film analysis

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Film Analysis Paper #2 Due: Friday, November 6 Length: 3-4 pages Points: 20 How Do 20th Century Films Develop Theme? Assignment: Choose a different film than the one you wrote about before from the included list and write a critical essay analyzing one of its themes. What is the point your film is trying to make? What is its message? What subtext is there for you to discover? How do you interpret it? All these and more are questions you can ask to help you think about what the film’s theme might be. As with any film essay, you should talk about the plot, but you need to give just as much weight to form as well. What is said and done is important, but so is how it is shown. Considering the form is what makes this a film analysis paper. Some things to consider: Narrative development. Mise-en-scène. Cinematography. Editing. Sound (for silent films, assume score is original). Films can have more than one theme, but please focus on only one. Reminder: You are writing an essay, so be sure you are making an argument about the film, and not just describing it. I expect you to use a thesis statement!  Be sure you use specific evidence to support your thesis.  Be sure to keep your focus narrow. Don’t worry about including every single detail of the film. Use only those that best support your argument. And be sure to use specific examples!!! Assume your audience has knowledge of the film, so avoid excessive plot description. See syllabus for formatting details. No research is needed for this assignment. Please keep in mind that plagiarism will not be tolerated. This is a formal paper, so make sure your tone is appropriate. Proper grammar and correct spelling is a must. Format as follows: Type in 12-point standard (Times New Roman, Arial, etc.) black font. Double space with 1-inch margins. Do not add spaces between paragraphs. Indent the first line of new paragraphs. Proofread and correct your paper. Don’t trust Spellcheck to catch all your mistakes and take the time to think about the changes it suggests. You may type your paper directly into Blackboard, but I highly suggest that you write it in a program such as Microsoft Word, copy/paste in the text, and then upload the file, too, just to be safe. Your papers will be due on Friday, November 6. No penalties will be given for late papers as long as I receive them before Wednesday, December 16. If you do submit your paper on or before November 6, I will add one point to the paper’s grade.   YOU HAVE TO WATCH THE FILM ON YOUR OWN BY THE WAY. MUST HAVE ACCESS TO THE MOVIE YOU CHOOSE.   Films You May Choose for This Assignment: 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963). Italy/France. 2h 20m. The 400 Blows [Les quatre cents coups] (François Truffaut, 1959). France. 1h 41m. American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999). United States. 2h 2m.  The Bad Sleep Well [Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru] (Akira Kurosawa, 1960). Japan. 2h 31m. Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen, 1981). West Germany. 2h 29m. Bound (Lana and Lily Wachowski, 1996). United States. 1h 49m. Breathless [À bout de souffle] (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960). France. 1h 30m. The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957). United States/United Kingdom. 2h 41m. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari [Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari] (Robert Wiene, 1920). Germany. 1h 18m. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942). United States. 1h 42m. The Conformist [Il conformista] (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970). Italy/France/W. Germany. 1h 53m. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974). United States. 1h 53m. Day for Night [La nuit américaine] (François Truffaut, 1973). France/Italy. 1h 56m. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978). United States. 1h 34m.  Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989). United States. 2h. Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet, 1975). United States. 2h 5m. Dressed to Kill (Brian De Palma, 1980). United States. 1h 44m.  Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969). United States. 1h 35m. Eve’s Bayou (Kassi Lemmons, 1997). United States. 1h 49m. The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973). United States. 2h 2m. Fargo (Joel Coen, 1996). United States/United Kingdom. 1h 38m. Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931). United States. 1h 10m. Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 1987). United States/United Kingdom. 1h 56m. The General (Clyde Bruckman/Buster Keaton, 1926). United States. 1h 19m. The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin, 1940). United States. 2h 5m. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993). United States. 1h 41m.  A Hard Day’s Night (Richard Lester, 1964). United Kingdom. 1h 27m. Harold and Maud (Hal Ashby, 1971). United States. 1h 31m. Jules and Jim [Jules et Jim] (François Truffaut, 1962). France. 1h 45m.  The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovitch, 1971). United States. 1h 58m. Life Is Beautiful [La vita è bella] (Roberto Benigni, 1997). Italy. 1h 56m. The Long Voyage Home (John Ford, 1940). United States. 1h 45m. Lost Highway (David Lynch, 1997). France/United States. 2h 14m.  M [M–Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder] (Fritz Lang, 1931). Germany. 1h 39m. El Mariachi [El mariachi] (Robert Rodriguez, 1992). Mexico/United States. 1h 21m. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 1939). United States. 2h 9m. Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch, 1989). Japan/United States. 1h 50m. The Naked City (Jules Dassin, 1948). United States. 1h 36m. Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968) United States. 1h 36m. Paisan [Paisà] (Roberto Rossellini, 1946). Italy. 2h. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993). New Zealand/Australia/France/United States. 2h 1m. Platoon (Oliver Stone, 1986). United States/United Kingdom. 2h. Rashomon [Rashômon] (Akira Kurosawa, 1950). Japan. 1h 28m. Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954). United States. 1h 52m. Rome Open City [Roma città aperta] (Roberto Rossellini, 1945). Italy. 1h 43m. Rosemary’s Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968). United States. 2h 17m. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993). United States. 3h 15m. Se7en (David Fincher, 1995). United States. 2h 7m. Shoot the Piano Player [Tirez sur le pianiste] (François Truffaut, 1960). France. 1h 32m. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959). United States. 2h 1m. La Strada [La strada] (Federico Fellini, 1954). Italy. 1h 48m.  Strike [Stachka] (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1925). Soviet Union. 1h 22m. Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977). Italy. 1h 32m.  Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976). United States. 1h 54m. To Have and Have Not (Howard Hawks, 1944). United States. 1h 40m. The Virgin Suicides (Sophia Coppola, 1999). United States/Canada. 1h 37m.