21L.011 The Film Experience (Fall 2013, MIT OCW): Lecture 11

21L.011 The Film Experience

21L.011 The Film Experience (Fall 2013, MIT OCW). Instructor: Prof. David Thorburn. This course concentrates on close analysis and criticism of a wide range of films, from the early silent period, classic Hollywood genres including musicals, thrillers and westerns, and European and Japanese art cinema. It explores the work of Griffith, Chaplin, Keaton, Capra, Hawks, Hitchcock, Altman, Renoir, DeSica, and Kurosawa. Through comparative reading of films from different eras and countries, students develop the skills to turn their in-depth analyses into interpretations and explore theoretical issues related to spectatorship. (from ocw.mit.edu)

Lecture 11 - The Musical

Define what makes a film a "musical." Key themes: creating community and putting on the show, high vs popular culture, social class vs merit, restraint vs spontaneity. Films discussed: Love Me Tonight, 42nd Street, Top Hat.

Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:

Lecture 01 - Introduction (2007)

Lecture 02 - Keaton (2007)

Lecture 03 - Chaplin, Part I (2007)

Lecture 04 - Chaplin, Part II (2007)

Lecture 05 - Film as Global and Cultural Form; Montage, Mise en Scene

Lecture 06 - German Film, Murnau

Lecture 07 - The Studio Era

Lecture 08 - The Work of Movies; Capra and Hawks

Lecture 09 - Alfred Hitchcock

Lecture 10 - Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window

Lecture 11 - The Musical