Film Appreciation Lecture Notes PDF

Film Appreciation Prof. Aysha Iqbal Department of Humanities and Social Science Indian Institution of Technology, Madras Lecture - 06 Tr...

Film Appreciation Prof. Aysha Iqbal Department of Humanities and Social Science Indian Institution of Technology, Madras Lecture - 06 Traditions in World Cinema German Expressionism Good morning and welcome again. (Refer Slide Time: 00:21) So, today’s class is about traditions in world cinema. We are basically going to talk about German expressionism and film noir. And, during the course of this module, we will be discussing other movements – film movements across the world such as Italian neorealism, French New Wave, British New Wave and Iranian and Latin American cinema along with Indian parallel cinema movement. So, let us begin with expressionism and particularly German expressionism in cinema. Now, expressionism had been dominant feature of German arts since 1910 including theater, painting and music. Because of its rejection of realistic modes of representation and its pre-occupation with sexuality and emotional uncertainty, expressionism can be termed as a modernist movement. One of the key names associated with expressionism was Max Reinhardt, who lived between 1873 to 1943. And, he was an Austrian theater film director, who rejected the realistic stage and search for new, expressive and emphatic of visual, scenic and musical representation, which led him directly to experimentation with ways of mixing the arts a key element of Reinhardt’s work was the use of expressionistic devices. After Germany’s defeat in the first world war that was between 1914 and 18, the artistic form captured the mood of the generation. Germany had lost land, people and also its pride in the treaty of Versailles. So, this set back to the collective confidence gave way to general feeling of melancholy, paranoia and morbidity. Theater and other art forms became a vehicle to explore newer possibilities of expression of these feelings. One of the earliest exponents of expressionism in cinema was Robert Wiene, who made a memorable seminal film called The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in 1919. So, the impact of expressionism was realized in cinematic art. Caligaris considered as one of the foremost expression of this aesthetics. It is a narrative of a mad doctor, who uses a sleep walker somnambulist to commit crimes for him. Wiene presents his actors in exaggerated make- up and places them in distorted sets and angular architecture. The film embodies all the stylistic features of expressionism such as chiaroscuro, that is, interplay of lights and shadows, oblique angles, spatial distortions. The feeling that danger lurks in the corner and city is a threatening site with morally ambiguous characters. It was also blamed for brain washing the Germans resulting in rise of Nazism. Caligari came to be so strongly associated with expressionism that their style became popularly known as caligorism. Other land mark expressionistic films of this period are Nosferatu, The Last Laugh and Metropolis as well as classics, such as Paul Wegener’s Der Golem, Fritz Lang’s doctor Mabuse, The Gambler, Paul Leni’s Waxworks, and Henrik Galeen’s The Student of Prague. F. W. Murnau’s Faust was also an important film released in 1926. Paul Leni’s Waxworks was a portmenteau that is the story of – three parallel stories or it is almost like our what we today called the anthology cinema. So, it was a portmenteau about three historical figures all conceived in a writer’s imagination. The architecture in Waxworks focuses on the Baghdad of the Arbian nights and the Moscow of Ivan the Terrible. The film describes an interior world as events occur within a wax museum within the palace of the Caliph of Baghdad or the small apartment of Assad the Baker and within the Dungeons of Kremlin or a wedding hall. So, all these are spaces that these morally ambiguous characters populate or inhabit. Characters are constantly bound by their surroundings and their bondages replicated throughout the film. For example, you have the use of low ceilings oblique lenses, constant shadows creating a sense that, the world is closing in on these characters and make their unnatural postures seem appropriate. And, overall there is a clear sense of resemblance to the style of doctor Caligari. So, the idea is that, the expressionist movement is a difficult phenomenon and it is hard to mark it with any ideological concern. Its subjects range from the fantastic to the naturalistic; it open the way for an alternative non-realistic approach to film narrative along with a few, along with a new stylized addition to film genre. The major reason for the end of expressionism was the end of silent films because the invention of sound paved way for naturalism and realism. The rise of Nazism in Germany in 1933 led many talented film makers to flee the country and work in Hollywood. Directors such as Fritz Lang, Karl Freund and Billy Wilder – they took expressionism to America. The result of this transcontinental exodus was the hybrid of German expressionism, French poetic realism and American pulp. And, it all gave birth to a distinct American feature such as film noir. The expressionist style of film noir creates an alienating feeling along with realistic depiction. It distorts perspective, emphasizes gestures and articulates a language for the subconscious. The directors living in self-exile in Hollywood, used expressionism to express their present through the past. The brutality against Jews magnified the sense of a living nightmare for those who participated in the business of the escapist world of Hollywood. For example, we had someone like F. W. Murnau, who lived between 1888 and 1931. He was considered a master expressionist along with Fritz Lang and G. W. Pabst. His films are full of dread and suggest a world between reality and fantasy. The themes of repression and sexuality recur which echo something Marnau’s – something of Marnau’s personal life since he was a closet homosexual during the period of Germany’s homophobic laws. His films are known for creating a sense of an alternative universe. For example, one of the best horror films Nosferatu, A symphony of Terror released in 1922 is a classic example of German expressionism with Max Shreck playing Count Orlok, a Dracula-like character. Fritz Lang – the great Fritz Lang, who lived between 1890 and 1976. His films are characterizing again by feelings of psychological terror, paranoia, morbidity and a sense of dread. He was born in Austria, where he made films such as Doctor Mabuse, Destiny, Metropolis and M; M is a story about a child murderer and it has several visually stunning images including one of the earliest scenes where the killer has played by Peter Lorre, his shadow looms large over a little girl. As the film comes to an end, image of the haunted and hunted criminal stays with us. Trapped by his sense of guilt and claustrophobia, the murderer leads us into a world of dread and urban anxiety, where any lapse leads to an inevitable downfall. Though he is aware of his terrible crimes, we are made to see his point of view that he cannot prevent himself from commenting those crime. So, a psychological study of morbidity and dread Fritz Lang’s another great film is Metropolis, 1927, which is recognized as the first science-fiction film. And, it was one of the most expensive films of its times. The fairy tale plot focuses on Freder Frederson, the spoilt son of a rich father, who is also called the master of Metropolis. Freder learns the oppressive living condition of the working class and comes to understand them through as saintly young girl Maria, who also mediates in cases of disputes between the industrialist and the workers. In order to break this alliance, the master gets Maria kidnapped and collaborates with the mad scientist and creates a female robot. This evil double of Maria is unleashed on the city, where this robot tricks of Femme Fatale dances in a club and instigates a riot in the streets. Freder and the real Maria come together at the end and save the city from destruction initiated by the robot tricks. One last thing image in the film is that of the Tower of Babel as Maria addresses the workers. Metropolis is credited for blending imageries of religion with that of a science-fiction, which has been referred to in many later works as for example, a futuristic robot, a steel-handed mad scientist, burning at stake, workers walking into the jaw of a machine. All these are lasting images, which have been replicative in cinema down the period – down the ages. Now, coming to the consequence of German expressionism was film noir. The literal meaning of film noir is a dark film; that term was coined by French film critic by particularly critic called Neno Franc in 1946 to refer to a particular type of American cinema. Film noir emerge from the collision of German expressionism, horror films and poetic realism. It parallels the emergence of the city as a character. noir films were great influences on the French New Wave cinema and later on influences the new Hollywood films as well. So, we have already talked about Fritz Lang’s M and one of the first noir in Hollywood starring Peter Lorre. We also know that, Lang was of German expressionism. So, Lang has directed a series of anti-Nazi films in Hollywood particularly Man Hunt, Hangmen Also Die and Ministry of Fear. He was black listed in Hollywood because of supposed communist collaboration. His greatest noir in Hollywood include The Big Heat, The Blue Gardenia and Human Desire. Film noir evolved in the 1940s and it became prominent in the post-war era and lasted in a classic golden age period until about 1960. Classic film noir developed during – after the Second World War. It took advantage of the post-war ambience of anxiety, pessimism and suspicion, and possible reflecting, male fears of female liberation and independence during the war years. The noir was characterized by a down-beat atmosphere and graphic violence. And, carry post-war American pessimism to the point of nihilism by assuming the absolute corruption of society. Now, there is also a literary side of noir and you would be surprised to know how many film noir were actually based on American pulp fiction. So, some of the major novelist of a crime and pulp fiction in America were Dashiell Hammet, who created the characters Sam Spade, which was used in The Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart. Raymond Chandler – he created the character of the Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep, The Lady in the Lake. Then, James Cain, who wrote The Postman Always Rings Twice. Great film was adapted starring John Garfield and Lana Turner; and, later on, Jack Nicholson also. James Cain also contributed to Double Indemnity and where Raymond Chandler also co- wrote the screenplay with Billy Wilder. And, Cornell Woolrich who wrote The Bride Wore Black, a film was adapted into a film by The French New Wave Master Francois Truffaut. With Hammett, film noir spreads itself all over the family of crime films arguably. Film noir begins to come into focus in 1941 with the adaptation of Hammett’s novel The Maltese Falcon directed by John Huston and Hamphrey Bogurt here embodies Sam Spade and the type of a so-called Hardboiled Detective hero. Raymond Chandler also wrote in The Simple Art of Murder. And famously, he writes; but, down those mean streets, a man must go who is not mean, who is neither tarnish nor afraid. So, that became typical description of a prototype noir hero, who goes down the mean streets. And, Martin Scorsese took the title of one of his earlier films from this Mean Streets. Chandler also gives us the seedy, corrupt dark-city and a wisecracking hero. So, those are the contributions of the pulp writers. It is worth considering the Chandler’s screenplays, such as Double Indemnity, The Blue Dahlia, and Strangers on a Train are much more central to the notion of film noir than the films based on his novels. So, noir is however, more style than a genre. Some of their stylistic features include interplay of shadow and light as we call it chiaroscuro, stylist narratives; sometimes use of a voice-over narration, exploring the psychology of the male protagonist, presence of a femme fatale and general attitude of pessimism, depression and anxiety. Film noir thus can broadly be defined by a subject, a locale and a character. Its subject is crime; almost always a murder, but sometimes a theft also. Its locale is contemporary world usually a city at night. The character is a fallible or a tarnished man and sometimes woman. From this situation and investigation, almost always ensues which further involve the protagonist as it of unravels the web of misadventures. And, whether it leads to punishment and do more redemption is not as important to the genre as there being an investigation. So, the process is more important; the journey is more important than the conclusion such then are the common components that constitute the genre: a crime, fraud protagonist, a femme fatale, contemporary settings and an investigation. It is all one of the characteristics of genre of film noir. It also the haunted past of that protagonist when noir protagonists are always escaping some past burden, or a traumatic incident. Noir protagonists are often individuals who are haunted by the past and carry the burden of the past. For example, in Robert Siodmak’s classic movie, The Killers, which is based on the short story by Ernest Hemingway, the main character Swede as played by Burt Lancaster waits resignedly for his end at the hands of two killers knowing that his past has finally caught up with him. In The Fallen Sparrow, John Garfield delivers a poignant performance of Spanish Civil War verteran who cannot escape the memory of his period of incarceration and torture at the hands of Franco’s agents. And then, in the Raymond Chandler’s screenplay for the movie, The Blue Dahlia, dedicated friends and decorated war veteran, Buzz as played by William Bendix experiences blackouts and fits of murderous rage that make him the chief murder suspect. Even his tenderness towards his buddies cannot hide the violence, which is ready to erupt at any moment. In Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat, Detective Dave Bannion has played by Glenn Ford. He goes on a personal vendetta against a gang of mobsters led by the great Lee Marvin, after the death of his wife in a car bombing. Like all traditional noir endings, even though the hero returns to the arms of the legitimate police force at the end of the movie, this is no way or in no way mitigates the violence he commits as well as instigates against those he believes guilty. Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly, which was made in 1954 is based on Mickey Spillane’s pulp thriller and is an apocalyptic tale of paranoia, revenge and betrayal. The film’s sensational tag line was – blood-red kisses, white-hot thrills. So, these are some of the great film noir. And, all are the results of a German expressionism. Another feature of film noir is the Hideout ,where the protagonist seek concealment in dimly-lit room and dark alleys. The bottom line remains, one cannot escape one’s past no matter how much ones tries. Life is a fatalistic nightmare, there is no escape or exit and the past always catches up with you. Film experts mention the four archetype characters of the noir as the truth seeker, the detective, officer of the law, hard-boiled detective, that is, the hunted, an outsider could be the hero, corrupt cop, and the femme fatale. Seductive, mysterious, powerful, always in control; and, literally, it means the killer woman. A great film maker of this style was Jacques Tourneur. And, Jacques Tourneur arrived in Hollywood in 1914 from Paris. He began his directing carrier in the French film industry in 1931 and then returned to Hollywood in 1935 on his own and worked as a second unit director at MGM film studio. He started making films from 1939 onwards. Later on he left MGM to join RKO studio, where he directed horror classics such as I walked with a Zombie and Cat People, which established his credentials as an experimental director of low budget films. (Refer Slide Time: 21:09) So, these are some of the great films and great film makers of the film noir period ((Refer Slide Time: 21:10)) And, I would like to draw your attention to the bibliography. So, we have Lotte H. Eisner, The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the influence of Max Reinhardt. Siegfried Kracauer and Leonardo Queresima from Caligari to Hitler as Psychological History of the German Film; and, Ian Roberts, German Expressionist Cinema: The World of Light and Shadow. So, thank you very much. We will be meeting soon and discuss our other great cinematic moments.  Film Appreciation Prof. Aysha Iqbal Department of Humanities and Social Science Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Lecture - 07 Traditions in World Cinema Italian Neo-Realism Good morning. (Refer Slide Time: 00:20) We will be continuing our discussion on traditions in world cinema. And, today’s topic is Italian neo-realism. So, we have been… We know that, there are other traditions in world cinema such as the French New Wave; we have been talking about the German expressionism and British New Wave, several others. During the course of this discussion, we will also some time later talk about the Iranian New Wave cinema, the Latin American cinema. So, we are now… The attempt is here now to look at the major cinematic movements. So, we talk about Italian neo-realism today. But, before I talk neo- realism, we should be able to understand what is realism after all. So, what is realism? Now, see realism again like other… We are using the cinematic terminology here – cinematic vocabulary here. But, it all goes back to literary terminologies. So, realism finds its routes in the writings of French writers such as Honore de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, the guy who wrote Madame Bovary; and, Emile Zola, who was also associated with the great naturalistic tradition. Now, historically, we are at the point, where artists reacted against the romantic movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. I am giving you brief historical backgrounds. So, there was something called the Romantic Movement and, realism was a sort of response to that. Now, realism after all depicts the everyday life – particularly, the everyday life of the middle and the lower class, as they exist day to day. As opposed to the exotic, the romantic, the ideal as was depicted during the romantic period. So, everyday becomes worthy of high art. Now, it also led to certain degree of interest in the documentation of real life. So, realism focused on depiction of characters and places and also situations as they actually appear in life, not perfect, not completely flawed, but a natural combination of the two. Now, see prior to realism, the norm was to make characters less like real people and more like symbolic characters – the hero, the villain; Damsel in Distress – all these archetypes. In cinema, realism is a stylistic choice and can be understood as an illusion that what is shown on the screen is actually connected to reality. Now, realism is a contested term. What is real? People say Satyajit Ray’s cinema or Satyajit Ray’s cinema is highly realistic. People may also question that, that how realistic is that kind of cinema. So, realism is a contested and a much debated term; that is, are all things which we can recognize; are they real, are all recognizable things real. It is a mix of devices to disguise the fact that, the fact what we really see in real life. Now, with the development of photography and camera, was able to capture and objective truth about the world. Realistic films present what appears on their screen as natural. Now, one of the very first film of this period was one of the very first film actually. I am sorry to use the term – one of the very first film; or, the first film ever was something called arrival of a train at railway station at this station; and also, Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory in 1895 by the French film pioneer – The Lumiere brothers. And, it was so real as close to reality as life. So, I would highly recommend that, all of you watch these two films that, Arrival of the Train at the Station and also Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory, the very first films ever made in 1895 by Lumiere brothers. Now, it may be noted that, in a realist film, hero is not always easy to identify with and often carries a certain degree of moral ambiguity about him. In other words, to make a protagonist appear as a real person, a realist film must attribute those characteristics on the character, which the audience perceives as real. Now, where is all this leading to? Towards Italian neo-realism, because what is neo? It must be a revival of interest in realism. So, cinema began perhaps showing certain degree of commitment towards depicting reality. But, somewhere along the life – along the way, fiction overpowered– a taste for adventure and romanticism took over. So, Italian neo-realism was a response to that. So, we need to connect realism with Italian neo-realism. Now, major theorists of realism are Rudolph Arnhime, Siegfried Kracauer and Andre Bazin. Now, Bazin in his What is Cinema says photography does not create eternity as art does; it embalms time, rescuing it simply from its proper corruption. Here he implies that, photography has a historical purpose in capturing a view of the world forever. This kind of film making is associated with the kinds of films that were made in France in the 30s particularly by directors such as Jean Renoir; and, while talking about Renoir, I would suggest that you watch his film – Got the Rules of the Game. So, this is one film due to copyright acts, we may not be able to show you actual clippings from films, but what I would suggest is that, you keep watching these films; and, I would be discussing these films and referring to these films, particularly certain scenes from these films quite often. So, these films with their focus on its stories about the masses and kinds of hardships common people faced; they were all about that. Renoir’s use of the long take also helped in his brand of cinema, which resulted in helping the audience to navigate their way around the frame rather than getting manipulated by editing techniques. Now, very close… I am making a jump now from the early kind of realistic cinema and something more recent; something or so 1895 we had one revolution called invention of cinema and the first ever film. And then, in 100 years from then, we were in 1995, where people like Lars Von Trier established something called the Dogme movement. So, Dogme movement – Dogme 95 as it is called, it was established in 95 in Denmark by Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg. It sets out the aims in a manifesto, which is referred to as a Vow of Chastity. Dogme focused on form and not on form and content. The idea is to tell his stories in bare and basic form and expose the artificial nature of filmic story telling. With respect to content, most Dogme films deal with the bleaker aspects of life. Some of the Dogme principles are shooting on location and using no props. Sound must not be produced; it should be as true to life as possible. Camera must be handheld. And, you may recall that, these are the features of the French New Wave also. They also talked about using or shooting films in color with no a special lights and also avoid using optical work and filters. They shunt melodrama and also shunt a special temporal alienation. The idea that film should be about here and now; genres are unacceptable to the Dogme’s – to the principles of Dogme. And, format should be 35 mm. And, most interestingly the director must not be credited. You can relate this to the theory of auteurism. Now, there is another concept called cinema verite, which is literally truthful cinema. Cinema verite films are usually shot with light, easily portable, inexpensive equipment, handheld cameras, on actual locations with real people, and not professional actors, and on a relatively small budget. The films are usually shot without a script and assembled later in editing. So, these are the… So, these are the principles. This is how cinema verite is generally understood and there is a film called Cinema Verite, 2011. I would suggest that you please watch it. While talking about realism, there is also a concept of social realism especially, soviet social realism, which is at the center of social realists cinema; and, it fully recognizes the ideological potential of cinema. For example, the works of Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein; and, these works are the most important films in this category; however, this kind of cinema with a strong ideological over tones has been embraced in other countries also. For example, our own brand of social realist cinema, for example, I would say Saeed Mirza’s Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai. It was 1981 film starring Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi. So, it comes quite close to social realism and several other films of the so-called parallel cinema movement in India. There’s another film called Manthan, a Shyam Benegal movie; that also I would recommend – if you are not already familiar with that, you please watch it as an exemplar of social realistic cinema. We have another brand of realism; kitchen sink realism, which is a part of British New Waves cinema. It is particularly related to the literary movement of the 50s in Britain, an important characteristic; characteristic is a plot based on youth – the young people – using their dialogue, their attitudes, their angst, and their anxieties. The idea was to explore social and political issues through a new kind of cinema and some of the great films of this period. Most of them are based on works of literature, theater and novels; so, Look Back in Anger, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, A Taste of Honey, etcetera. Now, from here, we move on to our discussion of Italian neo-realism; so, a brief background of Italian cinema. In 1905, the first Italian studios were established. They were owned by two of the largest production companies Cines and Italia – both of which made successful period films costume dramas. Some of which were the Last Day of Pompeii, The Fall of Troy and Cabiria. Now, Cabiria is a story of a slave girl, which took 6 months to shoot the film, shoot in studios and also partly and partially on location. It contains technical innovations such as dolly and crane shots. And, its success in America inspired people such as D. W. Griffith and Cecil DeMille to launch big budget productions. The First World War and competition from the US film industry put an end to the large- scale Italian productions. Ironically, it was the fascist regime under Mussolini that revived Italian cinema. Mussolini unlike Hitler or Stalin did not aim at total control over the content or style of the Italian commercial cinema. For propaganda reasons, Mussolini preferred documentary films and newsreels produced by an agency called L U C E. The fascist regime viewed Hollywood as its model and saw cinema more as a vehicle of entertainment rather than propaganda. So, you can compare this with Hitler and the entire propagandas machinery that he was associated with. There was a film called The Triumph of Will, which was made in order to project Hitler in a very positive light. But, Mussolini more or less refrained from this. So, he was more interested in cinema as a form of entertainment in artistic form rather than propagandas form. In the 30’s, Italian cinema was dominated by the so-called White Telephone films. And, these films are about the upper class – the aristocrats, the wealthy people of society. In 1935, the fascist regime founded a major film school – the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. In 1937, Mussolini inaugurated a film complex Cinecitta. And then, a journal called Cinema was launched during this period. In 1942, Alessandro Blasetti made Four Steps in the Clouds, which is the film that anticipated neo-realism by using humble characters and ordinary background. And then, there was The Siege of Alcazar by Augusto Genina, which celebrates the defense of the fortress in the Toledo region during the Spanish Civil War by Francos – General Franco’s fascist. It is in the style of a fictional documentary. The fictional documentary style generally meant adding a love story to adventure or war story. And, this kind of hybrid plot became a typical part of postwar neo-realist cinema. The most significant documentary is shot from the Italian armed forces were Men on the Bottom by Francesco De Robertis and many fictional documentaries by the great Roberto Rossellini. Now, one of the key names of this period is Leo Longanesi. Now, Leo Longanesi was a journalist – a staunch journalist and a staunch supporter of Mussolini. He gave the motto – Mussolini is always right. And, he advocated extremely simple realistic films without elaborate sets. With The fall of Mussolini and The End of the War, international audiences were suddenly introduced to Italian films – especially the works of Rossellini, De Sica and Visconti. Italian directors by this period combined the desire for cinematic realism with social, political or economic themes that would not have worked under the fascist regime. Now, neo-realism cinema generally refers to the films of working class people. And, it often depicts their abysmal poverty. The peak period was the 40s and the 50s. This movement tabbed into a particular transition in Italian life and became a vehicle for filmmakers interested in vivid description of history and society. The underlying message is that, in a just society, their wealth and means of wealth would be more evenly distributed. Often these films would be based on true incidents and they often use newsreel footage. They were shot on actual locations and used non- professional actors. The plot and the characters were reused as a vehicle for ideas. And, there was an emphasis saw sound and avoidance of heavy musical scores. In the late 1940’s, a neo-realism influences spread to Hollywood. People started using actual locations. And, city was used as an important character. And, long takes were used to bring about a touch of reality. Again think of our own Satyajit Ray and his brand of cinema and also directors in Germany, Spain and Eastern Europe too were influenced by the Italian neo-realist movement. The first Italian neo-realist film was Ossessione directed by Luchino Visconti. It was based on American pulp writer James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice. Again some major Italian neorealist were Roberto Rossellini. He was named the father of modern film by Cahiers du Cinema – influential French film journal along with Jean Renoir. He was the most influential name among the Nouvelle Vague filmmakers. The Nouvelle Vague filmmakers from France – they held him in high regards. Rossellini’s first three films are The White Ship, A Pilot Returns and The Man with the Cross. However, it was with open city room that he broke into this movement called Italian neo-realism; and, came to be associated with this movement. The film vies together a variety of stories of Romans during the occupation of Italy by the German forces. It is shot on locations with non-professional actors using long wide takes. Rossellini’s next film Paisa contains six vineyards from the liberation of Italy, a chronicle of 1943 to 1946. And, it was followed by Germany, Year Zero, which is a devastating tale of defeat and solitude. And, in one of the series – in one of the scenes, recording of a Hitler’s speech echoes over the devastated landscape. Together these films provide us with great commentary on the then contemporary social issues at a time of political movements of global importance. Rossellini famously said I am not a pessimist to perceive evil, where it exists is in my opinion a form of optimism. After a spate of neorealist films, he made several films with Ingrid Bergmen, the Hollywood actress whom he later married and also made several documentaries on an about Italy during this phase. Another important filmmaker of this period is Vittorio De Sica, who grew up in a lower middle class district of Naples and joined the stage. He began his career as a leading man in light-hearted romantic films, but soon took to direction. And, his Shoeshine is scripted by the neorealist theorists Cesare Zavattini, is an account of the Shoeshine boys of the post-war Italy. And, the object poverty these children lived in. His The Bicycle Thief is commonly regarded as the film that heralded Italian neo-realism in a real big way – in a major way. I would recommend that you watch The Bicycle Thief and perhaps we would discuss that as part of our course on film appreciation, which the film is a characteristic of the Italian neo-realism with its use of non-professional actors and shooting on actual roman locations. Its influence can be felt on Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali and films as recent as Children of Heaven, 1999 from Iran. Other Italian masters include Federico Fellini, whose early work reflects a pre- occupation with human weakness and also an interest in illusion and loneliness. In La Strada, which is a 1954 film and it won him international recognition; Fellini unfolds a tale of travelling circus, a recurring motive or recurring milieu in his works. La Dolce Vita is an eloquent statement on life and its excesses and the role of so-called paparazzi in the modern times. This is a film where the plot centers on the exploits of a gossip journalist. And, this is one of the key film; this is one of the first times that the term paparazzi was used. Fellini’s next major film was 8 & 1/2; it is a semi autobiographical account of an artist’s creative process. The film traces the film director a partially based on Fellini himself. And, the plot is that, with a new project set to start and no script, the filmmaker has come to a dead end. And, the director – the fictional director plumbs the memories of his childhood and his hidden desires for inspiration. One of the famous lines go as – I have nothing to say, but I want to say it. Most of Fellini’s films are autobiographical, quite personal in nature; they are influenced by his life, his dreams and also his love for performative arts. Then, we move on to another influential filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni. Antonioni began his professional life as a critic and was fired by Mussolini’s regime for his leftist views. Before turning into an independent director, he contributed to the screenplay of Rossellini’s A Pilot Returns. His early film such as Chronicle of a Love Affair, which is influenced by Visconti’s Ossessione; and thus, The Cry showed the influence of neo- realism and established his aesthetics of alienation. His other major films include L’Avventura, Blow Up, L’eclisse and Zabriskie Point. Blow up is particularly important, which is Antonioni’s view of the world of modern fashion and it is also a provocative murder mystery that examines the existential nature of reality interpreted through photography. Interestingly, it was set in the mid-1960s – mid-1960s London and which is a locale, which was fairly unfamiliar to the director. An important think about Blow Up is how it influenced the Hollywood film makers and one of the key films that inspired filmmakers of that period to experiment more with cinema. So, moving on with Italian neo-realist directors, another major name is Pier Paolo Pasolini, who is widely respected as a poet novelist and director. He is one of the most controversial and ambitious filmmakers. His writings were scandalous and iconoclastic; and, he celebrates the low-lives of the Italian societies such as hustlers, pimps, thieves, etcetera. His one major film he has made a handful of great films; but, a major film is The Gospel According to Matthew, which was film in the district of Basilicata and its capital Matera. It was shot in a neo-realistic style without a screenplay. And, Passolini’s Interpretation of Christ was done by a non-professional Spanish student. And, Mary at the time of Crucifixion is Passolini’s own mother and the director uses minimal sets and simple cameras to capture the story. His depiction of Jesus is more along the lines of a messiah of the countercultural times and an angry young man. Much of the dialogues in the film are in a debating style, where a question is answered with a question or a parable. So, Italian cinema – the other great names are Bernardo Bertolucci, the director of the Last Tango in Paris, The Last Emperor, Little Buddha and so on. And, recent Italian film cinema continues to enthrall the audience all over, for example, IL Postino, Life is Beautiful and Cinema Paradiso. So, we continue with our lectures on traditions in world cinema in our next classes. Thank you very much.  Film Appreciation Prof. Aysha Iqbal Department of Humanities and Social Science Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Lecture - 08 Traditions in World Cinema French New Wave Good morning. We are continuing with our discussions on traditions in world cinema. (Refer Slide Time: 00:25) So, today’s topic is the French New Wave. Now, it is an interesting area because it had a far reaching, a pretty long-lasting impact on world cinema. The keywords here are auteur film theory. We are going to look at certain directors. We are also going to look at certain major names associated with this movement called the French New Wave, which is so important in our understanding of traditions in world cinema. Some of the major names that we will be touching up on – Francois Truffaut, Jean Luc Godard and Alain Resnais. These films… The films that they are known for or perhaps a better way of putting it would be the most memorable films are Last Year in Marienbad, that is by Resnais. The 400 Blows or Les Quartre Cents Coups; that is by Francois Truffaut. Jules and Jim – that is again by Truffaut. And, A Bout De Souffle and Bande A Part by Jean Luc Godard; I mean just a handful films, but of course, these people had made much more than this. Now, what is auteur theory? It was developed by a film critic – a French film critic called Andre Bazin. And, his disciples, who were a bunch of film critics such as Truffaut, Godard and Resnais. They declared and the manifesto was that, the director was the true author of a film. You get it like the way an author pens a novel, a book. Similarly, a director is also an auteur of a film and he is the one who can stake a major claim on the authorship of the film. So, it is not the studio, not the technical team, not the stars definitely or the genre; but, it is the filmmaker, is the director, who can stake a claim to being the real owner – the real auteur of a film. It all begin on 30th March 1948 when Alexander Astruc, who was a literary critic cum cine critic. And, he published an article called La camera stylo, which is like camera is a pen. And, it heralded a new wave in cinema. Astruc based his article on analogy comparing a film director to a novelist; and, a camera becomes his pen. The comparison implied that cinema had a language of its own. The idea was clear to elevate cinema to the level of other arts and to emphasize on its personal and psychological value. The peak of the French New Wave is between 1958 and 1964, where several young film directors wrote and directed hundreds of films in France; these filmmakers were determined to shake up the film industry by presenting a collection of unconventional stories told in bold new styles. So, you have to remember two terms here: new styles of cinema and unconventional stories. I would you ask you to watch a movie like Jules and Jim here, which is about ménage a trois – three young people, two young man and a young woman – how they fall in love, and their adventures, their journey through history and then journey through life and then the end, they meet with. So, an extremely bold and adventurous kind of a story and unconventional story told in a very new style. New Wave films were basically low-budget. They were produce quickly and were made to look spontaneous, unlike the high production kind of a cinema – glossy cinema; that was the order of the day. These films helped in launching a new generation of stars, for example, actors who otherwise would not have ever got a chance; they were not trained and they were not like conventional kind of actor, but they were given a chance to prove their abilities; and, soon a new generation of actors took over. Most famously, someone like Jean-Pierre Leaud, who was a very frequent star of all Truffaut films. So, we had actors, the new wave actors, who would wander about the streets of Paris without makeup and were shot by hand-held cameras. Though it changed the cultural landscape, it was a truly social phenomenon that grew out of a range of influenceable factors. An important reason for the rise of the new wave cinema was France’s post-second world war cultural context, Andre Bazin and influential film critic wrote extensively about films and soon created an awareness about films. People were encouraged to discuss about the relative values of films and directors. Thus, it all fostered a detailed knowledge of film history as well as film techniques and storytelling. Another landmark of this period was establishment of a film journal – a serious films journal and not a typical fan magazine – a film magazine, a gossip magazine. But, it was a very serious film journal called Cahier du Cinema. And, it was established in the 50s. It was an influential journal of French films and discussed world cinema. The policy was to put into practice the manifesto of the French New Wave directors. And, the idea – some of the basic ideas of the premises were they criticized films, which had high production values, which relied on studio and stars and followed the genre conventions. Francois Truffaut built on this idea few years later when he wrote his essay called A Certain Tendency in the French Cinema, which is an essay that paved the way for the French New Wave. It denounce the tradition of quality, which was evident in film by the likes of Claude Autant-Lara and Jean Dellanoy, where the script was paramount and the emphasis was on psychological realism and artistic production values. Together Truffaut and Astruc challenged the conventional idea that film is a producers’ medium causing the idea of politiques des auteur to become a central concept of the Cahier and the New Wave – The French New Wave. Now, the keywords here are Cahier du Cinema, that is, the journal and Truffaut’s essay – A Certain Tendency of French Cinema. And again, let me repeat the idea was to do away with high production cinema, which relied on studios and stars and also genres, and to give – and to experiment with new stories, new kinds of unconventional stories; and, these stories should be told using certain new cinematic techniques. Going back to Truffaut’s tradition of quality, what he means by quality is that, something that is contrived and projects a bourgeois image of good taste and high culture for French New Wave style should draw attention to itself and style should become independent of the story. The new wave relied on a close relationship between criticism and film making; that is, the films were informed by manifestos, by film critics, who often became directors themselves. The Cahier critics formed their pantheon of important auteur-directors including Jean Renoir, Robert Bresson, Jean Cocteau, Max Ophuls, Jacques Tati, Jacques Becker; and, they were great admirers of Hollywood or British Hollywood film director Alfred Hitchcock and also Hollywood director such as Samuel Fuller, Howard Hawke, Nicholas Ray and so on. So, though the auteur-theory has been hotly debated since its inception, it nevertheless is an important tool to understand films through an understanding of the director and their body of works. With this point, let me quote Truffaut to you or let me cite Truffaut’s famous quotation that, I demand that a film express either the joy of making cinema or the agony of making cinema; I am not at all interested in anything in between. So, a cinema has to either capture the joy or agony and it should be – and it should be clearly reflected on screen. French New Wave cinema was also quite influenced by film noir especially as it was prevalent in Hollywood. The reason was during the Second World War, American films were not screened in the occupied France basically the areas round Vichy; this means that, immediately after the war, there was a great demand for Hollywood products. Some of the much-appreciated films were The Maltese Falcon, Citizen Kane, Double Indemnity and Laura. Through these films, the French cinephiles recognized that a key event has been taking place in Hollywood and they have been missing out on something that important. Now, most of these films were based on the noir film; so, based on popular novel – pulp novelists – works of pulp novelists such as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandlar and James Cain, etcetera. Film noir combined the hard-boiled pros of these writers with European Expressionism – Expressionist cinematography, interplay of lights and shadows were so-called chiaroscuro lights; which immensely appealed to Cahiers. All these things immensely appealed to Cahier critics. And, this was one of the cinematical styles and moments that French New Wave directors were extremely influenced by and tried to incorporate some of the features in their films. There is also a difference between the French auteur and Hollywood auteur theory. So the auteur theory in Hollywood or in America was developed by someone called Andrew Sarris. For Hollywood, an auteur is a director who transcends the script by imposing on it his own style and vision or his signature style. An auteur film involves subjective and personalized filmmaking and especially through mise en scene how a director’s stages, scenes, lights, sets, costume, etcetera. For French New filmmakers, there is no pre- existing story; what is important are the spontaneous events that took place in front of the camera. And of course, director is more important than the producer. Moreover, an auteur is a director, who manifests a consistency of style and theme across his works and believed in abandoning the script in favor of improvisation and spontaneity. Coming to French New Wave, the label nouvelle vague was in other words … it was a cool journalistic expression already in prevalence in 1950’s. The New Wave was initially a phrase applied to the post-Second World War generation in France. Identified as something – somewhat rebellious towards established French institutions. It was a generation that identified more with the great Hollywood star James Dean, Jazz music Hollywood products rather than French philosophers or French actors such as Jean Gabin. So, we are talking about that generation which was quite Hollywoodized. Now, French New Wave practitioner – they rejected the cinematic practices of the 50’s. They made low-budget films, shot on locations with new actors. In other words, they came out of the studios and they preferred natural lights to studio style lighting and preferred natural sound to extensive studio dubbing. During the Second World War, American films were… Basically, we have already talked about that, the American films were not screened; and, this was the time when French filmmakers started sort of paying homage to Hollywood films and their styles and techniques of film making. They used light-weight cameras, lights and sounds equipment. And, it allowed the French – the new wave film French directors to shoot in the streets rather than in studio. And, this fluid camera motion became a trademark of the movement, which shots often following characters down Paris streets. The mise en scene of Parisian street and coffee bars became a defining feature of the films. These people – these filmmakers dealt with the stories about the young and the rebellious; they used the language of the youth were heavily influenced by the popular culture, especially the Hollywood popular culture. Generally, featured existential themes think Breathless and think of the hero, who is – who exhibits what you can term only as so-called existential cool. And then, there was also a touch of acceptance of absurdity of human existence. So, that is influence of French existentialist philosophy here. The characters in French New Waves films are often marginalized young anti-heros and loners with no family ties, who behaved spontaneously and often at amorally or immorally and are by enlarge, anti-authoritarian. There was a general cinecism concerning politics. And, cinema reflected a deliberate distanciation between a screen and spectators. They did not attempt to create feeling of empathy, but it was more like Brechtian kind of cinema, where the idea was to force the spectators to think rather than empathize feel with what is happening on this screen. The most important legacy of the French New Wave cinema was to create a strong authorial voice and it also led to the democratization of cinema with people trying… Everyone could now aspire to become a filmmaker, because these filmmakers prove that, films need not have high gloss, high glamour and high production values. One of the key filmmakers of the French New Wave was Alain Resnais. He studied film editing at France’s first film school IDHEC. And, after living college, he directed a couple of documentaries including Night and Fog, which was released in 1955, which is a highly evocative work on the horrors of Auschwitz. Influenced by comics, graphic novels and the exceptional works of the French writer Marcel Proust and the German writer Franz Kafka, Resnais’s work reflect homage to all these three writers. His films illustrate a crossover between the developments in nouveau roman, the new novel and the nouveau vague cinema. In his first film, Hiroshima mon amour, which is based… which is a 1959 movie, which is based on a screenplay by Marguerite Duras, Resnais draws on the experience of his documentary short films. We are sure… We are told that, French actress is having an affair with a Japanese architect in Hiroshima, where she has come for a film shooting. And, Resnais uses documentary footage of the 1945 bombing of the city, that is, Hiroshima. And, the film began as a documentary about Hiroshima and the bomb. Our remarkable moment in the film is when the actor – the heroine of the film looks at her lover – the Japanese lover, who is sleeping and is outstretched right- hand twitches slightly. This leads with a jolt to the memory of the twitching arms of the dying German lover. So, this is like association of memory – associative nature of memory. So, it is quite Proustian in an evocative. Resnais is a most controversial and still… The discussed film is a typical kind of film that film appreciation enthusiast talk about and classes talk about it, is called Last Year at Marienbad – L’annee derniere a Marienbad, which was released in 61. It is a film about loss and regret. And, it is quite derivative from Goethe – the German writer Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s memories of falling in love with a young girl at a place call Marienbad. So, when Goethe was rejected by her, he penned a personal poem called Marienbad Elegy. Resnais sets the scene in an elegant baroque castle, which has been converted into a luxury hotel. This is a haven for the rich and clientele spend their time with card games, theatre performance and a strolling in the Baroque garden outside. It is based on a screenplay by the nouveau roman novelist Alain Robbe-Grillet. And, the film is set like a puzzle involving three characters a woman is… There are no names. So, the women is A and X is her lover, who claims to be; an M is perhaps her husband or any figure of authority. So, the film is narrated by X, who tells A that, they met last year and were lovers. A claims no recollection of this affair and pleads X to live here alone. X recalls a death; still A does not remember anything. So, Marianbad’s reputation rests on its status as a puzzle that can never be solved, where the director flouts all the traditional cinematic rules between subjective and objective points of view. Like in most works of Resnais, the past ways like a nightmare and memory plays havoc with the characters. It is a poetic work and Marienbad enjoys its status as a touchstone of modernist cinema. Another important filmmaker about whom we have already been talking about him, that is, Francois Truffaut along with Jean Luc Godard; Truffaut is best known and most influential of all French New Wave directors. He created strong narrative elements from his own life and was initially influenced by Hollywood cinema of the 40’s. Later, he developed interest in the films of Howard Hawks, John Ford, Hitchcock. Five of his best films feature a character named Antoine Doinel, which is a thinly disguised version of Truffaut himself. I was telling about how the New Wave directors made personal kinds of films; things that they could relate to. So, his those films are Antoine et Colette, Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board, Love on the Run and of course, 400 Blows. He is also credited with classics such as Shoot the Pianist, Jules and Jim, Day for Night, which was released in 1973. The 400 Blows is his most distinguished film, which is interestingly dedicated to Andre Bazin. It is inspired by Truffaut’s own life and it shows a young boy Antoine Doinel growing up in Paris in a troubled household like Truffaut, Antoine also has a very difficult relationship with his mother. He is neglected by his mother and his stepfather and takes refuge in the world of films just like Truffaut. The young protagonist Antoine Doinel is played by the great actor Jean-Pierre Leaud. So, I have already talked about him earlier that, he was one of the new stars of the French New Wave films. A French New Wave gave birth to several promising actors; and, Jean-Pierre Leaud was one of the most important actors of this period. The film is a result of an unwanted… The boy is a result of an unwanted pregnancy just like Truffaut. The boy lives in a very small apartment with his mother and stepfather and they are indifferent to him and he also faces problems with his teachers. He seeks so less in the company of his friends, stories by Balzac and cinema. The film was famously shot on real Paris locations. And, Truffaut pays homage to the process of filmmaking when young Antoine writes in an amusement park and centrifuged, which resembles a zoetrope in its earlier avatars. Zoetrope is a film equipment. Jules and Jim is adapted from a novel. Another great film and sensitive film worked by Truffaut. Jules and Jim – they fall in love. They are best friends and fall in love with the same woman Catherine. They are separated by the First World War and later they try to live together in a sort of ménage a trios, which was very unconventional according to the morals of those times. The situation is made possible when Jules married to Catherine and he declare that he would rather tolerate infidelity than lose either one of them. He does not want to lose his wife and he does not want to lose his friend. So, he permits them to continue having an affair and continue living in the same house. Day for Night, 1973 is also a personal account for – Truffaut’s personal account of the precarious relationship between life and illusion and the off-screen upheavals between the members of the film production team. It stars Truffaut himself as a film director. And, there is a moment, where he as a boy, steals a poster of Citizen Kane from the front of a theatre and that moment finds a place in Day for Night. One of the most significant filmmakers of this period was Jean-Luc Godard, who is started off as a critic with Cahier du Cinema just like Truffaut and Chabrol and others. He also emphasized on style and form and is considered a radical filmmaker by any standard. He was influenced by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht and his theory of alienation; and, he famously declared. You need a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order. You remember Aristotle, who said there should be a beginning and a middle and an end; and, a plot should follow that order. And, Godard questioned it. His major films are Breathless, The Little Soldier, A woman is a Woman; I am just giving you the English translations – My Life to Live, Contempt, Alphaville, All is Well and Bande a part. Breathless is his most significant work, most famous work. And, according to the film critic, Roger Ebert, modern films begin with Breathless; it is a 1959 film. The plot in Breathless centres on Michel played by Jean-Paul Belmondo, who is a small time Parisian crook, who has just murdered a policeman. Anxious to flee the country, he persuades his girlfriend Patricia played by Jean Seberg to accompany him. It was a key film of the French New Wave and rejects the well-made traditional French cinema and adapted an edgier and more experimental style. One of the key features of this film is the employment of an editing technique or a jump cut. The jump cut involves an uncanny jolt in a film’s progress drawing the viewers’ attention to disturbing elision of time and space. A film might cut abruptly from one location to the next without any attempt to employ those devices or matches of eyeline. You see when you watch the movie, it should match your eyeline; it should be at an eye level. But, a jump cut suddenly disrupts that and therefore calls attention to itself that, something is happening, which is not continuous. So, it disrupts the illusion of continuity. A brief history of jump cut – it was the French pioneer George Melies who first recognized that a jump cut could generate magical or comic effects. If the appearance of a subject film from a single vantage point was altered between shots. Although Godard was not the first to use or think about the possibilities of a jump cut, modern use of the technique has more or less come to be associated with him. So, this is what I wanted to tell you about the French New Wave. And, it had a lasting impact on world cinema as we have been talking about Andrew Sarris, the leading film critic from America. And, he too supported the ideas of the auteur theory and propounded that, indeed it is the director, who is the sole author of his work. This is regardless of the contribution of the writers, producers, or actors. Sarris’s The American cinema maps the history of the talking picture period up to 68 – 1968 into 11 categories of filmmakers with title such as Pantheon Director, Strained Seriousness and Likely Likeable. And then, each category files directors in an alphabetical order. So, what we are talking basically about is the directors’ authority here. And, what did a French New Wave led to or lead to? It led to the democratization of cinema, the idea that films could be shot using minimum equipments; they could be shot on real locations without the gloss of studios and also without the aura of stars. So, this led to the impression that, anyone who has a story to tell is free to tell a story. And, even today, we see with the growth of digital filmmaking and all, how film make more and more people are beginning to find their own voice. (Refer Slide Time: 32:25) So, this is the selected readings. These are the selected readings. I would like you to focus on these. So, you have Hitchman, a history of French New Wave cinema; you have David A. Gerstner – The Practices of Authorship; J. Miller – The French New Wave and the New… So, thank you very much and we meet for our next class.  Film Appreciation Prof. Aysha Iqbal Department of Humanities and Social Science Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Lecture - 09 Traditions in World Cinema New Spanish Cinema (Refer Slide Time: 00:22) Good morning. So, we continue with our lectures on traditions in world cinema. I will be talking about Luis Bunuel, the great film director from Spain and yes so, the focus is on Spanish cinema. Let me write that on the board; We are going to talk about traditions in Spanish cinema. So, key words would be Luis Bunuel, surrealism, which is a device, a theory; we will be talking about it. It is a literary concept and a term and how people like Bunuel utilized it. We will also talk about Bunuel’s collaboration with the great artist Salvador Dali, who was a supreme surrealist. We will later go on talk about a new Spanish cinema, the contemporary greats in the world of Spanish cinema. Now, before I start, I would like you to watch this clipping. Due to copyright reasons, I won’t be able to show you the exact or the complete scene, but please focus on the link; this particular link. (Refer Slide Time: 01:56) It is a scene from Alfred Hitchcock, his Spellbound and it has a scene, which is called Dreams Designed by Dali, Dreams designed by Salvador Dali. So, while talking about Bunuel, we will also be talking about surrealism and Salvador Dali; therefore, the importance on this particular scene. So, please watch the scene and I will get back to it. I won’t be able to show you the scene, but please do that on your own. So, what did you watch in that scene? Plenty of eyes; Gregory Peck, the great Hollywood star and Ingrid Bergman. So, you watched Gregory Peck, being hypnotized. He is on a psychiatrist’s couch; he is being hypnotized and what does he see? eyes all over, and this was a dream sequence designed by Salvador Dali. Notice his preoccupation with eyes, with human parts, bodies and at certain times, even the grotesqueness of bodies. What do eyes suggest? Is it at the eye of the camera? Is it the human eye or eye of the subconscious? So, Spellbound was a movie that owed a lot to Hitchcocks or the studio’s understanding of Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis and that is what the story is all about, and this is what; this is one aspect that Bunuel and Dali, the two modernist were interested in. So, we have been talking about the cinema as a modern art. So, these were the modernist. So, psychoanalysis was key element of this period and this is what we are interested in. So, one of the earliest surrealistic films was the Seashell and the Clergyman; it was written by Antoine Artaud, the man who gave us the concept of theater of the upset and directed by Germaine Dulac, released in 1928. So, surrealism has always been an integral part of cinema, even today. Now and then, we have the concept of dreams and dreams within dreams, devices used by film makers in order to show that there is a thin line between what is real, what is subconscious and which and what is dream. So, for decades, as you know we have been talking about surrealism in Spanish cinema. So, Luis Bunuel, as the forefront of Spanish cinema and for decades, Spanish cinema was associated with the work of Luis Bunuel, who lives between 1900 to 1983. He made a very bitter caustic documentary called Law Hurts in 1932. After that, he was forced to go into exile to various parts of Europe. He did not direct another film for a staggering 15 years. He worked sporadically, as a producer in Paris Hollywood and Madrid, before immigrating to America in 1938. A famous quote, attributed to Bunuel is : Thank god, I am an atheist. Now, look at his position; look at the contradictoriness of the statement. Thank god, I am an atheist. Bunuel was born in Spain and he is regarded as one of the most iconoclastic and rebellious of directors. He has a very savage and macabre rather cynical view of mankind. He was an enemy of General Franco, Spain. As I have already told you, he was forced to live in exile in Mexico. His work revealed his commitment towards anti fascism, anti-clericalism and anti capitalism. So, these tendencies; he was extremely against them; his works illustrate that. He was a surrealist and what is surrealism? Surrealism was a confrontational and experimental art form, which is a 20th century Avant garde movement in art and literature. It attempted to revise the existing definitions of reality and to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind by the irrational juxtaposition of images. So, unconscious mind, juxtaposition of images; you know, contradictory images that don’t go together. We will be talking about that in a moment. The founder, the founding father of this movement, is the poet and artist Andre Breton, who published the first surrealist manifesto, which was a critic of excessism, rationalism and materialism of western society, and sort to reveal the creative potential of the unconscious and juxtaposed images of the real and imagine, and the imagine to very disturbing, disconcerting effects. The surrealist were concerned with creating the marvelous; the marvelous aspect of the human mind and the juxtapose unrelated words and objects, concerned and were concerned with definitions and perception of reality; what is real? What is unreal? What is subconscious and were also, preoccupied with the insights of the subconscious. Now, Salvador; coming to Salvador Dali, who is one of the master artists of this period. Dali lived between 1904 to 1989, and collaborated with Luis Bunuel, on films such as Un chien Andalou. This is a famous, very well known movie. It was their attempt; Dali and Bunuel’s attempt to explore subjectivity, the dream subjectivity, as seen in the dream states, and must concern with subverting the logic of representation. Dali has also created an artistic work, a painting or dream, caused by the flight of a bee, around a pomegranate, a second before awakening, which has symbols of fertility, virgin Mary, resurrection. We have been talking about how anti-clerical and anti-factious and how iconoclastic these people work. If you watch, if you look at the painting and I suggest you do it. It is a 1944 painting and it will tell you how, various images contrasting images are juxtaposed here, in order to reveal the workings of a subconscious or the unconscious. Dali’s interest and dreams keep in the influence; were rather influenced by the writings of Dr Sigmund Freud and Bunuel and Dali, both represented or reflected that the writings Freud in the work. Coming to surrealism again; surrealism is based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations in the omnipotence of dream and in the disinterested play of thought; that is what Andre Breton defined or explained that as. Dali’s festination with gesture posing images can be exemplified by his painting, telephone and the lobster. Dali was always fascinated by the image of lobster and how suddenly, lobster can find its way on most unaccepted places. So, he also designed famously, for various (designers in France and lobster would be painted or printed on beautiful fashion gowns and also, there is a scene, where the telephone receiver is painted in the image of a lobster and how do these to go together when the idea is juxtaposition of seemingly different images, in order to move us, to shake us out of complacency and let us think, look at things in a different way. Surrealism as an art, was influenced by Freud by the teachings or the writings of Freud and dedicated to the expression of imagination as revealed in dreams, free of conscious control of reason and free of convention. At its score, surrealism is an expression of imagination. It is different from the expressionism that we need to a understand that which is another key device or theory, we keep talking about expressionism is different from surrealism, because it is a general term for mode of representation in visual arts, which is used in extreme reaction, against realism or naturalism and presents of world violently, distorted under the pressure of intense personal moods, ideas and emotions. So, that is where the two differ; expressionism is quite violent. Image and language express feelings, and imagination rather than represent external reality. Expressionism is more a mood and idea; emotion conveyed about a certain subject matter. I would suggest that you watch the opening short of un Chien Andalou, which was released in 1928. It is known for its non narrative structure and surrealism. The movie famously opens with a close up shot of a woman’s eye; that is what we are let to believe; that is a woman’s eye and a hand, holding razor, razor blade and then, the blade splices the eye ball of that woman. Now, this scene was so, this image was so shocking. The people were shaken out of their, you know, they were completely on the edge of the seat and that is this supposed to mean; what was Bunuel and rather what were Bunuel and Dali trying to suggest here. I would recommend that there is plenty of interpretation of this particular scene. Many people have seen it as young artists, Bunuel and Dali’s effort to shake the bourgeoisie out of the complacency, and also to force them to look at cinema as kind of art not just a means of entertainment. There are other shocking imagery and images and scenes as well; for example, the scene of a severe hand, where these worms and ants crawling all over it, and a very expressionistic winding staircase. So, these are the scenes that make us think that what actually, is the meaning of reality; what is reality and what is subconscious. Bunuel also made famous film or quite a success film called The Age of Goal Large Dall, which was released in 1930, and it was called, generally labeled as surrealist frenzy. Again, it is subversive; it is anarchic; it looks at various ideas, sex, religion, and society in very subversive and interrogative way. Bunuel’s characters in all directors are known for their leaning towards certain kinds, representation of certain kinds of characters and Bunuel’s characters are essentially, hypocritical and selfish and they compromise any principle in order to find instant ratification. One example is Bel Desure, which was released in 1967, staring Catherine Deneuve and John Sorrell, which is a movie about unfulfilled desires, sadomasochism and again, as characteristic of Bunuel. It is a blend of reality, fantasy and dreams. I will, So, Bel Desure is a very well documented film. Many of you would be, I mean, suggest that if you have not watched the movie, then you please do watch at least, clippings of the film. They are available on the net and I would like to talk to you about an equally, great film of Bunuel, which should be done in a course like this so, which is called Viridiana. The Viridiana was released in 1961. It won several festival prices and represented Bunuel’s return to Spain, after decades, overseas. It is plot; it is a story of a young girl, Viridiana, played by Sylvia Pinal, who is a, she is a devout person, devout Christian, a saintly character, who attempts to lead a truly Christian life and ends; how she ends in disaster for herself and people around her. She is a young girl in the beginning and she is about to enter a convent, but just before this, she is advised by her mother to visit an elderly uncle, who lives in the county side. Now, on seeing the young girl, the uncle is in a force to remember, he recalls his dead wife, who died on their wedding night. So, the uncle drugs her and puts her in the wedding gown of his diseased wife and tries to rape her. However, somehow she, that act doesn’t take place, but later on, we find that the uncle hanged himself to his death using a jump rope. Now, Viridiyana holds herself responsible; she is guilty like a true Christian if she is tremendously, responsible for this horrible tragedy and she takes responsibility for her uncle suicide, and decides to stay back to take care of her uncle’s estate, along with her uncle’s illegitimate son George. So, to continue her act of contrition, repentance, she invites a group of diseased beggars from a nearby town to come and live on her uncle’s estate. You know there are several abundant cottages; nobody is using them. So, she comes, invite these people that homeless, the destitute, the lepers to come and stay on the estate. There is a famous montage where we see Viridiana futile attempts to save these ratchet characters through prayers and George’s efforts to restore some kind of order and balance on the estate. One day George and Viridiana are away on some businesses, and the beggars take over. They break into the mansion and stage a sort of parody of Leonardo Da Vinci painting, the last supper; I am sure most of you are aware of that, but if you are not, please do look up this painting, the last supper by Da Vinci. Now, this scene in Bunuel, there is, it is like a freeze. It is the beggars, arrange themselves around the dining table and they have the meals exactly, the way it is shown in the last supper, accompanied by the strains of handles, the classical musicians. His symphony Masaya and once Viridiana and George return, one of the lepers nearly rape Viridiana. All this finally, leads to the breakdown of her spiritual pride. not surprisingly, the Spanish government attempt to destroy all the prints of the film; however, the film had already reached Cannes Film Festival, and was awarded Palme d’Or award. The theme, something that has been regular in Bunuel; it exposes the follies of human nature; human beings, as Bunuel says or suggest, are beyond redemption; that is his theme. Then the film is also read as an anti-Catholic and anti-factious apparel that Bunuel shot in catholic Spain. The film was officially denounced by the Vatican as an insult to Christianity. Bunuel’s The Exterminating Angel 1962 movie is a Macabre comedy. It is again quite anti Bourgeoisie repeated, a theme which was repeated very frequently in Bunuel. So, the story takes place in a beautiful mansion, a big aristocratic house, where the dinner guest arrive and they arrive twice. The same scene is repeated twice; why? We will look into it. We will look at it. They ascend the stairs and walk through the white door away and then, they arrive again. It is a supremely crafted scene. The dinner guests arrive, they ascend upstairs walk through the white door away and then, they arrive again; the same guest, seen from higher camera angle and then again, they ascend upstairs and walk through the white doorway. Soon, we realize after the initial niceties and pleasantries are exchanged, we realized that the cook and all the servants or waiter; they quit their jobs and just leave; leaving the owner the mistress of the house high and dry. What is she going to, how is she going to manage this event without the aid of her servants? Now, soon we realize that the guest are all capable, incapable of leaving while the servants are escaped the guests are, sort of trapped in the house, and it is all mysterious. This is not supernaturalism happening here. There is no explanation given here. They are just not able to the leave the place. So, gradually, they are well cultivated mass, the civilized mass, start slipping away. They resort to slandering each other, and reflect baser human emotions, such as greedless and jealousy. They keep on getting desperate. They try to get out, but cannot and then, they become increasingly savage.They smash furniture around the house. They start killing each other and also, kill the sheep, wandering into the house. Now, what was sheep doing around the house; that is also left unexplained, but they kill the sheep, cook them on fire made from broken furniture. We realize they cannot wash their filthy, their stink. There are no toilet facilities and when an old man dies and two lovers commit suicide, these guest, the civilized guest stuff the corpses into a closet for future use, and it is hinted that the supply of sheep has run out, and we know what, how they are going to sustain themselves now. The prisoners finally, attempt to reconstruct the circumstances, leading up to the imprisonment, and they are able to get out. So, again it is a story of the bourgeoisie this kind, the upper class has reached a stagnation point, a dead end; there is no escape for them. Although, they have defeated the workers, the rich are trapped in their own wealth. The film, the last scene of the film set in a cathedral, where these people, who have just escaped from this mansion were come together and pray, offer thanks. However, the entire congregation finds itself, unable to leave the church and a flock of the sheeps suddenly, enters the building and that is the way the movie ends. Again, this is an example of Bunuel’s scathing attack on the middle class, on the upper class of his society of this Spanish world. A gentler approach is still a satire, but a gentler approach to attacking the bourgeoisie (seen in Bunuel’s, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie in 1972. The film is a French language film, staring Fernando Rehu, was a regular of Bunuel. Fernando Rey is also the character of a frog in William Franklin’s The French Connection. He is the man who smuggles drugs in America. So, people would recall; there was some kind of associations. So, he was a star of international stature. It also starred Jean Pierre Cassel and Stephane Audran It won the Oscar as best foreign film and it has screenplay by Jean Claude Carriere. Now, why I am telling you these names, because as a student of film appreciation, it is important that you realize or that you come to appreciate these names. Jean Claude Carriere is a phenomenal screenwriter. Some of you who may be interested in the art of a screenwriting, would know that he has spent several screen plays for many great films. Belle de Jour was also written by him and so was The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which was made in 1980s, late 1980s, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and it is based on Milan Kundera’s novel in the same name. Now, a brief background to The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie which was made at a time in social unrest globally, was at its height. We had the Vietnam War, students’ unrest and forces of counter culture, interrogating the western society. This was also a period when the upper middle class, the bourgeoisie was a fashionable target of disdain. I keep talking about Jack Nicolson’s Five Easy Pieces. You must watch this film. It was released around the same time and again; you can see the leading man, the protagonist in a contemptuous attitude towards the upper class in which, he is born. So, the Discreet Charms is considered as a worthy successor to The Exterminating Angel. Along the same line, how bourgeoisie have reached the dead end, cull the suck, but it is gentler in its satiric bite. It is a satire about the foibles and the follies of the privilege class. It is extended, rather as a, this structured as an extended dream in the subconscious of Don Rafael ,Ambassador to France from the Latin American country of Miranda, which is shown as the factious military dictatorship. Don Rafael’s dream, which includes the dreams of others and dreams within dreams concerned so, the repeatedly frustrated attempts of six friends to dying together in a civilized way. The food is the symbol. Now, see in The Exterminating Angel, the guests were unable escape. In The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, these six friends charming, civilized gentle friends and gentle in the sense, you know, the ladies and gentleman of high society; they are unable to sit down and have a civilized meal. There are repeated attempt do so, but all the attempts are frustrated. Food becomes a major (motif. So, dinner is the central social ritual. Generally, we see in the upper class, food is displayed as a way of exhibiting ones good manners, taste, class and wealth; something that we can talk about, talk over again. So, using food as an imagery and satirizing the upper class. One movie as I have already told you; it exists in a dreamlike, it is structured in a dreamlike state. It has multiple dreams and fantasies and the distinction between the real and the unreal is question. Several scenes are repeated and with good reasons so, it is repetition, is used here as the esthetic device. You know, repetition is one esthetic device in literature and film to explore certain state of mind. I would suggest here that you watch Ground Hog Day, in order to understand the esthetic device; repetition as an esthetic device. So, Bunuel feel that repetition is fundamental to human experience, and it can be used to explore certain human; functioning of the human mind. So, from here we move on to Bunuel’s another great movie, The Phantom of Liberty, which was a social satire, made in 1974. It has Bunuel’s experiment a lot. It is a free form, free flowing film, interconnected stories and he combines every possible story telling device, including narrative, painting, the gothic mode, , the flashback, the dream sequence and allusion to other films to create a narrative, which is circular and self reflexive. Bunuel’s next great film was That Obscure Object of Desire, released in 1977, which interrogates the theme of love and desire. It is about a young Spanish woman, who flirts and then swindles a middle-aged French widower. Very interestingly, and again in continuation with Bunuel’s iconoclasm; terrorist group is named, the revolutionary army of the infant Jesus. I have been talking about the reshelf reflexivity and circularity of narration in the Bunuel’s films. There is also much that can be said about his influence on younger filmmakers. Now, see in Belle de Jour (there is a famous scene, where Catherine Deneuve who plays the prostitute by day. She opens her box, which is given to her by one of the clients. We never got to know what is in the box. So, this concede was repeated famously, by Talentino in Pulp Fiction. John Travolta opens the box and we don’t no what is in the box. Again, Coen brothers Barton Fink use the same idea; Barton Fink in 91. There is the box, but we do not know what it is. David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive too, we saw such as what is in the box and there is a key, which is left up there, you know, be it is up to first to find out what is in the box. So, when Bunuel was asked what is in the box in Belle de Jour he non silently answered, anything you want; open and it is so, beginning of you know, a modernist and beginning of a post modernist; whatever you want there to be. Now, I had spoken at length about Bunuel and to wind up the session, I would quickly refer to the new Spanish cinema. One of the major filmmaker of this period is Guillermo Del Toro. He is known for his Spanish language, dark fantasy pieces, such as the gothic horror film, The Devil’s Back Bone and renowned movies Pan’s Labyrinth.. He had also made American action movies such as Blade part 2 and Hell Boy. His science fiction master film Pacific Rim, is also quite famous and his most recent film is The Haunted Mission, starring Ryan Gosling. One of the most important filmmakers on contemporary scene is Pedro Almodovar again, from Spain. He is known for his prowess and wildly funny films. He is one of the most well known Spanish director, without a doubt in recent times, and his great films are Kika, Matador, High Heels, Labyrinth of Passion, Attained, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, which is also, you know it has a course of a street car name, desire. Almodovar cinema bears the stamp of Ingmar Bergman, Woody Allen and also Fassbinder, the German film maker, Rainer Werner, Fassbinder. His unmistakable styling shows that he will be the most famous. He is indeed the most famous Spanish filmmaker next to Luis Bunuel. In conclusion, we realize that Spanish cinema remains unique for its distinctive blend of darkness and surrealistic style. You watch films ranging from Bunuel’s cinema and then, you come down to films like contemporary ones and you find that there is a distinct element of darkness and surrealism. So, extremely interesting things happening there in Spanish cinema. Thank you very much. We will soon meet for our next class..  Film Appreciation Prof. Aysha Iqbal Department of Humanities and Social Science Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Lecture - 10 Traditions in World Cinema British New wave (Refer Time Slide: 00:18) Good morning. We continue with our discussion of traditions in world cinema, and the topic is British new wave cinema. How many of us are aware of the, so called British new wave cinema, or even the British cinema. Surprisingly we get very little response, whenever we try to discuss British cinema. And particularly, British new wave cinema which had made an important contribution to the tradition, towards the tradition of world cinema. So, the beginning is the end of the 1950’s, which witness the advent…. in Europe…. of a succession of new waves. We have been talking about, the French new wave we also know German expressionism, Italian new realism. So, British new wave, and this is a part of success of new waves in cinema, all across Europe. It was marked by the growth of innovative productions, and characterized by emergence of young film directors, and writers. Generally it all lasted till the seventies. The British new wave movement refers to a trend, that took place in the British film industry in the late 1950’s, and early 1960’s. It drew inspiration from the works of French directors such as Francois Truffaut, Jean Luc Godard, who are the pioneers as you know of the novel work of the French new wave cinema. British new wave is concerned with realism, and the aesthetics associated with it. The films between 1959 and 1963 are collectively known as the British new wave. And sometimes, also the kitchen sink drama is a new term you should know the kitchen sink drama, and the British realism, social realism. Developers in the British film industry had from beginning very strong, literary routes. British new cinema was an extension of the changes in subject matter, style and themes that had first taken place during the fifties in poetry, novel , drama. So, at the major, all the major productions of the major new wave literary adaptations, according to the critic, film critic, and scholar, Peter Wollen contrary to the French practice. The British series of films is not marked, by the leadership of a group of prominent auteurs,.cinema was more literary, than its French counterpart, and that British cinema is not auteur based. Still if a new wave cinema is defined as youth oriented nationals, a movement of the period then 50s and 60s can be qualified as, British new wave cinemas. Since, the late 30’s, the British film industry had an experienced, three decades of continuous crises. The crises was averted occasionally by the fixing of quotas, and in position of high duties, and competing films, imported from Hollywood. The situation was that, people did not want to watch films, made in Britain as compared to the high production values, and glossy films of Hollywood. The studio films, it is also the time you know, when even the greatest of all film actors such as Laurence, Olivier, and Vivien Leigh, they were seeking you know carriers in Hollywood cinema. Of course, there were great British stars also, and continued making films in Britain, but they did make wonderful films in Hollywood. Before we all forget, we have to remember how Vivien Leigh was particularly discovered by the makers of the classic Gone With the wind and although she was an established actor in British cinema, and also a very unrenowned actress on the British stage, and theater that she had to go and prove herself, and there were lot of you know. There are lots of legendaries stories related to, how Vivien Leigh was cast as the great characters is Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the wind. So, the idea is that British film industry always had to compete with Hollywood with very little success, or rather no success. They are just people, just could not compete with Hollywood cinema, and the greatest of all stars were also seeking fortunes, and carriers in the Hollywood. So, the idea was what to do, how to compete with all this. Now, some of the directors whose body of works can be associated with the, so called British new wave, Tony Richardson, Jack Clayton, and John Schlesinger, Lindsay Anderson, Ken Loach and Desmond Davis. As if, the French new wave movement, many of the filmmakers, begin as movie critics, and film journalist. We have been talking about the lasting impression, of the French new wave cinema, and this was one of the influences, this was one of the consequences. So, these British makers are affiliated with prominent left wing political journals magazines, such as Sequence, The New Statesmen, and the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound. They were influence by a normative idea of cinema, a vision of what cinema should be, and this was that British cinema needed to, break away from its class bound attitudes. You see the British society has always been marked, by definite class system, and the idea was that, there should be culturally, there should be a kind of a revolution, where class system should break down, barriers should break down, the cinema and theater, made their own contribution towards breaking these, crossing these barriers. I will be talking repeatedly about some of these films, of this period, Look Back in Anger, A Taste of Honey, Billy Liar, and The L Shaped Room. The movie A Hard Days Night, starring the great Beatles, the rock band, pop band Beatles,, it marked the end of the movement although this is very fitting tribute, to the British new wave. Oneneeds to watch A Hard Days Night, just in order to understand the things, that we have been talking about with more, the key features of the French new wave cinema. You know shooting on location camera, fluidity of camera movement, and shooting in natural light with mostly employing natural sounds, Beatles playing themselves. You know very personal kind of filmmaking. So, we will come back to the common themes in the works of these directors, and examine some of those films a little later, in this topic, in this lecture. The changes in literary environment of the period are very significant when we considered the British new wave. In the beginning of the 1950, the anti modernist writer such as C P snow, and J B Priestley, they expressed a preference for social relevance, and provincialism. This style of literary tradition was supported by poets, such as Philip Larkin and Tom Gunn, novels such as John Wayne, Hurry on Down along with Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim that dealt with dissatisfy the young men, from the provinces, from working class areas. The literary event of this era is of course, was John Osborne, classic play look back in anger, which was a staged in 1956 featuring the disgruntle protagonist, Jimmy Porter who was described as the first of the, so called angry young man. So, you have to use this, you have to remember this term, the expression, angry, young man first used by in British cinema, to describe disgruntle young man, who is extremely anti establishment. We have our own version of angry young man, as we have seen in the films of Amitabh Bachchan in the early 70s. Then again it is a throwback on, these kinds of films where young person was anti establishment, anti authoritarian, and he had an axe to grind with the social injustices of the period. So, British new wave cinema, we have also talk used in expression, kitchen sink realism. It refers to as kitchen sink realism, for its attention to class is one of its central themes. Class and class conflict came to be one of the central defining themes, of the new wave movement. For the first time, class came to be a subject in itself, and not a source of comic relief, as most seen in the works of earlier play rights and filmmakers. Important literary works and most of the literary works are later adapted in to films Alan Sillitoe’s, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, then David Storey, The Sporting Life, John Braine’s Room At the Top, Lynne Reid Banks, The L Shaped Room and Eliot George’s The Leather Boys and of course, Billy Lair. In particular these films, a paid close attention to the nitty-gritty’s of ever day life of in the working off, the working classes and there the highs, their lows, their lies, their loves of great important is the fact, that working classes were portraits, neither as victims nor as heroes. But as people with everyday life, through the use of domestic, and leisure time settings in the films, this represented a break from earliest cinema, that shied away from representation of the industrial, north, and Midlands and the use of local accents on screen. Until the new wave most of the characters in British cinema, were from London, and spoke in the accents of the educated upper class. You have to think of the way, how accent marks class, and most of the films before the British new waves, have starring upper class characters, and using upper class accents, the standard R P. That is Received Pronunciation of the English language, but this was the first time, the characters, the protagonist started speaking, the working class accents, and also the regional dialogues, and also a particularly you know cockney language. So, this was this head to be accepted, and defiantly this was a period, when thinks were changing in Britain. So, in addition to class the frustration and rebellion of the youth, and sex, and gender relation were also prominent themes of these films. What was unique about the British new wave was the great emphasis; it laid on the social environment, its treatment of sex, and sexuality. The focus on the youth culture, their frustrations, and the dominant political attitude, especially after the Second World War, there is a remarkable amount of overlap, between the British new wave movement, and the angry young man movement. In British literature, this movement refers to playwrights, and novelist who shot to prominent in the 1950’s. We are again talking about people like Osborne, and Tony Richardson, again the key concerns about their works was also, were also a disillusionment with traditional society. Their work sort to draw attention, to the working classes in the north of England. Canonical films that were made in this period were adaptations of earlier plays or novels, that had captured the heart condition of the working classes, especially after the wars. In the time when the people were, assume to never had it better, these films came to be seen as almost …. they rocked the boat, those things were not all that good in Britain. But there was a section of society that was living, under extremely trying conditions. The marker that sets apart the British new wave films, are the stylistic convention it followed, a few of them a words mentioning are like most of the films are shot in black, and white. This is important that these even a Hard days Night, which was made in 1963, it starring the Beatles. It is a black and white film, and it followed a pseudo documentary style of shooting, showing clear references to the cinema, verite mode of film making in addition these films are often shot on location. Just like the French new wave films, with real people or non-professional actors, and focused on the process of capturing real life. For example, Room at the Top were shot in Bradford, and A Taste of Honey in Manchester, and Blackpool among real locations. And of course, Billy Lair in the street in the streets of Bradford, and Leads again sound was daubed, and the musical score was locally influenced as well, and like the major movies of the time, these movies were often shot in 16 mm. As a result, these films often had a very spontaneous quality, and came to a body what is today known as audio realism. The idea of subjective reality, found a lot of favor research cinema audiences were allowed in to the minds of characters, through the use of interior monologue point of view shots, and subjective camera work allowed the audience to see, what the characters could see. The purpose was to laid there his or her character detail, it is worth making the distinction here between socialist realism, and the kind of concerns, that British new wave cinema addressed often term social realism. Unlike the former, the British new way was not produced under supervision by the government, and did not aspire to the status of official art. In addition the protagonist of social realism was often the anti hero, and was not portrait as an ideal type worthy of ambulation, he or she was dissatisfied with life and work and often frustrated in their quest for better provincial life of portrayed as claustrophobic alienating. So, some of the important movies I mean, again I will talk about Look Back in Anger, Taste of Honey, Billy Lair, and particularly made in 1959 by Tony Richardson, Look Back in Anger. It starred Richard Burton, Mary Ure, and Claire Bloom. It is based on, as we have been talking about John Osborne’s play, and the film is a love triangle between an intelligent young man Jimmy Porter, his upper middle class wife Alison, and her snobbish best friend Helena, set in Derby. The plot explores many questions about love, sex, and morality against the background of class, that underpins the surface of working class life, the main character that is Jimmy Porter he came to symbolize the so called angry young man, and offered insight in frustration felt by the British working class. The second movie A Taste of Honey, which is also in adaptation of a played by Shelagh Delaney, was directed by again by Tony Richardson, the movie starts Rita Tushingham as Joe, and a pregnant 17 year old school girl, and Murray Melvin as Jeffry her homo sexual, flat mate and friend. Relationship between the two is a cent of piece of the movie. The large part of the films commentary, involves question of motherhood, sexuality, and raise explode through the character of Joe. The movie was critically a claim for the manner in which drew an attention, to such issues and then there was Billy Lair, which was made in 1963 starring Tom Courtenay, and Mona Washbourne. The film was directed by John Schlesinger a