English 250 Richard Finkelstein
Fall 2005 Welles 220
T/R 2-3:15 finkelst@geneseo.edu
Welles 119 X5245
Office Hrs: T/R 11-12:30
and by appointment
Shakespeare and Film
Goals: This course has a double objective: to gain a solid understanding of plays from 3 Shakespearean genres; and to gain an understanding of the changing approaches to filming Shakespeare during the last several decades, particularly from the 1950Õs to the turn of the millennium. In other words, we will learn how to read ShakespeareÕs plays and also learn something very differentÑhow to read the renderings of his plays on film.
Texts:
Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus, Taming of the Shrew, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Macbeth (I ordered paperbacks at Sundance but you can use whatever editions you wish, although itÕs very helpful to have ones with act, scene, line numbers and notes).
Screenings:
Beginning the week of September 19, films will be screened on Monday nights at 7:00. There will be no screening on October 10 (fall break). For your convenience, I have scheduled more than one screening for each film.
Schedule:
8/30 Introduction; silent Shakespeare
9/1 Othello 1-2
9/6 Othello 3-4
9/8 Othello 5
9/13 Welles,
Othello
9/15 Welles, Othello
9/19 Screening:
Zeffirelli, Shrew
9/20 Taming of the Shrew
9/22 Shrew
9/26 Screening:
Zeffirelli, Shrew
9/27 Shrew; Pickford, Shrew (scenes)
9/29 Zefirelli, Shrew
10/3 Screening: Polanski, Macbeth
10/4 Macbeth
10/6 Macbeth Paper 1 Due
10/11 FALL BREAK
10/13 Macbeth
10/17 Screening:
Polanski, Macbeth
10/18 Polanski, Macbeth; Welles, Macbeth (scenes)
10/20 Polanski,
Macbeth
10/24 Screening:
Branagh, Henry V
10/25 Henry
V
10/27 Henry
V
10/31 Screening: Branagh, Henry V
11/1 Henry V
11/3 Olivier,
Henry V(scenes)
11/7 Screening:
Branagh, Henry V
11/8 Branagh, Henry V
11/10 Branagh,
Henry V
11/14 Screening:
Branagh, Much Ado
11/15 Much
Ado
11/17 Much Ado
11/21 Screening:
Branagh, Much Ado
11/22 Branagh, Much Ado
11/24 THANKSGIVING BREAK
11/28 Screening: Taymor, Titus
11/29 Titus
Andronicus Paper 2 Due
12/1 Titus
Andronicus
12/5 Screening:
Taymor, Titus
12/6 Taymor, Titus
12/8 Taymor, Titus
12/15 @ 12-3 Final Exam
Evaluation:
brief presentation 15%
class participation 10%
2 5-page papers (Due 10/6, 11/29) 50%
final exam 25%
Brief Presentation:
This is a group project that asks you to provide information on the film that we will be discussing on the day that your project is due. It should provide the following information:
in his or her filmography or in other media
Note: Attendance is important because there is a grade for class participation. I am happy to discuss your ideas and planning for papers with you. However, because I have not found evaluating full drafts of papers helpful to students, I canÕt actually fully written papers before theyÕre due. However, by all means come with works in progress. All written work must be completed to pass the course. Late papers require InstructorÕs consent.
Partial List of SHAKESPEARE FILMS OWNED BY THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Romeo and JulietÑZeffirelli
Romeo and JulietÑLuhrmann
HamletÑAlmereyda
HamletÑZeffirelli
HamletÑOlivier
Hamlet--Branagh
OthelloÑParker
OthelloÑWelles
Macbeth---Welles
MacbethÑPolanski
Midsummer NightÕs Dream--Hoffman
Richard IIIÑOlivier
Richard IIIÑLocraine
Henry VÑOlivier
Henry VÑBranagh
LearÑOlivier
ShrewÑZeffirelli
ShrewÑw/Pickford
selections of early silent Shakespeare, includes King John, Tempest, Dream, Lear,
12th Night, Merchant of Venice, Richard III
Note: The films we will be watching include images of violence, nudity, and brief but relatively explicit sexual acts. If you wish to take this course you must indicate you are aware of these facts by signing below and returning this page to me.
I am aware that some of the films shown in English 250 (Fall 2005) contain nudity, violence, and explicit images of violence and sexual acts.
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