HISTORY OF ITALIAN CINEMA (LM)

This is a graduate level course that is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. This course covers basics concepts in the history of Italian cinematography. In particular, the course tackles a number of common focal points that link cinema with the history of Italian culture (method of representation, cultural industry, relationships with other expressive forms). The class starts with an analysis of the concept of “national cinema” for better understanding both the focus and the approach adopted by the lecturer in presenting the Italian case study. After this methodological introduction, the class investigates the history of Italian cinema from the silent era to nowadays. In doing that, Italian films are analyzed both as art form and as economic good. The aim of the class is twofold. On the one hand it investigates an historical path in order to retrace the evolution of Italian films in terms of style, aesthetics, themes, etc. On the other hand, it detects relationships between Italian films, Italian history, Italian art forms and Italian cultural industry. The investigation of Italian film history is supported by the analysis of some films which are particularly important for understanding key-periods and key-genres of Italian film history. The films are: MA L'AMOR MIO NON MUORE (1913) by Mario Caserini, CABIRIA (2014) by Giovanni Pastrone, OSSESSIONE (1943) by Luchino Visconti, LADRI DI BICICLETTE (1948) by Vittorio De Sica, RISO AMARO (1949) by Giuseppe De Santis, LA STRADA (1954) by Federico Fellini, DIVORZIO ALL'ITALIANA (1961) by Pietro Germi, PER UN PUGNO DI DOLLARI (1964) by Sergio Leone, BLOW-UP (1966) by Michelangelo Antonioni, PROFONDO ROSSO (1975) by Dario Argento, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (2017) by Luca Guadagnino, DOGMAN (2018) by Matteo Garrone. The course is structured in lecture/seminars led by the teacher. Sessions are accompanied with power point presentations, video clips, and film screenings. All students are required to attend the class, the screenings and to actively participate in class discussion.