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January 13, 2005
Movies, Conversation, and More
Just a quick update to thank everyone for their suggestions for my film syllabus. I decided to drop Kane for now and to teach Maltese Falcon instead, mostly because I haven't had a good excuse to watch it in about five years, and it should set up the class discussion on Godard's Breathless nicely. I've also decided to go with Harlan County, USA as a counterpoint documentary to The Thin Blue Line. But I'm also glad to have themany reminders and suggestions regarding experimental and avant-garde film. I'm planning to show Meshes of an Afternoon, and if time permits, Man With a Movie Camera. I'll work in clips of other experimental films where possible.
At any rate, there are several film topics worth mentioning here. First, I'll happily plug The Conversation, a new group-authored film blog where several of my favorite film bloggers have been talking passionately about film and film criticism. It's modelled loosely on Slate's Movie Club, but looks a whole lot cooler to me.
In other news, Dr. Strangelove is coming to Atlanta this week. I've never seen it on the big screen, so I'm really looking forward to the experience.
Posted by chuck at January 13, 2005 9:56 PM
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Comments
How funny - I just saw "Man With A Movie Camera" the night before last, and we were talking about how to use it in the composition classroom. I loved it, because you get the impression that those guys had just tons of fun making it.
Posted by: Krista at January 17, 2005 6:59 AM
Yes, the filmmakers (and subjects) seem to be enjoying themselves. It might be interesting to talk about Vertov's film as a composition, especially since he forgrounds the editing, etc. In one class, I compared the film to Rene Clair's Paris qui dort, a film that Vertov admired and sometimes compared with Movie Camera.
Posted by: Chuck ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://chutry.wordherders.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at January 17, 2005 11:34 AM