I'm about to take a short, 6 week course on film history from 1945 onward. I'm unfamiliar with many of these films, several of which are from other cultures than my own (USA). If you have some subject matter knowledge on any one or more of these and can recommend short, essay length readings that I can read in advance of viewing to prepare me to appreciate the films more, I'd love to have those recommendations. Film list inside.
The films in question:
The Bicycle Thieves (1948), Vittorio de Sica
Rashomon (1950), Akira Kurosawa
Vertigo (1958), Alfred Hitchcock
Breathless (1960), Jean-Luc Godard
Germany, Pale Mother (1980), Helma Sanders-Brahms
The Battle of Algiers (1966), Gillo Pontecorvo
Taxi Driver (1976), Martin Scorsese
The Mirror (1998), Jafar Panahi
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Ang Lee
This is just a fun elective for me, and I'm an adult student. In other words, this isn't a "do my homework for me" question.
I have seen Taxi Driver, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Vertigo, though not since I was younger and I did not view them with a critical eye. I am totally unfamiliar with the other films.
Any great context-lending / historical context giving essays (I don't have time to read full novels on any of the films though I'm sure there are many) would be wonderful, extra bonus points if you can link to them on the 'net. I do have access to a serious library system if net links are not available though. |
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