Task 13. The history of Russian cinematography.

Write an essay on the history of Russian cinematography. Use the questions below as guidelines. You may need to search the Internet or tap other useful sources to find some relevant information. Remember to use the active vocabulary of the unit.

1. Are you familiar with the Soviet films of the 30s, 40s and 50s? What was characteristic of them?

2. Were all these films realistic or did some of them idealize, romanticize and glorify reality?

3. How did the Russian cinematography of the second half of the 20^th century develop?

4. What actors or actresses of those times won a general acclaim? What did their success rest on?

5. What is characteristic of the latest Russian films? Don't you find them sometimes shocking in their portrayal of reality?

6. In what way do the films reflect the values of the society?

7. Have Russian films ever served as an instrument of shaping public opinion? Elaborate.

 

 

9   LISTENING

THE FILM-MAKING PROCESS

You are going to hear a lecture on film-making. The lecturer will give you an overview of the various steps involved in creating a motion picture.

Task 1. Listen to the lecture and take notes, following the questions below.

1) How many basic steps are there in the production of a full-length film?

Step 1. ___________________________

2) What is property? Why is it called so?

3) What are the two kinds of property? Provide examples.

Step 2. ___________________________

4) How long can this step take?

5) How many people are involved at this stage? Who are they?

6) Why does the original writer often take part at this stage?

7) Who writes the script if the original writer doesn’t take part in it?

8) Why do directors often prefer to write the script themselves?

Step 3. ___________________________

9) Why is this step very critical in the production of a film?

10) What is casting?

11) What two types of casting are there?

12) What are the advantages and drawbacks of these two types of casting?

Step 4. ___________________________

13) How long does this step usually take?

14) Why is the order scenes are filmed often completely different from the order they appear in the movie?

15) What are the two types of places where filming can be done? Elaborate.

16) What accounts for the choice of one of the two types of places?

17) What difficulties does the film crew face when a film is shot on location?

Step 5. ___________________________

18) How long can this step take?

19) What is the primary job of an editor?

20) Why is this job difficult?

21) What else does the editor do?

22) Why is this step important in the process of making a film?

Step 6. ___________________________

23) Why does this step contribute a lot to the success of a film?

24) Why do composers prefer to be hired in the early stages of a film? Does it always happen so?

25) Who should approve the music?

26) How is the music actually recorded?

 

Task 2. Put down the text of the lecture and learn it by heart.

 

 

& — READING &SPEAKING

AMERICAN FILM CRITICISM

Task 1. Read the text about cinema criticism in the USA.

AMERICAN FILM CRITICISM

The roots of American film criticism can be traced as far back as the beginning of our century. Among those who established a classical tradition in film criticism in the US was Lindsay, whose The Art of the Moving Picture was published in 1915. Lindsay was one of the first American intellectuals who gave cinema the aesthetic prestige of an art. He rejected the doctrine of pure cinema and welcomed the influences of painting, drama and literature on the new medium. Besides him the most famous reviewers in the silent era were Munsterberg and Sherwood. Among the film critics of the older generation I can also name Farber (Negative Space), Jyler (Magic and Myth of the Movies), William Everson, the only really encyclopaedic film authority in the US and Lewis Jacobs, the author of The Rise of the American Film, which remains the best film history of the US. There is no sense in mentioning more names. Let us turn instead to some ideological aspects in American film criticism.

First of all, there is a debate connected with the cult of "foreign films". It is interesting to note that the first cult of foreign films appeared in the 20's around the German and Russian cinemas notable for expressive camera mobility and revolutionary theories of montage. The French cinema attracted some critics in the 30's mainly for its free treatment of sex. The Italian neo-realism dominated the late 40's and early 50's. Then came the era of cult directors from different countries such as Bergman, Fellini, Antonioni, Kurosawa, Chabrol, Truffaut and many others. However, at present foreign films are losing their commercial appeal because the American movies are becoming more sophisticated and mature.

American cinema was always criticised for the lack of freedom in Hollywood. Although there is no political freedom yet, the moral climate has recently changed so much in the opposite direction that the American critics can no longer talk of the lack of frankness as far as sex and violence are concerned. Some critics welcome this moral liberation, others, on the contrary, look upon it as cynical, corrupting the public and distracting its attention from the topical social problems.

Another trend in American film criticism is the growing interest for directorial styles and cinematographic techniques. In the past, the sociologically oriented film historians — Jacobs, Grierson, Kracauer, Rota, Leyda and others — looked upon movies as a mass medium rather than an art form. Much of their moralistic rhetoric still exists in American cinema criticism, but it is balanced by a more objective stylistic analysis. One of the most interesting cultural phenomena of the past decade is the renewed interest in the film director as an artist. Part of this interest can be traced to the disintegration of the studio system, part to the growing authority of directors themselves. Some critics look upon a director as a creator, others as a story-teller with images and camera angles rather than words, others simply as a decorator of other people's scenarios. That is why film criticism is divided into two conflicting camps. On the one hand, we have literary approach, which ignores visual style in film reviews. On the other hand, we have visualists who reject the plots and dialogues as literary impurities. The most interesting critics are, of course, those who try to combine both the literary and the visual.

After Donald E. Staples

 

Task 2. Answer the following questions:

1) Who were the first cinema critics in America?

2) What trends of film criticism of the past does the author trace?

3) What does the author say about the change in the moral climate of American cinema in the recent years?

4) How does the author explain the renewed interest for directorial styles?

5) What approaches to film reviewing does the author name?

 

Task 3. Retell the text “American film criticism”.

 

 

& — READING &SPEAKING

HOLLYWOOD’S VIEW OF SOCIETY

Task 1. Discuss with your group:

· How popular are American films in Russia/ all over the world? Why?

· What is typical of Hollywood movies?

· Do you enjoy watching American films? Why (not)?

Task 2. Read the text and turn to the tasks below.