The course will analyze four Italian films from a comparative perspective: Bicycle Thieves (1948) by Vittorio De Sica, We All Love Each Other Very Much (1974) by Ettore Scola, Dear Diary (1993) by Nanni Moretti and Caterina in the Big City (2004) by Paolo Virzì. These films all take place in Rome and offer a different representation of Italian life and culture over the past sixty years according to the personal point of view and cinematographic style of four outstanding Italian directors. The post-war conditions of Rome and the struggle to return to normal life will be examined as portrayed in De Sica’s film, the Neorealism’s peak. Through Scola’s bittersweet peculiar comedy, the many social and political changes Italy has undergone since the Resistance and the end of the Fascist regime up to 70’s with an equally comprehensive survey of the major developments in the history of Italian cinema will be considered. Moretti’s film will be studied as an example of the Italian “New Realism” where politics, ethics and social issues are interwoven in a novel and more ironical and satyrical way. Virzi’s coming of age tale will offer a contemporary example of “commedia all’italiana” genre and an approach to the Italian contemporary mores and social behavior.
In the second half of the course, the class will be divided into two groups, and each group will choose a scene from one of the film and re-film it. After visiting the sites where these scenes were actually shot, the students will act, direct and perform as a film company. Finally, they will be taught simple editing techniques in order to present the chosen scene.
Additional requirements:
REQUIRED FILM ON RESERVE:
Bicycle Thieves, by Vittorio De Sica
We All Loved Each Other Very Much by Ettore Scola
Dear Diary, by Nanni Moretti
Caterina in the Big City by Paolo Virzì
My Voyage to Italy (documentary), by Martin Scorsese
Additional student cost:
$55
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course the students are able to:
- approach two topics of Italian Cinema: Neorealism and Comedy Italian Style (Commedia all’Italiana);
- understand the historical, social and political circumstances of the different moments in the history of Italy and Rome during which the film screened were realized;
- analyze a film by a linguistic and technical point of view;
- use the basic techniques of the making of a movie;
- produce a simple short movie.
Method of presentation:
Lectures, screenings, field studies, students’ hands-on work in shooting and editing under the guide and supervision of the instructor, who will teach them how to film using simple to no artificial lighting, acting by improvisation, clear and simple cuts for the editing.
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION: English
Required work and form of assessment:
Class attendance and participation (20%); midterm exam (20%); research project, developed by each member of the troupe depending on his or her role (i.e. the director of photography will practice with the video camera and study the single shots in the original movie; the actors will study related films to familiarize with the improvisation expected from non-professionals in the Neorealist school) and script adaptation from both original selected scenes (20%); performance during the shooting (20%); performance during the editing of the scene (20%).
content:
Part I –De Sica, Scola, Moretti, Virzì: A voyage from Neorealism to a “New Realism” and through the beloved “Commedia all’Italiana” genre.
Week 1, session 1 and 2 : Neorealism, a new way of making film. De Sica explore Rome: Bicycle Thieves.
The events preceding the flowering of Italian Neorealistic Cinema during the Fascism. The cultural debate on “Realism” and the birth of Neorealistic Cinema.
Discussion on Vittorio De Sica’s cinema defined as a “cinema of feelings”.
Introduction to cinematographic language: editing and cinematography through the analysis of De Sica film.
Introduction to Martin Scorsese’s documentary My Voyage to Italy in order to approach the point of view of an Italo-American director on Italian Neorealist Cinema.
Reading: Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. Chapter: “ The Masters of Neorealism: Rossellini, De Sica and Visconti”.
Film viewing: Bicycle Thieves, by Vittorio De Sica
Week 2, session 1 and 2:The post-neorealism generation: Ettore Scola. Discussion on the personal vision of an auteur like Ettore Scola whose work reflects the tradition of Italian Cinema: Neorealism and “la commedia all’italiana” (Italian Comedy Style).
Discussion and analysis of We All Loved Each Other Very Much by Ettore Scola also by a technical point of view.
Reading: Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. Chapter: “The Contemporary Scene and New Italian Comedy”
Film viewing: We All Loved Each Other Very Much, by Ettore Scola.
Week 3, session 1 and 2: Breaking with the tradition of Italian Cinema: Nanni Moretti.
Nanni Moretti’s cinema: political engagement and the use of irony.
Discussion and analysis of Dear Diary also by a technical point of view.
Reading: Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinem.a Chapter 16th “ Generational Change in the Contemporary Italian Cinema. The Third Wave. A New Generation of Auters”.
Film viewing: Dear Diary, by Nanni Moretti
Week 4, session 1 and 2: Reinvigorating the “commedia all'italiana” genre: Paolo Virzì.
Paolo Virzì’s cinema: a bittersweet picture of modern society in a special combination of compassionate laughter and social critique.
Discussion and analysis of Caterina in the Big City also by a technical point of view.
Reading: Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. Chapter 17th “ Italian Cinema Enters the Third Millennium”
Film viewing: Caterina in the Big City by Paolo Virzì.
Part II – The making of the movie
Week 5, session 1 : Field Studies.
Visit to the set of an Italian film in order to experience the atmosphere and the way of working during the actual shooting of a professional movie.
Week 6, session 1 : Preparing the scenes to shoot.
Discussion of the individual roles within a film troupe: director, editor, actor, director of photography, etc. Division of the class into two groups, one for each film. Discussion and analysis of the selected films in order to chose the two scenes to be re-made.
Week 7, session 1: Preparing the scenes to shoot.
Adaptation of the script from both original scenes. Rehearsals in class of both scenes.
Week 8, session 1: Organization of the shooting.
Visit to the two locations chosen for the films and rehearsal of the two scenes on location.
Definition of the story board and the shot list.
Week 9, session 1: First day of shooting.
Shooting the first scene chosen and the backstage of the making of it.
Week 10, session 1: Second day of shooting.
Shooting the second scene chosen and the backstage of the making of it.
Week 11, session 1: First day of editing.
Download of the materials in the computers. Logging of it and learning the basic editing techniques.
Week 12, session 1: Second day of editing.
Students perform the editing.
Week 13, session 1: Final editing and evaluation of the students’ work.
Students perform the final editing (sound, titles and credits) and screening of the two short films and of the two backstages.
Required readings:
Mazierska, Ewa and Laura Rascaroli. The Cinema of Nanni Moretti: Dreams and Diaries. Director’s Cut Press, 2004.
Millicent, Marcus. Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism. Princeton University Press, 1986.
TEXT BOOK:
Bondanella, Peter. Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc, 2009.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Elisabetta Lodoli - director, screenwriter and writer - graduated in History and Philosophy at Bologna University (Italy) and got her Master in Film and Television at Calarts, LA, CA. Since her return to Italy, she lives in Rome where she has been directing both in cinema and television many films, documentaries and tv series among which: Papervision #1: Chiara Carrer (a portrait dedicated to one of the most significant contemporary illustrators of children’s books); Nisansala la tranquilla (Nisansala, the quiet girl, a portrait of a 17 years old girl from Sri Lanka, living in Rome); Stiamo bene insieme" (Happy together -TV Series); Lui e lei II" (He&She, TV Series); Più leggero non basta (A lighter burden to bear - TV movie, with Stefano Accorsi and Giovanna Mezzogiorno). As a screenwriter she also works for cinema and tv, and recently she published her first young-adult novel Questo mare non è il mio mare (This is not my ocean).
11/11
The course will analyze four Italian films from a comparative perspective: Bicycle Thieves (1948) by Vittorio De Sica, We All Love Each Other Very Much (1974) by Ettore Scola, Dear Diary (1993) by Nanni Moretti and Caterina in the Big City (2004) by Paolo Virzì. These films all take place in Rome and offer a different representation of Italian life and culture over the past sixty years according to the personal point of view and cinematographic style of four outstanding Italian directors. The post-war conditions of Rome and the struggle to return to normal life will be examined as portrayed in De Sica’s film, the Neorealism’s peak. Through Scola’s bittersweet peculiar comedy, the many social and political changes Italy has undergone since the Resistance and the end of the Fascist regime up to 70’s with an equally comprehensive survey of the major developments in the history of Italian cinema will be considered. Moretti’s film will be studied as an example of the Italian “New Realism” where politics, ethics and social issues are interwoven in a novel and more ironical and satyrical way. Virzi’s coming of age tale will offer a contemporary example of “commedia all’italiana” genre and an approach to the Italian contemporary mores and social behavior.
In the second half of the course, the class will be divided into two groups, and each group will choose a scene from one of the film and re-film it. After visiting the sites where these scenes were actually shot, the students will act, direct and perform as a film company. Finally, they will be taught simple editing techniques in order to present the chosen scene.
REQUIRED FILM ON RESERVE:
Bicycle Thieves, by Vittorio De Sica
We All Loved Each Other Very Much by Ettore Scola
Dear Diary, by Nanni Moretti
Caterina in the Big City by Paolo Virzì
My Voyage to Italy (documentary), by Martin Scorsese
$55
By the end of the course the students are able to:
- approach two topics of Italian Cinema: Neorealism and Comedy Italian Style (Commedia all’Italiana);
- understand the historical, social and political circumstances of the different moments in the history of Italy and Rome during which the film screened were realized;
- analyze a film by a linguistic and technical point of view;
- use the basic techniques of the making of a movie;
- produce a simple short movie.
Lectures, screenings, field studies, students’ hands-on work in shooting and editing under the guide and supervision of the instructor, who will teach them how to film using simple to no artificial lighting, acting by improvisation, clear and simple cuts for the editing.
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION: English
Class attendance and participation (20%); midterm exam (20%); research project, developed by each member of the troupe depending on his or her role (i.e. the director of photography will practice with the video camera and study the single shots in the original movie; the actors will study related films to familiarize with the improvisation expected from non-professionals in the Neorealist school) and script adaptation from both original selected scenes (20%); performance during the shooting (20%); performance during the editing of the scene (20%).
Part I –De Sica, Scola, Moretti, Virzì: A voyage from Neorealism to a “New Realism” and through the beloved “Commedia all’Italiana” genre.
Week 1, session 1 and 2 : Neorealism, a new way of making film. De Sica explore Rome: Bicycle Thieves.
The events preceding the flowering of Italian Neorealistic Cinema during the Fascism. The cultural debate on “Realism” and the birth of Neorealistic Cinema.
Discussion on Vittorio De Sica’s cinema defined as a “cinema of feelings”.
Introduction to cinematographic language: editing and cinematography through the analysis of De Sica film.
Introduction to Martin Scorsese’s documentary My Voyage to Italy in order to approach the point of view of an Italo-American director on Italian Neorealist Cinema.
Reading: Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. Chapter: “ The Masters of Neorealism: Rossellini, De Sica and Visconti”.
Film viewing: Bicycle Thieves, by Vittorio De Sica
Week 2, session 1 and 2:The post-neorealism generation: Ettore Scola. Discussion on the personal vision of an auteur like Ettore Scola whose work reflects the tradition of Italian Cinema: Neorealism and “la commedia all’italiana” (Italian Comedy Style).
Discussion and analysis of We All Loved Each Other Very Much by Ettore Scola also by a technical point of view.
Reading: Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. Chapter: “The Contemporary Scene and New Italian Comedy”
Film viewing: We All Loved Each Other Very Much, by Ettore Scola.
Week 3, session 1 and 2: Breaking with the tradition of Italian Cinema: Nanni Moretti.
Nanni Moretti’s cinema: political engagement and the use of irony.
Discussion and analysis of Dear Diary also by a technical point of view.
Reading: Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinem.a Chapter 16th “ Generational Change in the Contemporary Italian Cinema. The Third Wave. A New Generation of Auters”.
Film viewing: Dear Diary, by Nanni Moretti
Week 4, session 1 and 2: Reinvigorating the “commedia all'italiana” genre: Paolo Virzì.
Paolo Virzì’s cinema: a bittersweet picture of modern society in a special combination of compassionate laughter and social critique.
Discussion and analysis of Caterina in the Big City also by a technical point of view.
Reading: Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. Chapter 17th “ Italian Cinema Enters the Third Millennium”
Film viewing: Caterina in the Big City by Paolo Virzì.
Part II – The making of the movie
Week 5, session 1 : Field Studies.
Visit to the set of an Italian film in order to experience the atmosphere and the way of working during the actual shooting of a professional movie.
Week 6, session 1 : Preparing the scenes to shoot.
Discussion of the individual roles within a film troupe: director, editor, actor, director of photography, etc. Division of the class into two groups, one for each film. Discussion and analysis of the selected films in order to chose the two scenes to be re-made.
Week 7, session 1: Preparing the scenes to shoot.
Adaptation of the script from both original scenes. Rehearsals in class of both scenes.
Week 8, session 1: Organization of the shooting.
Visit to the two locations chosen for the films and rehearsal of the two scenes on location.
Definition of the story board and the shot list.
Week 9, session 1: First day of shooting.
Shooting the first scene chosen and the backstage of the making of it.
Week 10, session 1: Second day of shooting.
Shooting the second scene chosen and the backstage of the making of it.
Week 11, session 1: First day of editing.
Download of the materials in the computers. Logging of it and learning the basic editing techniques.
Week 12, session 1: Second day of editing.
Students perform the editing.
Week 13, session 1: Final editing and evaluation of the students’ work.
Students perform the final editing (sound, titles and credits) and screening of the two short films and of the two backstages.
Mazierska, Ewa and Laura Rascaroli. The Cinema of Nanni Moretti: Dreams and Diaries. Director’s Cut Press, 2004.
Millicent, Marcus. Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism. Princeton University Press, 1986.
TEXT BOOK:
Bondanella, Peter. Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc, 2009.
Elisabetta Lodoli - director, screenwriter and writer - graduated in History and Philosophy at Bologna University (Italy) and got her Master in Film and Television at Calarts, LA, CA. Since her return to Italy, she lives in Rome where she has been directing both in cinema and television many films, documentaries and tv series among which: Papervision #1: Chiara Carrer (a portrait dedicated to one of the most significant contemporary illustrators of children’s books); Nisansala la tranquilla (Nisansala, the quiet girl, a portrait of a 17 years old girl from Sri Lanka, living in Rome); Stiamo bene insieme" (Happy together -TV Series); Lui e lei II" (He&She, TV Series); Più leggero non basta (A lighter burden to bear - TV movie, with Stefano Accorsi and Giovanna Mezzogiorno). As a screenwriter she also works for cinema and tv, and recently she published her first young-adult novel Questo mare non è il mio mare (This is not my ocean).
11/11