Masterpieces of French Cinema

Catalog description

This course will introduce students to key films of the French film canon, selected over a period ranging from the origins of French cinema to the present. Students will also be introduced to the key critical concepts (such as the notion of the "auteur" film genre) informing the discussion of films in France. The films will be studied in both a historical and theoretical context, related to their period styles (e.g. "le realisme poetique," "la Nouvelle Vague," etc.), their "auteurs," the nature of the French star system, the role of the other arts, as well to the critical debates they have sparked among critics and historians. Students will acquire the analytical tools in French to discuss films as artistic and as cultural texts. Please note: This course follows a Lecture/Recitation format. The Lecture ( FREN 1230 -401/ CIMS 1230 -401) is taught in English. For French credit: please register for both FREN 1230 -401 (lecture) and FREN 1230 -402 (recitation); the FREN 1230 -402 recitation is conducted in French. For Cinema Studies credit: please register for CIMS 1230 -401 (lecture) and CIMS 1230 -403 (recitation); both are taught in English. Prerequisite: Two 200-level courses taken at Penn or equivalent.