"La Grande illusion"/"Grand Illusion"

Any further comments on this amazing film? In class tomorrow, we're going to focus one sequence in particular and discuss how the sequence is constructed in a way that reinforces some of themes we discussed yesterday.

Have you noticed any ways in which formal elements (sound, editing, mise-en-scène, camera shots, camera movements, etc) reinforce those themes?

"Un Chien andalou" ("An Andalusian Dog")

There hasn't been much discussion on this blog yet, but maybe this Buñuel and Dalí film will inspire you. Please feel free to comment on any aspect of the film, but here are a few comments that were made about the film (culled from the _French Film Guide_ of Elza Adamowicz):

--"a desperate, passionate call to murder" (Luis Buñuel)
--a film of "adolescence and death" (Salvador Dalí)
--"that extraordinary film...penetrating so deeply into horror" (Georges Bataille)
--"a tiny little shit of a film" (Frederico Garcia Lorca)
--"a gob of spit in the face of art" (Henry Miller)

What do YOU think?

Lumière Brothers' films

I'll be very interested to hear which of these short films you found the most (or least) interesting.

Introduction to I208 / F356

Welcome to Intro to French Cinema (I208 / F356)! Feel free to participate in blog discussions about any aspect of the course. I look forward to our in-class and online discussions.