Syllabus
1st lesson
The invention of the cinematography - the newest art form. Technical and historical stimulations for it. Developing of the film language. The silent era in the Czech lands. Jan Kříženecký, the father of the Czech film; Gustav Machatý and the peak of the Czech silent film. 2nd lesson
The coming of the sound. Main means of the film language. The main tendencies of the period. The War era and the Czech film in the context of the Protectorate policy.
The post-war film, changed conditions of the Czechoslovak film artists with the new political order. The peak of the Czech classical film.
Pre-reading: Petr Čornej - history of 1st half of 20th century - Mini Test 1
Screening: Romeo, Juliette and the Darkness (dir. Ji ří Weiss) 3rd lesson
Main world trends in the cinematography after WWII. Italian neo-realism, French New Wave.
Pre-reading: Cesare Zavattini: On Neorealism
Screening: Breathless (dir. Jean-Luc Godard) pre-screening: Shop on the Main Street (dir. Ján Kadár, Elmaar Klos) 4th lesson
Preconditions for the arise of the New Wave. The "First New Wave". František Vláčil, Karel Kachyňa, Elmar Klos, Jan Kadár. 5th lesson
The beginning of the New Wave - the realistic approach. Miloš Forman, Ivan Passer, Jaroslav Papoušek.
Dead line of the mid-term paper.
Pre-reading: Interview with Miloš Forman
Screening: Loves of a Blonde (dir. Miloš Forman) 6th lesson
"Pearls of the Deep" as the manifesto of the New Wave. The allegorical approach.
Věra Chytilová.
Pre-reading: Petr Čornej - history of 2nd half of 20th century - Mini Test 2
Screening: Daisies (dir. Věra Chytilová) 7th lesson
Literary inspiration of the New Wave. Jan Němec, Jiří Menzel.
Pre-reading: Arnošt Lustig: Dark Casts No Shadow
Screening: Diamonds of the Night (dir. Jan Němec) 8th lesson
Czech animated film: the main techniques and art specifics of the form. Principal personages and works of the Czech animated schoul, Jiří Trnka; Jan Švankmajer.
Pre-reading: Hames, Peter: Dark Alchemy - The Films of Jan Svankmajer
Screening: Shorts by Jan Svankmajer; The Pied Piper of Hamelin (dir. Jiří Bárta) 9th lesson
The 70s and the 80s. The new social climate and consequences for the cinema.
Main genres and personages.
Dead line of the of the final paper outline.
Screening: My Sweet Little Village (dir. Jiří Menzel)
Pre-screening: Kolya (dir. Jan Svěrák) 10th lesson
The 90s. New conditions in the democratic society, the end of the state subsidized cinematography. New generation of filmmakers, generation of New Wave directors. 11th lesson
Current tendencies of the Czech film.
Dead line of the final paper. Presentations of the final papers. The final test. 12th lesson
Czech documentary film: specifics of the form; film and reality. Main protagonists in the course of its history; its current revival.
Screening: Shorts by Jan Špáta
Annotation
This course will focus on the history of the Czech / Czechoslovak film. It shall cover its whole path from the invention of cinematography through the twentieth century until the current period, but a special attention will be paid to the singular time of the Czech film - the New Wave of the 60s. The trends of the Czech film will be put into context not only with the period´s social and cultural milieu but also with the world film production.
We will go through the basic facts of the cinematographic production in the Czech lands, but will more closely focus on the most important changes in the film language and the issues of the films. An important place will be given to screening of the extracts of the films as well as the whole pieces and discussion over it.
Special lessons will be dedicated to singular film forms - the animated film and the documentary film.