The original Lumiere Bros. film, "Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat," can be found down further down this page (as a link to a video on YouTube). Above that are links to several of the short films by celebrated directors that make up the film Lumiere & Company, a celebration of one hundred years of cinema, released in 1995.
I'm hoping some more folks sign up for the Yahoo group soon, so that we can use that as a simple and efficient means of distributing information and getting feedback quickly. Meanwhile:
-Please try to complete assigned readings for Thursday, within limits of reasonable effort. (If there are readings you just can't get at, that are not yet available on reserve in the library, we will manage to catch up.)
The Oxford History of World Cinema will provide the general outline of cinema history to ground our discussion; the books by Grievson and Cohen will focus our attention on particular issues; and the occasional readings available online will mostly be on specific films.
Please note that the first of these, Karen Littau's essay on "Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat," is available in the READINGS links on this blog as well as in a READINGS folder in the LINKS section of our Yahoo group.
-Please post your comments on our topics of discussion from last week, the films we viewed, and/or our plans for the course at this blog. (You can hit the "Comments" button of this post or create a new post.) If there's anything you'd like to make sure gets heard loud and clear before the syllabus is finalized, send a note to the Yahoo group.
Which you need to join if you haven't already.
I will be adding more links to films available online this week, including a number of the short films we'll view in class. If you happen on anything you think is relevant to the topic of early cinema, please post it here.
The Lumiere brothers, among others, were revolutionary with the moving image. Their first first films were amazing considering that they are some of the first moving images ever captured using the cinematograph. Some of the films we watched, I must admit, were kind of boring, but, I understand their importance in history and why we watched them. The short films we viewed, submitted for the contest, for the ost part were not very interesting. The train arriving at the station was just an imitation of the original by the Lumieres with just a newer train, otherwise the same. The most interesting ones were the girl dancing as her skirt changed colors, the couple kissing as the camera crew rotated around them was well done too. I also thought that the short film, which I do not believe was three cuts but somehow it was, was interesting but I did not understand what was going on. Overall I didn’t find the contest necessary.
ReplyDeleteAs for the course, it might be beneficial for the class to do readings during the week (not nearly as long as this week’s!) that pertain to a certain subject, and discuss them in class along with the films.
I liked Izzy’s idea of doing a blog post every week. It seemed very doable and beneficial.
I have to admit that before Thursday’s class I was a bit clueless on the history of cinema (hence I am in this class). Watching Auguste and Lous Lumeire’s Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat for the first time was defiantly somewhat mystical. I was intrigued by not only their subject matter (as it captured the quick urbanization occurring at the time) but also their use of visual aesthetics (composition, individuals walking in and out of the frame).
ReplyDeleteThe film that I found most visually pleasing was that of the young lady dancing. Though there was no narrative, I could have probably stared at it for quiet some time. I am curious of the reactions this particular film due to its artistic nature…
As for the later assignments, I am inclined to favor the weekly blog posts and readings.
I had a very limited understanding about the beginnings of cinema and its silent films. The Lumière brothers' film "Entrée d'un train en gare de la Ciotat", for me was beautiful and fascinating but could also be interpreted or serve as a symbol for the power and impact that this medium possessed, along with its role in society.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying your comments, and your ability to focus on critical issues while at the same time giving personal reactions--in the manner of a good, thoughtful journal, really makes me think a weekly blog response is a good anchoring assignment for this course.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the fact that I haven't heard from everyone makes me wonder whether it's doable.
Honestly, I've never watched an entire silent movie before last week. I'm excited to learn more about the movies and their beginnings because I really don't know that much about it at all.
ReplyDeleteThe films we watched last week were beautiful and showed how somethings we take for granted in today's society really had a major impact and were lifchanging. For instance the train coming into the station; today, we don't even think of trains or their signifigance. But, seeing that film showed how magnificent they were and being able to capture it on film was amazing at that time.