Ok..I gotta make a new curriculum. I'm doing a film class next year, yay! But a lot of work to put together if it's not going to be sloppy. I'm thinking I'll need 30-35 movies, minimum. One per week, for viewing time, and background info, notes, projects, etc to do the rest of the week. Cos I'm not just going to show films. I'm not too big on the animation end of this...
Probably I'll do some specific units:
- A Hitchcock Unit: Rear Window, Vertigo, North By Northwest, The Lady Vanishes, Rope (!) Especially like Rope!)
- A Film Noir Unit: Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep, The Asphalt Jungle, Mildred Pierce, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Sunset Boulevard
- Animation: The Tripletts of Belleville and what was that dark little thing I watched a few months ago?? Still on VK? A girl and old man become pen pals?? Ah, found it: Mary and Max, also, Waking Life? (R) Is it ok for school? Can't remember..
- Musical Unit? What musicals do I like or at least tolerate? Jesus Christ Superstar, West Side Story, Stilyagi, Moulin Rouge, Fiddler on the Roof, Some Like It Hot, Grease? Kids may be able to handle a subtitled Stilyagi because it's fun and colorful.
- Brad And I talked about the Strong Woman Protagonist movies as a unit to offset the Hollywood trash today...hmm. Old Hollywood: there's this list : Adam's Rib: Katherine Hepburn. and Spencer Tracy. Bogie and Bacall: To Have and Have Not , Gone With The Wind, The African Queen http://movies.amctv.com/movie-guide/50-greatest-female-movie-characters/ Also, Beasts of the Southern Wild? Haven't seen yet.
- How much can I get away with foreign movies? Sources that are reliable? May have to make some purchases. Fanny and Alexander, for example? What about The Red Balloon? My kids watched it when they were quite small, but then, they're..my kids.
- Gangster /crime films: White Heat (which I've never seen), Bonnie and Clyde, The Godfather movies, Брат 1 и 2?? Badlands( PG!!) Getting into dangerous R ratings, on others, then...
- Good science fiction? Inception, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Man Who Fell To Earth, Jacob's Ladder, The Black Mirror, BBC series, Mr. Nobody (!!--NR!) Gravity? (I really don't see getting away with Stalker or even A Clockwork Orange or something like that--maybe for kids to do on their own if they're into it, kids with advanced taste like Luke). Heheheh-Barbarella...no.
- Silent Film Unit: Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, The Bicycle Thief (wait, is it silent or dubbed?)
- Horror Unit:Rosemary's Baby, Eraserhead (NR), Stoker?(R) Can I get away with Stoker at school? Have to re-watch. What about Bram Stoker's Dracula? (F.F. Copolla-dir--R rated) Dick suggests Nosforatu(sp?)
- Everything Is Illuminated (Category?)
- Dark Comedy The Seven Year Itch
- Spy Unit? The Conversation, James Bond, ?? Dr. Strangelove? You'd think I'd know more of these...
- Un Chien Andalou? NR--Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,
- Documentaries? Documentary spoofs?
- Stanley Kubrick films: 2001, A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon, The Shining. (I own these now..) No way on Eyes Wide Shut))
Dang: That's already more than 24!
Also going to check out these:
http://listverse.com/2012/12/16/10-must-see-animated-short-films/
Jun 15: I watched Double Indemnity last night: it definitely belongs on the noir list rather than the strong woman list---The Phyllis character that Barbara Stanwyck plays is too evil. Gonna try to find The Philadelphia Story. The Bicycle Thief ( Ladri di Biciclette) is not silent, but is in Italian with English subtitles.
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Ok time to get organized: (* denotes movies presently on Netflix Streaming)
I definitely want to start off on an historical note--to reinforce, on one level, that the class is academic--another way to learn, know the world, become intellectually sophisticated..What's oldest here?
Introduction & My Film Philosophy:
Includes a document with quiz for movie terms for a vocabulary to use in the class assignments (approx. every two weeks?)
Tips on Film Viewing from AMC: Part 1-- http://www.filmsite.org/filmview.html
Part 2--http://www.filmsite.org/filmview2.html
Cinematic Terminology:
http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms1.html
Incredible Movie Sets Video:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/05/26/the_best_movie_sets_ever_built_cinefix_ranks_sets_ranging_from_waterworld.html
Unit #1: Silent Era-- Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Silent Tragicomedy. Which Movies?
For Buster Keaton: Steamboat Bill, Jr.* which I have seen, and The General* which I have not, but hear is a classic.
For Charlie Chaplin, the little tramp movies--ah, what's the one that mocks Hitler?? A must do.
There's something on Netflix Stream called The Charlie Chaplin Collection*--I will have to watch it to see how it is organized: clips? an archive of whole movies? It's 45 min of clips, turns out. But, to get the full effect of the CC pathos, I think you need a full movie--
There is also Charlie Chaplin, The Movie not sure if I've seen it--starring Robert Downey, Jr. Which may be a good way to ease kids into this attention deficit unit in a way they can understand better?
There are the following famous Chaplin short movies to consider, all can be ordered thru Netflix mail:
The Immigrant (20 min), Modern Times(83 min--like the sound of the story!), City Lights(87 min), The Gold Rush, and The Great Dictator(126 min). I really can't remember which I've seen, but pretty sure I've seen The Gold Rush and The Great Dictator--sorta partial to the idea of showing the immigrant one and Modern Times (on Vimeo) but I think I remember liking The Gold Rush. Perhaps the thing to do is make a project where kids compare a 2nd movie they watched from the BK, CC list with one we saw in class--liking that idea!!
Unit #2: Early Talkies--no. 1 on that list for me is The Bicycle Thief*. Must do. What else? It Happened One Night, (BTW, found for free on youtube--it's Frank Capra!! 1934. Love FC movies) which I've never seen but everyone praises. I really need to watch it. Then a paper comparing talkies and walkies?
Just started watching the u-tube version of It Happened One Night--I can't believe I never saw this classic movie!! I always loved Gable in GWTW. It's definitely on the curriculum.
Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aASIcbo3u6E
Unit #3: Film Noir-- Double Indemnity*, The Asphalt Jungle, The Big Sleep, Memento (R) Definition paper for work
Unit #4: Hitchcock Unit-- The Lady Vanishes*, North By Northwest, Vertigo, Rear Window (not if I have a lot of last year's drama kids) Rope. Paper: Analysis of Hitchcock motifs, themes, techniques Psycho? For outside work? Hitchcock, the movie?
Christmas Movies? Fanny and Alexander, It's A Wonderful Life
Unit #5: Real women-- Gone With the Wind, Adam's Rib, The African Queen*: Comparison paper to atypical modern female character Oh-yeah, Beast of the Southern Wild Definitely belong-h'yah. The Indian film : Charulata, or A Streetcar Named Desire?
Unit #6: Science Fiction--2001: A Space Odyssey(own DVD), Mr. Nobody*, Gravity--(16 minute long shot) 12 Monkeys, Alien
Unit #7: Horror Movies-- Nosferatu* (or put with silent movies?), Rosemary's Baby*, Eraserhead, Stoker (R rated--minus the shower scene?--still thinking)
Unit #8: Gangster/Crime Movies--Bonnie & Clyde, Badlands, Fargo, True Grit, Oh, Brother Where Art Thou? (Digital Photoshop, work--old trailers are in contrast) Inside Man: Spike Lee
Unit #9: Spy Movies--Bond -Off! Which James Bond do you like best and why? From Russia With Love, Live and Let Die, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall---also, The Conversation*, The Bourne Supremacy
Unit #10: Musicals-- West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof, Moulin Rouge, Stilyagi (have DVD)
Unit #11: War Movies--The Bridge On The River Kwai, Apocalypse Now* (Rated R!!), All Quiet On the Western Front, A Soldier's Story (have DVD), Ivan's Childhood (subtitled?) Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line-Terrence Malick
Unit #12: Experimental Movies, Anime, Animation?: Un Chien Andalou, Tripletts of Belleville, Antz, Animation Shorts on the website above ??? Carnage? Jody Foster, John C. Reilly:: plot non-sequence--Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Ryan Reynolds The Nines or Buried. Tim Burton--Big Fish. Slumdog Millionaires!!! A Scanner Darkly.
Unit 13:: Comedies: The Odd Couple, Death at a Funeral: British version. Amelie, The Dinner Game--French version. (Dinner for Shmucks). Noises Off!! Carnage? Black Comedy?
Not sure where to put this one: Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. Really want to use that one.
Also the culmination of the class will be some sort of student based movie making project, driven by the effects, techniques and genres we observed. If someone has a creative idea to go outside this, I will of course listen and guide.
Mikey, a student in my SAT class last year who is into making movies and has taken classes outside of school to supplement his interest, has offered to help me in this class! He has contacts that I can bring in for guest speakers, and things like that, and maybe he could be a good source/help for the film-making project I want to do at the end of the year. Wonder what he has 3rd period?
September 26: Since next week begins October, and Halloween season, I think I'm going to do unit #7 next--Horror movies. It's the season...xaxa.
October 15: Did Rosemary's Baby, The Shining, Room 237 to analyze the Kubrick one. Next: Eraserhead, and then possibly Stoker, since these kids are all cool and have their parent permissions in. Ivan's dad is especially cool, and apparently was a Russian film student/ film buff.
In fact, he told me of an excellent film I really loved: The Two Faces of Veronique.
October 27: Working on 2001 Space Odyssey --we're in the non-conflicting early space station part so I don't think the kids like it much yet. We'll see what they think after that.
November 14: Doing Hitchcock, starting with Psycho, next will be Vertigo. Had to break it up with Snowpiercer, waiting for the slow mail. Also Showed Fantastic Mr. Fox for movie night, which features stop motion animation. It might be worth a look for Film Class for this. Wes Anderson directed, and you can tell, by the dialogue and nostalgic music choices.
December 4: In Movie Night last night I watched a big chunk of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close--brought it for Film class today. I liked the part I saw--well-written and acted, and I didn't remember until this morning when I saw the poster that it's from the much touted wunderkind of literary circles--Jonathan Safran Foer. I've heard mixed things about his work, and I'm lumping him with the likes of DFWallace, but I really liked his Everything Is Illuminated. Have considered showing that to Film class.
February 11:
What I Have Actually shown, so far:
I wanna do the Experimentals when we get done with this--gotta have Un Chien Andalou! We already did Eraserhead in our Horror unit. Maybe some of the nonlinear stuff, too?
Also going to check out these:
http://listverse.com/2012/12/16/10-must-see-animated-short-films/
Jun 15: I watched Double Indemnity last night: it definitely belongs on the noir list rather than the strong woman list---The Phyllis character that Barbara Stanwyck plays is too evil. Gonna try to find The Philadelphia Story. The Bicycle Thief ( Ladri di Biciclette) is not silent, but is in Italian with English subtitles.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Ok time to get organized: (* denotes movies presently on Netflix Streaming)
I definitely want to start off on an historical note--to reinforce, on one level, that the class is academic--another way to learn, know the world, become intellectually sophisticated..What's oldest here?
Introduction & My Film Philosophy:
Includes a document with quiz for movie terms for a vocabulary to use in the class assignments (approx. every two weeks?)
Tips on Film Viewing from AMC: Part 1-- http://www.filmsite.org/filmview.html
Part 2--http://www.filmsite.org/filmview2.html
Cinematic Terminology:
http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms1.html
Incredible Movie Sets Video:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/05/26/the_best_movie_sets_ever_built_cinefix_ranks_sets_ranging_from_waterworld.html
Unit #1: Silent Era-- Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Silent Tragicomedy. Which Movies?
For Buster Keaton: Steamboat Bill, Jr.* which I have seen, and The General* which I have not, but hear is a classic.
For Charlie Chaplin, the little tramp movies--ah, what's the one that mocks Hitler?? A must do.
There's something on Netflix Stream called The Charlie Chaplin Collection*--I will have to watch it to see how it is organized: clips? an archive of whole movies? It's 45 min of clips, turns out. But, to get the full effect of the CC pathos, I think you need a full movie--
There is also Charlie Chaplin, The Movie not sure if I've seen it--starring Robert Downey, Jr. Which may be a good way to ease kids into this attention deficit unit in a way they can understand better?
There are the following famous Chaplin short movies to consider, all can be ordered thru Netflix mail:
The Immigrant (20 min), Modern Times(83 min--like the sound of the story!), City Lights(87 min), The Gold Rush, and The Great Dictator(126 min). I really can't remember which I've seen, but pretty sure I've seen The Gold Rush and The Great Dictator--sorta partial to the idea of showing the immigrant one and Modern Times (on Vimeo) but I think I remember liking The Gold Rush. Perhaps the thing to do is make a project where kids compare a 2nd movie they watched from the BK, CC list with one we saw in class--liking that idea!!
Unit #2: Early Talkies--no. 1 on that list for me is The Bicycle Thief*. Must do. What else? It Happened One Night, (BTW, found for free on youtube--it's Frank Capra!! 1934. Love FC movies) which I've never seen but everyone praises. I really need to watch it. Then a paper comparing talkies and walkies?
Just started watching the u-tube version of It Happened One Night--I can't believe I never saw this classic movie!! I always loved Gable in GWTW. It's definitely on the curriculum.
Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aASIcbo3u6E
Unit #3: Film Noir-- Double Indemnity*, The Asphalt Jungle, The Big Sleep, Memento (R) Definition paper for work
Unit #4: Hitchcock Unit-- The Lady Vanishes*, North By Northwest, Vertigo, Rear Window (not if I have a lot of last year's drama kids) Rope. Paper: Analysis of Hitchcock motifs, themes, techniques Psycho? For outside work? Hitchcock, the movie?
Christmas Movies? Fanny and Alexander, It's A Wonderful Life
Unit #5: Real women-- Gone With the Wind, Adam's Rib, The African Queen*: Comparison paper to atypical modern female character Oh-yeah, Beast of the Southern Wild Definitely belong-h'yah. The Indian film : Charulata, or A Streetcar Named Desire?
Unit #6: Science Fiction--2001: A Space Odyssey(own DVD), Mr. Nobody*, Gravity--(16 minute long shot) 12 Monkeys, Alien
Unit #7: Horror Movies-- Nosferatu* (or put with silent movies?), Rosemary's Baby*, Eraserhead, Stoker (R rated--minus the shower scene?--still thinking)
Unit #8: Gangster/Crime Movies--Bonnie & Clyde, Badlands, Fargo, True Grit, Oh, Brother Where Art Thou? (Digital Photoshop, work--old trailers are in contrast) Inside Man: Spike Lee
Unit #9: Spy Movies--Bond -Off! Which James Bond do you like best and why? From Russia With Love, Live and Let Die, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall---also, The Conversation*, The Bourne Supremacy
Unit #10: Musicals-- West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof, Moulin Rouge, Stilyagi (have DVD)
Unit #11: War Movies--The Bridge On The River Kwai, Apocalypse Now* (Rated R!!), All Quiet On the Western Front, A Soldier's Story (have DVD), Ivan's Childhood (subtitled?) Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line-Terrence Malick
Unit #12: Experimental Movies, Anime, Animation?: Un Chien Andalou, Tripletts of Belleville, Antz, Animation Shorts on the website above ??? Carnage? Jody Foster, John C. Reilly:: plot non-sequence--Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Ryan Reynolds The Nines or Buried. Tim Burton--Big Fish. Slumdog Millionaires!!! A Scanner Darkly.
Unit 13:: Comedies: The Odd Couple, Death at a Funeral: British version. Amelie, The Dinner Game--French version. (Dinner for Shmucks). Noises Off!! Carnage? Black Comedy?
Not sure where to put this one: Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. Really want to use that one.
Also the culmination of the class will be some sort of student based movie making project, driven by the effects, techniques and genres we observed. If someone has a creative idea to go outside this, I will of course listen and guide.
Mikey, a student in my SAT class last year who is into making movies and has taken classes outside of school to supplement his interest, has offered to help me in this class! He has contacts that I can bring in for guest speakers, and things like that, and maybe he could be a good source/help for the film-making project I want to do at the end of the year. Wonder what he has 3rd period?
September 26: Since next week begins October, and Halloween season, I think I'm going to do unit #7 next--Horror movies. It's the season...xaxa.
October 15: Did Rosemary's Baby, The Shining, Room 237 to analyze the Kubrick one. Next: Eraserhead, and then possibly Stoker, since these kids are all cool and have their parent permissions in. Ivan's dad is especially cool, and apparently was a Russian film student/ film buff.
In fact, he told me of an excellent film I really loved: The Two Faces of Veronique.
October 27: Working on 2001 Space Odyssey --we're in the non-conflicting early space station part so I don't think the kids like it much yet. We'll see what they think after that.
November 14: Doing Hitchcock, starting with Psycho, next will be Vertigo. Had to break it up with Snowpiercer, waiting for the slow mail. Also Showed Fantastic Mr. Fox for movie night, which features stop motion animation. It might be worth a look for Film Class for this. Wes Anderson directed, and you can tell, by the dialogue and nostalgic music choices.
December 4: In Movie Night last night I watched a big chunk of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close--brought it for Film class today. I liked the part I saw--well-written and acted, and I didn't remember until this morning when I saw the poster that it's from the much touted wunderkind of literary circles--Jonathan Safran Foer. I've heard mixed things about his work, and I'm lumping him with the likes of DFWallace, but I really liked his Everything Is Illuminated. Have considered showing that to Film class.
February 11:
What I Have Actually shown, so far:
Movie Screenings:
MARKING PERIOD ONE
Sept 4-5:Silent Films Steamboat Bill, Jr., with Buster Keaton
Sept 8-10: Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, Shorts
Sept 15-18Mixed media animation and film, before CGI: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Sept 22-26: Classic Italian Drama: The Bicycle Thief ( Ladri di Bicicilette)
October 2-7 Horror: Rosemary's Baby (director Roman Polanski)
MARKING PERIOD TWO
October 8-21: The Shining and Room 237 (director Stanley Kubrick)
October 22-27:Horror/Sci-Fi: 2001: A Space Odyssey (director Stanley Kubrick)
October 28-Nov 3:Surrealism--Eraserhead, (director David Lynch)
November 4-7:Psychothrillers and Suspense: Psycho (director Alfred Hitchcock)
November 8-10:remake: Psycho (director Gus Van Sant)
November 11-14:The Birds (director Alfred Hitchcock)
November 17-18:Snowpiercer (director Bong Joon-ho)
November 19-Dec 3: Vertigo (director Alfred Hitchcock)
December 4-9: Urban Drama: Boyz in the Hood (director John Singleton)
December 10-12:Rope (director Alfred Hitchcock)
MARKING PERIOD THREE
January 5-10 : Biopic: Hitchcock (director Sacha Gervasi)
January 12: Alfred Hitchcock Presents (various directors)
January 13-23: Historical Epic: Gone With The Wind (director Victor Fleming)
January 26-:Mock-epic: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
January 26-29: Southern Suspense: A Soldier's Story (director Norman Jewison)
January 30-February 2:Moonrise Kingdom (director Wes Anderson)
Feb 2-Feb 9: In The Heat of the Night (director Norman Jewison)
February 9-13: Intro to Musical: 10 Famous (youtube) and Moulin Rouge (director Baz Luhrmann)
February 17-20: Russian Musical: Stilyagi (СТИЛЯГИ) or Hipsters (director Valery Todorovsky)
February 23-26: Jesus Christ, Superstar (director Norman Jewison)
February 26: Mamma Mia! (director Phyllida Lloyd)
March 6: Whiplash (director Damien Chazelle) MARKING PERIOD FOUR March 13: Gangster/Crime Movies
March 16-19: White Heat (director Raoul Walsh)
March 20-25: Days of Heaven (director Terrence Malick)
March 25-April 11: The Godfather, Parts I and II (director Francis Ford Coppola)
April 14-17 : Badlands (director Terrence Malick)
April 18-21: Bonnie and Clyde (director Arthur Penn)
April 21-27: Fargo (director The Coen Brothers--Joel and Ethan)
Female Directors:
May 1-5: Winter's Bone (director Debra Granik)
Experimental and Animation: May 15: Un Chien Andalou (directors Luis Bunuel and Salvadore Dali) May 15-18: The Tripletts of Belleville (director Sylvain Chomet) |
I wanna do the Experimentals when we get done with this--gotta have Un Chien Andalou! We already did Eraserhead in our Horror unit. Maybe some of the nonlinear stuff, too?
