week 9

Week Nine: The Breadth and Depth of European Cinema

Films: Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)

Different from the Others (Richard Oswald, 1919)

Reading Due: 

1. “European Cinemas” (pages 329-338 in The Silent Cinema Reader)

2. David Bordwell, “Monumental Heroics: Form and Style in Eisenstein’s Silent Films” (pages 368-388 in The Silent Cinema Reader)

I find it interesting how once the Hollywood studio developed in the United States, the US no longer wanted to be associated with international films. I definitely do notice a difference when I'm watching a US film versus a foreign film. Not only is the pacing different, but the amount of action versus dialogue when it comes to developing the plot varies as well. I think it is really important for foreign films to inspire from other countries. Both films for this week told stories inspiring social movements that are still relevant to this day. This really went to show that narrative cinema not only serves to entertain or tell a story but to bring social awareness to important issues.