View a feature film made between 1970 – 2000 you have not seen before (or will see later in this class) by a great director or featuring a great actor or actress.
Part: 1 Comment on the specific film you saw in terms of its genre and the quality of the film itself. Pay attention to the camerawork (cinematography), the editing (montage), and the sound (including music). What did you like and what did you dislike? Why do you like the things you like, and why do you dislike the things you dislike? Finally, keeping in mind when the film was made, do you consider it successful in creating a work of fiction using the craft of filmmaking? (Note: This is not the same question as whether or not you liked it. It is entirely possible to like a film that you are aware is not very good).
Part 2: Draw some general conclusions about the work of the director and one of the main actors or actresses. For example, let us say you watched the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia. Did you like David Lean as a filmmaker? Explain your answer. Did you like Peter O’Toole in the role of Larwrence? Why, or why not?
End with your overall impression of the film, including how you see it as an example of its genre and time period.
PARTS ONE AND TWO SHOULD BE PRESENTED AS A SINGLE ESSAY
Part 3: On a separate page, insert the heading “My Criteria for Quality in Film.” Under that heading, propose four general statements indicative of your personal taste in movies. These statements should be numbered (1) through (4), and they should be written as complete sentences or a short paragraph. For example, if you commented in your essay that you liked the acting because it was realistic and that you liked the script because it had a happy ending, you could propose these two statements as criteria for quality: “(1) Excellent movies feature realistic acting. (2) A movie is more likely to be good if it ends happily.” Think about and then explain what words such as good, excellent, and effective actually mean. Be sure to save your “My Criteria” page to your hard drive—you will be resubmitting an expanded version of it with for the second paper later in this course. Based on your viewing of this week’s film, add four new general conclusions. These statements should be numbered (5) through (8). .
THIS assignment IS A REACTION PAPER!! IT IS
NOT plot summaries or research papers. Write what you have to say about the
film, not what others have said, but with demonstrable knowledge of how the
film was made.
The papers will be graded based on:
a) Evidence that you are reading and
viewing the course content, comparisons to other relevant films you have seen
(in class and as a movie watcher); use of the film vocabulary introduced in
class and college-level writing skills (spelling, punctuation, and grammar).
b) Clear presentation of your opinions and reasonable explanations and
justifications to support those opinions: you should explain why you think the way you do about the film,
and then justify your opinions with explanations (using references found in the
weekly content in the LEO classroom).
Be sure to correctly spell the names listed
in the credits of directors, actors, screenwriters, and other people (to
avoid “points” being taken off of the final grade for that paper).
These papers are about your observations,
insights, and evaluations. They are not just about what you can learn by
reading up on the film or the filmmaker. Do not just repeat what you find
online. Think carefully before you write, be creative, and apply what you have
been learning in this course.
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