COM 321, Documentary Form in Film & Television

1

COM 321, Documentary Form in Film & Television

Fall 2008

Extra Credit Viewing Opportunities

All due at the Final Exam or earlier

11/5/08 Updated Version

You may receive up to 2% extra credit for each film viewed and analyzed (up to 4% for selected films showing at the Cleveland Cinematheque or the Cleveland Museum of Art, if ticket stub is attached), to a maximum total of 10%. Films must be from the attached list of approved films. However, there may be additions made in class, including some additional Cinematheque or Cleveland Museum of Art viewings. You may propose films or other moving image presentations (e.g., TV, online) to add to the list; if you wish to do so, please write me a note. If approved, I need to extend the offer to the rest of the class.

For each film viewed, you need to do a little research. Use the Katz Film Encyclopedia or similar source to learn about the main "players" involved in the film--the director, producer(s), writer(s), DP/cinematographer (IMDb is not sufficient for such biographical info). Also, try to check out Halliwell's Film Guide, Magill’s Survey of Cinema volumes, or other expanded source regarding the film itself. The Katz book is available in the MU 107 projection booth, and Magill’s is in the reference section of the CSU Library. Use your textbooks, too! Some online sources are good, others are bogus. Do not rely solely on online sources.

After viewing the film, complete a 2-page typed, double-spaced report, addressing the following issues:

1. Analyze the contributions of the main creative personnel (again, producer, director, DP, writer) with regard to this film. How does this film fit into their full careers, and the typical documentary role(s) that they tend to play?

2. Explain how this film illuminates some particular milieu or phenomenon—e.g., a particular field (e.g., architecture), a particular time and place, a social milieu, or a type of human endeavor (e.g., polka). Comment on the film’s effectiveness or lack thereof. How do the chosen techniques of production contribute to this?

COM 321—Documentary Form in Film & Television, Fall 2008

Extra Credit Film Viewing

Approved Film List as of 11/5/08

* - Showing at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque; 4 extra credit points possible for each (with ticket stub).

** - Showing at the Cleveland Museum of Art; 4 extra credit points possible for each (with ticket stub)

*** - Showing at the CSU Film Watchers’ Society, MU 107

NEW ADDITIONS AS OF 11/5/08:

*One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert Wagner Story, 2008, US, Thomas G. Miller (Nov. 9 at 3:45 pm, Cleveland Cinematheque)

*Lou Reed’s Berlin, 2007, Britain/US, Julian Schnabel (Nov. 15 at 9:30 pm & Nov. 16 at 7:00 pm, Cleveland Cinematheque)

*Man on Wire, 2008, Britain/US, James Marsh (Nov. 22 at 5:10 pm & Nov. 23 at 4:00 pm, Cleveland Cinematheque)

*Patti Smith: Dream of Life, 2008, US, Steven Sebring (Dec. 5 at 9:20 pm & Dec. 7 at 8:20 pm, Cleveland Cinematheque)

FROM FIRST LIST HANDED OUT:

**A Jihad for Love, 2007, U.S., Parvez Sharma (Oct. 4 at 3:00 pm & Oct. 8 at 7:00 pm, Cleveland Museum of Art)

*A Man Named Pearl, 2006, U.S., Scott Galloway & Brent Pierson (Oct. 25 at 7:30 pm & Oct. 26 at 4:30 pm, Cleveland Cinematheque)

**All in This Tea, 2007, U.S., Les Blank & Gina Leibrecht (Oct. 3 at 7:00 pm & Oct. 4 at 1:30 pm, Cleveland Museum of Art)

An Inconvenient Truth, 2006, U.S., Davis Guggenheim

Bastards of the Party, 2005, U.S., Cle Shaheed Sloan

***Best in Show, 2000, U.S., Christopher Guest (Nov. 8 at 6:00 pm, MU 107)

*Body of War, 2007, U.S., Phil Donahue & Ellen Spiro (Sept. 14 at 7:00 pm, Cleveland Cinematheque)

Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow, 1987, Britain, Kevin Brownlow & David Gill (any one episode in 3-part series)

Capturing the Friedmans, 2003, U.S., Andrew Jarecki

**Chris & Don: A Love Story, 2007, U.S., Guido Santi & Tina Mascara (Oct. 24 at 7:00 pm & Oct. 26 at 1:30 pm, Cleveland Museum of Art)

Crumb, 1994, U.S., Terry Zwigoff

Daisy: The Diary of a Facelift, 1982, Canada, Michael Rubbo

Dark Days, 2001, U.S., Marc Singer

Eat the Document, 1972, U.S., Bob Dylan

*Encounters at the End of the World, 2007, U.S., Werner Herzog (Sept. 25 at 7:00 pm & Sept. 26 at 9:15 pm, Cleveland Cinematheque)

Finding Christa, 1991, U.S., Camille Billops & James Hatch

Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers, 1980, U.S., Les Blank

Gates of Heaven, 1978, U.S., Errol Morris

Grey Gardens, 1975, U.S., Ellen Hovde, Albert & David Maysles, & Muffie Meyer

Harlan County U.S.A., 1976, U.S., Barbara Kopple

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, 1991, U.S., Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, & Eleanor Coppolla

Hollywood, 1980, Britain, Kevin Brownlow & David Gill (any one episode in 13-part series)

Hospital, 1970, U.S., Frederick Wiseman

King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, 2008, U.S., Seth Gordon

Koyaanisqatsi, 1982, U.S., Godfrey Reggio

Letter from Siberia, 1957, France, Chris Marker

**Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress, and the Tangerine, 2008, U.S., Marion Cajori & Amei Wallach (Oct. 17 at 7:00 pm & Oct. 19 at 1:30 pm, Cleveland Museum of Art)

Man of Aran, 1934, U.S., Robert Flaherty

Mondo Cane, 1962, Italy, Paolo Cavara, Gualtiero Jacopetti, & Franco Prosperi

***My Best Fiend—Klaus Kinski, 1999, Germany, Werner Herzog (Oct. 11 at 6:00 pm, MU 107)

*Obscene, 2007, U.S., Daniel O’Connor & Neil Ortenberg (Oct. 25 at 5:30 pm & Oct. 26 at 8:45 pm, Cleveland Cinematheque)

Olympia, 1937, Germany, Leni Riefenstahl

Salesman, 1968, U.S., Albert & David Maysles

Scared Straight!, 1980, U.S., Arnold Shapiro

Seven Up!, 1964, Britain, Paul Almond (or any one of the other Up! installments)

Sherman’s March, 1985, U.S., Ross McElwee

Shine a Light, 2008, U.S., Martin Scorsese

Sicko, 2007, U.S., Michael Moore

Spellbound, 2002, U.S., Jeffrey Blitz

The Atomic Cafe, 1982, U.S., Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, & Pierce Rafferty

The Civil War, 1990, U.S., Ken Burns (any one episode in 9-part series)

*The Dark Side of Dr. Seuss, 1943-45, U.S., various directors (Oct. 10 at 7:30 pm, Cleveland Cinematheque)

The Double Life of Ernesto Gomez Gomez, 1999, U.S., Catherine Ryan & Gary Weimberg

The Flying Padre, 1951, U.S., Stanley Kubrick

The Fog of War, 2003, U.S., Errol Morris

The Hour of the Furnaces, 1968, Argentina, Octavio Getino & Fernando Solanas

The Last Waltz, 1978, U.S., Martin Scorsese

The Life and Times of Frido Kahlo, 2005, U.S., Amy Stechler

*The Order of Myths, 2008, U.S., Margaret Brown (Nov. 1 at 7:30 pm & Nov. 2 at 8:55 pm, Cleveland Cinematheque)

The Seafarers, 1953, U.S., Stanley Kubrick

The Sorrow and the Pity, 1969, France, Marcel Ophuls

*Trumbo, 2007, U.S., Peter Askin (Sept. 13 at 7:40 pm & Sept. 14 at 1:15 pm, Cleveland Cinematheque)

Woodstock, 1970, U.S., Michael Wadleigh

Zelig, 1983, U.S., Woody Allen

Also:

Any one documentary by Krzysztof Kieślowski

Added note:

The following are required out-of-class viewing. Do not complete a two-page paper on these; rather, these will be “fair game” for the exams:

For the Midterm:

Triumph of the Will, 1935, Germany, Leni Riefenstahl

The Times of Harvey Milk, 1984, U.S., Rob Epstein

Harvest of Shame, 1960, U.S., Fred Friendly (available online via the CSU Library)

For the Final Exam:

Don’t Look Back, 1967, U.S., D. A. Pennebaker

The Thin Blue Line, 1989, U.S., Errol Morris

Paris is Burning, 1990, U.S., Jennie Livingston

Roger and Me, 1989, U.S., Michael Moore