey of the early history of film aesthetics and technology, including the impact of Griffith and Eisenstein, German Expressionism, the French avant-garde, the consolidation of Hollywood, the relationship between film and theatre, changing approaches to performance, and the place of women and minorities in early cinema.Discussion Section Required.

Fee: $75. Cinema in the Age of Television: the Nouvelle Vague and beyond, from
Paris to the Pacific Rim, and the first revolutionary stirrings from
Russia, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America. Stylistic and thematic
developments in the works of Godard, Antonioni, Fassbinder, Almodovar.Discussion Section Required.

Fee: $75. Whether considered a genre, a style, a mood or a post-war cycle, the Film Noir of the 40s and 50s continues to fascinate for its broodingly dark (morally and cinematographically) view of humankind. Countering the war-time spirit of can-do optimism, these low-budget movies--with their convoluted narratives and voice-over--reflect a shift toward inwardness and existential doubt. Films include Double Indemnity, Laura, Gilda, and Out of the Past.Discussion Section Required.

Lecture and discussion. Fee: $50. The dramatic and cinematic principles of screen storytelling, including dramaturgy, character and plot development, use of camera, staging, casting, sound, editing, and music. Diverse narrative techniques, story patterns, dramatic structures, and artistic and genre forms are discussed, and students do screenwriting exercises.Discussion Section Required.

This course will emphasize the role of criticism today. We will screen films, from classics to some currently in theaters. We will read, analyze and evaluate critical responses to them considering some crucial questions: How does criticism hold up over time? How do you approach a new film? How do you approach one that has been written about for decades? Students will write short reviews and longer essays with an eye toward developing a personal voice. This course assumes there is no right or wrong in criticism, just stronger or weaker arguments, and we'll focus on ways to create the best case for your original ideas. (Syllabus posted on CW). Prerequisite: Instructor's permisison. Sumbit short writing sample, 3-5 pp., to cj2374@columbia.edu

Prerequisite: FILM W3001. Fee: $50. An introduction to classical film theory, from its beginnings to the early structuralist work of Christian Metz.Discussion Section Required.

Priority given to declared film majors and seniors. Fee: $50. Discussion Section Required.

Lecture and discussion. Priority given to declared film majors. Fee: $75. Basic principles of film study--film aesthetics (mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, sound); film history (interaction of historical, economic, ideological, and technological determinants); film theory (realism, cinema specificity, relationship of film to other arts); and film criticism (feminist, Marxist, structuralist, semiotic, psychoanalytic, auteurist, and generic approaches).Discussion Section Required.

Fee: $75. Exercises in the use of video for documentary shorts. Only for film majors who have taken "The Documentary Tradition."

Fee: $75. Exercises in the use of video for fiction shorts. For film majors only.

Fee: $75. Priority given to film majors. A survey of masterpieces of the American sound film with a focus on genres including the gangster film, Western, screwball comedy, and musical. Personal directorial styles and cultural contexts are explored in the work of Hawks, Ford, Welles, Lubitsch, Kazan, Wilder, and Kubrick.

Fee: $75. Priority given to film majors and seniors. American Film History beginning in l960.Discussion Section Required.

Stylistic and thematic development from the dawn of the sound film
through World War II and beyond in German, French, Italian, Japanese, and
Scandinavian cinema. Key works by Jean Renoir, Fritz Lang, Jean Vigo,
Roberto Rossellini, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, and Akira Kurosawa.Discussion Section Required.

Cinema in the Age of Digital Technology. New forms of image-making and
the modes of expression made possible by them. Filmmakers covered include
Michael Haneke, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Abbas Kiarostami, and topics
addressed include new avenues for distribution and exhibition, animé and
reality television.Discussion Section Required.

This course will examine American cinema in the "digital age." The introduction of digital technology -as a means of production, distribution and exhibition-will be explored in light of changes in narrative style, use of genre, film financing and the place of cinema within American culture and society. Special attention will be paid to the interaction between the mainstream, studio produced or distributed cinema and the emerging independent cinema. Directors whose works will be discussed include Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, and Clint Eastwood.Discussion Section Required.

Fee: $75. A survey of American TV history, with a focus on dramatic narration related to independent cinema. Structured in three acts--from the "Golden Age" of the 1950s to the dramatic complexity found in recent Cable series--it begins with prestigious writers Rod Serling and Paddy Chayefsky; studies groundbreaking mini-series like "Roots" and "Holocaust"; and explores how shows such as "Hill Street Blues" and "Twin Peaks" laid the groundwork for HBO series including "Oz," "The Sopranos," "The Wire," and"Six Feet Under." Producing 13-week dramas over the span of years, these programs have developed a sophisticated narrative form, borrowing from as well as informing cinematic storytelling.Discussion Section Required.

Fee: $50.

Priority given to declared film majors and seniors. Fee: $50. Discussion Section Required.

Fee: $50. A survey of the history of producing in the U.S. from pre-Hollywood filmmaking to the poststudio era of independent producers, agency packaging, and industry conglomerates. Hollywood producers such as Thomas Ince, Jesse Lasky, Irving Thalberg, David O. Selznick, and Dore Schary are considered. Emphasis is also placed on independent productions as an alternative method of filmmaking.