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Viewing entries from category: FM4

German Cinema | Expressionism »

jclarke | Thursday September 13, 2018

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Metropolis, Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Genres & Case Studies, German, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation, Posters, Film Poster Analysis

European Cinema History: German Cinema of the 1920s Introduction One of the most rewarding aspects of Film Studies is to be found in recognising how films produced at one, quite distant moment in time often made long ago, continue to influence more contemporary films with which we might all be more familiar. This is certainly true of the impact of some examples of German cinema produced in the 1920s. If you watch Edward Scissorhands (1990), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Bringing out the…
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Spectatorship Experimental/Expanded Film: The Blood of a Poet »

Rob Miller | Friday September 09, 2016

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section B: Spectatorship Topics

Past Exam Questions ‘The experience of watching experimental film is so different from watching mainstream fictional film that the spectator often feels unease and boredom’. Discuss this statement with reference to the films you have studied for this topic. Explore how distinctive elements in the experimental films you have studied have an impact on the spectator. Explore how far your viewing of experimental or expanded film/video has made you more aware of issues in spectatorship.…
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World Cinema Topics: Empowering Women | Pumzi (2009) »

Rob Miller | Friday September 09, 2016

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Pumzi, Genres & Case Studies, Science Fiction

WJEC A2 Film Studies FM4 Section A World Cinema: Empowering Women Empowering Women Past Exam Questions: Discuss how persuasive you have found the different films you have studied for this topic in promoting female empowerment. In the films you have studied for this topic, how far can it be said that central characters and their situations are represented in similar ways? Discuss how far men are represented as enemies of female empowerment in the films you have chosen for this topic. Explore…
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International Film Styles: Neorealism »

jclarke | Friday September 04, 2015

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film History, Cinema in Context, Film Industry, Censorship & Regulation, Copyright & Licensing, Film Distribution, Film Marketing, Film Publicity, Film Promotion, Production Companies, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Kes, World Cinema, Rome, Open City, Genres & Case Studies, Neorealism, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

Across the varied and diverse ways in which a film text can encode and emphasise meanings and a specific viewpoint on or presentation of a subject, realism is a key aesthetic and formal choice and approach that has functioned as a key creative direction of so much western expression across literature and the visual arts. This resource, then, explores the characteristics of a particular film style that we call neorealism. It stems from post World War Two Italian cinema and its influence has been…
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Popular Film & Emotional Response: All That Heaven Allows & Far From Heaven »

Rob Miller | Wednesday July 01, 2015

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section B: Spectatorship Topics, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film History, Films & Case Studies, Directors, Douglas Sirk, Todd Haynes, Hollywood Films, All That Heaven Allows, Far From Heaven, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience

An Analysis of Two Close Study Films This resource analyses two close study films All That Heaven Allows (1955) and Far From Heaven (2002) in relation to the FM4 Spectatorship topic, Popular Film and Emotional Response while cross-referencing key points with Imitation of Life (1959). Todd Haynes’ 2002 American drama Far From Heaven makes clear intertextual references to Douglas Sirk’s 1955 and 1959 films All That Heaven Allows and Imitation of Life in terms of style and themes although…
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Exemplar WJEC A2 Lesson Plan | Introduction to Bollywood as a National Cinema »

Rob Miller | Monday November 17, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Genres & Case Studies, Bollywood, Hot Entries

Associated Resources Edusites Lesson Plan Template.docx NB. Please note this is a suggested template, your school may require a different layout. Length of Lesson (minutes): 60 Lesson Title: An Introduction to Bollywood as a National Cinema Context This lesson would be delivered in the first or second week after the Christmas break with the assumption that students are close to completing their FM3 projects – an understanding of World Cinema has been embedded but needs to be revisited at the…
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Happy Together (Hong Kong 1997) Case Study »

jclarke | Tuesday October 07, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film Industry, Film Distribution, Film Marketing, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Happy Together, Genres & Case Studies, Drama, Romance, Hot Entries, Theory, Auteur Theory, Queer Theory

click on image to enlarge FM4: Varieties of Film Experience – Issues and Debates Section C: Single Film – Critical Study Introduction Happy Together is a feature film directed by Wong Kar-wai. It was released in 1997, the year that Hong Kong’s governance from Britain ended and governance from China began. The fact that Happy Together begins with passports being stamped might well resonate with Hong Kong audiences particularly with when the film was released. We might suggest that a…
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Solaris (Soviet Union 1972) Case Study »

Rob Miller | Wednesday October 01, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Solaris (1972), Genres & Case Studies, Drama, Science Fiction, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge There are key areas of study that WJEC recommend are explored for FM4 Section C – Solaris, and they are as follows:As a philosophical film about identity and memory
 The role and function of Hari
 The undemonstrative character of Kris and the reasons for this
 Issues of representation in relation to conventions of the Sci-Fi genre
 The significance of the earth sequences – including the emphasis on nature The overall pace and length of the film
…
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Movern Callar (2002) Case Study »

jclarke | Friday September 26, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Movern Callar, Genres & Case Studies, British Film, Drama, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge FM4: Varieties of Film Experience – Issues and Debates Section C: Single Film – Critical Study Introduction Lynne Ramsay, the director of the film Morvern Callar has made the valuable observation that “I love to see great dialogue in the cinema but I hate to see ‘Film TV’. When I go to the cinema I want to have a cinematic experience….I like dialogue when it’s used in a way where the body language says the complete opposite…? [1] Ramsay’s emphasis on…
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Documentary and Spectatorship Workshop »

Richard Gent | Wednesday September 24, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section B: Spectatorship Topics, Genres & Case Studies, Documentary, Hot Entries

click on image to enlarge Documentary, of all genres has a profound impact on spectatorship. This dedicated, interactive WJEC A2 Film Studies Section B: Spectatorship topic explores historical and contemporary genre pieces from Vertov’s Man With a Movie Camera through to Senna, Grizzly Man and Marley ensuring that key theories e.g. the work of Dr Bill Nichols are incorporated. It is expected centres will inform Edusites Film of their chosen texts so the session can be bespoke to their needs.…
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International Film Styles Workshop »

Richard Gent | Wednesday September 24, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Hot Entries

click on image to enlarge This WJEC A2 Film Studies dedicated, interactive workshop, offered both as a full or half day option provides a platform for further study in relation to the FM4 Section A: World Cinema, International Film Styles topic. It is expected that centres will inform Edusites Film of their chosen topic/topics, whether German Cinema, Soviet Cinema, Surrealism, Neo Realism or New Wave options so the session can be precisely tailored to the needs of the centre. We can guarantee…
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Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971) Case Study »

Rob Miller | Monday September 22, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film Industry, Censorship & Regulation, Film Distribution, Film Marketing, Film Publicity, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, Genres & Case Studies, Crime, Drama, Independent, Thriller, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Representation

FM4: Varieties of Film Experience – Issues and Debates Section C: Single Film – Critical Study Section C of FM4 offers students the ability to engage in a critical study of a single film, within a synoptic framework – this means the micro and the macro features need to be studied, as well as issues of representation. Useful will be placing the film in an institutional and cultural context in reference to production, funding distribution, audience, audience reception but also genre and…
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International Film Styles: Surrealism »

Rob Miller | Friday September 19, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Directors, Louis Bunuel, World Cinema, The Discreet Charms of the Bourgeoisie, Un Chien Andalou, Genres & Case Studies, Comedy, Fantasy, Silent, Surrealism, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge Sample Questions How far does cinematic style support themes and ideas in the films you have studied for this topic? Discuss how far the development of your chosen international film style can be seen as the work of particular creative individuals? Discuss characteristic features of casting and/or performance, exploring how far these features contribute the overall effect of the films you have studied. What is the relationship between visual style and the subject…
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Recommended A2 Film Studies Theorists »

Rob Miller | Monday September 15, 2014

Categories: A Level, OCR A Level, OCR A2, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM3, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Section B: Spectatorship Topics, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Representation, Theory, Theorists

The following theorists represent a selection of film theorists (from many) whose work can be cited in both A Level Film Studies coursework and external assessment, for both WJEC and OCR. For example, OCR Film Studies Section B F633 suggests: “candidates are encouraged to engage with critical frameworks relevant to the topic area? e.g. Film Regulation, Authorship and Film and Audience Experience while WJEC Film Studies FM4 states that students should: “apply key concepts and critical…
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WJEC A2 Film Studies FM4 Section A World Cinema Bollywood A Grade Exemplar »

Rob Miller | Wednesday September 03, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Shree 420, Genres & Case Studies, Bollywood, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation, Theory, Auteur Theory

click on image to enlarge By comparing the cinematic styles used in the films you have studied for this topic, is it possible to identify a distinctive ‘National Cinema’? Indian cinema means different things to different people and there are a lot of different cinematic styles originating from the Indian subcontinent. Stereotypically, when western audiences without cultural capital or knowledge think of Indian films the iconic name ‘Bollywood’ comes to mind, or less widely known outside…
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Vertigo (Hitchcock 1958) Case Study »

jclarke | Monday August 18, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film Industry, Film Marketing, Film Publicity, Film Promotion, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Vertigo, Genres & Case Studies, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge Understanding the relationship between the micro and the macro elements of a film is an essential part of our analysis of movies. Every shot, every sound accumulates to form the expression of an idea. Thinking about movies in this way might prompt us to acknowledge that a camera move for example, can express a character’s psychology, sometimes more forcefully and memorably than a line of dialogue could ever do. In the opening scene of Vertigo (1958) as the film’s…
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Modern Times Case Study (Chaplin 1936) »

jclarke | Monday May 19, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Modern Times, Genres & Case Studies, Comedy, Drama, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge The first image that we see in Modern Times is of a clock - a symbol of the workplace and productivity as Chaplin’s Little Tramp struggles in the modern, industrialised world of which he is so critical during the time of the Great Depression, see more on that here. As such the image is emblematic of the entire film. Modern Times is a silent film comedy that is as ideologically rich and meaningful as a wide range of far more ‘serious’ dramas about ‘serious’…
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WJEC A2 FM4 Section C Single Film Critical Study | Talk To Her - Almodovar, 2002 »

jclarke | Friday May 09, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Talk To Her, Genres & Case Studies, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge In this resource we will consider the film Talk To Her (2002) and explore some aspects of its film style, by which we mean the choices made by the filmmakers in their deployment of sound and visual elements in the construction of the narrative. As such, we are considering how storytelling devices express a range of meanings and values embodied within the drama. Talk To Her offers an opportunity for us to think about how film (and non Hollywood films, particularly)…
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WJEC AS/A2 Film Studies Suspension of Disbelief Believing in Make Believe »

Emily Hughes | Tuesday March 18, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS AS, FM1, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section B: Spectatorship Topics, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation, Theory, Spectatorship Theory

click on image to enlarge The movies: flickering images running past our eyes at 24 frames per second. They have the power to make us cry, make us sit on the edge of our seat, exhilarate and infuriate but how? The narratives that unfold in front of us are products, made up stories. The events we see on screen are just actors pretending to be other people, increasingly a lot of what we see is so devoid of reality that it is created on a computer through CGI, it’s all just make believe. So…
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Bollywood 1990 - Present »

Rob Miller | Friday March 14, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Shree 420, Genres & Case Studies, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge WJEC A2 Film Studies FM4 Section A World Cinema: Aspects of National Cinema This section of FM4 Section A: World Cinema does not require a comprehensive study of the period as long as there is some significance in the films chosen, and their relationship to the national cinema to which they belong. It is expected two principal films will be chosen, supplemented by briefer reference to one or two other films. As such, this resource (not an exemplar exam response) will…
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Les Enfants du Paradis (Carne 1945) »

jclarke | Thursday March 13, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Les Enfants du Paradis, Genres & Case Studies, Drama, Romance, Hot Entries

click on image to enlarge WJEC A2 Film Studies FM4 Section C Critical Study Les Enfants du Paradis Typically, in many of our Edusites resources we identify contexts that inform the potential meaning of a given film text. In the case of Les Enfants du Paradis this is an especially powerful and relevant aspect of how we approach the film. In this resource, we will broadly sketch out a particular political context, then move on to describe something of the production and conceptual development of…
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Iranian Cinema »

jclarke | Thursday March 06, 2014

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, At Five in the Afternoon, Blackboards, Close Up, The Apple, The Wind Will Carry Us, Genres & Case Studies, Iranian, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge WJEC A2 Film Studies FM4 Section A World Cinema Aspects of a National Cinema: Iranian Cinema 1990 - Present Introduction Let us start with a piece from what could serve as possible further reading beyond this resource as it suggests the complexity of the subject we are exploring: “for many pious families, going to the cinema was tantamount to committing a sin. The main reason for this was that cinematic representations of women and love upset the delicate dualism…
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Spectatorship and Early Cinema Before 1917 »

jclarke | Saturday November 30, 2013

Categories: A Level, OCR A Level, OCR A2, OCR AS, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section B: Spectatorship Topics, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film History, Cinema in Context, Film Industry, Censorship & Regulation, Copyright & Licensing, Film Distribution, Film Marketing, Film Publicity, Film Promotion, Production Companies, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation, Theory, Spectatorship Theory

click on image to enlarge Cinema is now nearly 120 years old and it’s a magnificently broad, deep, complex and exciting subject. It’s understandably easy to think that the way films are now is how they have always been, in terms of their technology and particularly how they organize (tell) their stories. However, this isn’t the case and so it’s important for us to be aware that all forms of cultural expression evolve across time and that they are subject to many influences, intended or…
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Aspects of National Cinema: Japanese Cinema »

jclarke | Monday November 25, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film History, Cinema in Context, Film Industry, Film Distribution, Production Companies, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Grave of the Fireflies, Seven Samurai, Genres & Case Studies, Japanese, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge WJEC A2 Film Studies FM4 Section A World Cinema: Aspects of National Cinema Japanese cinema can be understood as a major presence in the international film style context, not only in terms of its own achievement but also for the influence it has exerted on cinema far beyond its borders.  It’s a national cinema with a very specific set of concerns and stylistic traits and with a number of particular contexts that allow the film texts to be understood in all the…
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Spectatorship Experimental/Expanded Film: Meshes of the Afternoon & Tarnation »

Amy Charlewood | Tuesday November 19, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS AS, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section B: Spectatorship Topics, Analysis, Film Analysis, Genres & Case Studies, Avant-Garde, Cinema Verite, Documentary, Experimental, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation, Theory, Spectatorship Theory

click on image to enlarge Definition and Introduction As one might expect the term experimental cinema is difficult to define clearly and by its very nature avoids simplistic categorisation. Within the movement itself there has been frequent debate over its definition. Fred Camper discusses experimental film-makers such as Peter Kubelka and Stan Brackage who questioned titles like ‘Avant-garde’ for suggesting experimental cinema is intrinsically European, ‘different…
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Popular Film & Emotional Response: How Film Produces Emotional Responses »

jclarke | Monday November 11, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge All films manipulate audiences and this is one fundamental reasons why we choose to watch a film. It is because we want to experience a change in our emotional condition - we may want to be provoked into laughter, tension, sadness, fear or happiness. One of the key issues underpinning our exploration of film and the experience of an emotional response to it is the understanding that emotions can be argued to be culturally formed. Chris Barker writes “Emotions are not…
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WJEC A2 Film Studies FM4 Section B Spectatorship Documentaries Exemplar »

karenardouin | Monday June 10, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section B: Spectatorship Topics, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Fahrenheit 9/11, Grizzly Man, Marley, Senna, Super Size Me, Touching The Void, We Are The Lambeth Boys, Genres & Case Studies, Adventure, Biography, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, History, Independent, Music, Sport, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation, Mock Exams, A Level Mock Exams

click on image to enlarge With reference to the films you have studied for this topic, how far can it be said that different kinds of documentaries offer different kinds of spectator experiences? The spectator experience is dependent on a number of factors including environment of reception for example (where it is seen) and specifically purpose, whether to entertain, inform, educate or persuade. Documentaries are diverse in content and can suggest degrees of realism. Mediated content is often…
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WJEC A2 Film Studies FM4 Section B Spectatorship Fahrenheit 9/11 Kurt and Courtney Exemplar »

karenardouin | Monday June 10, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section B: Spectatorship Topics, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Bowling For Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Kurt & Courtney, Genres & Case Studies, Biography, Documentary, History, Music, War, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation, Mock Exams, A Level Mock Exams

click on image to enlarge ‘A common experience for the spectator when watching a documentary is to be manipulated by the filmmakers’. How far do you agree with this statement? (35) Generally, documentaries are created in order to impart information and, in the main, to persuade the audience into believing a particular viewpoint. The contract between audience and filmmaker is considered along with the code of ethics with regard to documenting the real. For example, there are questions…
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World Cinema | Mexican Cinema »

Rob Miller | Monday June 03, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Amores Perros, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Genres & Case Studies, Mexican

Key Texts Amores Perros (Love’s A Bitch) 2000 Y Tu Mama También (And Your Mother Too) 2001 Compare some of the stylistic features in the films you have studied discussing how far they make for a distinctive kind of cinema. The study of so-called World Cinema tends to focus on common themes e.g. power, poverty and conflict, social class, gender representation et al within the confines of what has to be described as Hollywood Hegemony. Ironically ‘international film…
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WJEC A2 Film Studies FM4 Section C Single Film Critical Study Fight Club Exemplar »

Rob Miller | Monday June 03, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Fight Club, Hot Entries

Despite the gesture of destroying symbols of corporate power at the end, Fight Club is a film about power and control, not liberation. How far do you agree? Fight Club is a pre millennium, 1999 film directed by David Fincher. Fincher admits to wanting to create a discourse on corporate power, advertising and a crisis in masculinity which is developed also through the novel’s homoerotic connotations. The film’s screenplay was developed by Jim Uhles and as such, remains close in narrative…
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Popular Film & Emotional Response: Understanding Emotional Responses »

vikiwalden | Monday March 25, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Schindler’s List, Non-Hollywood Films, World Cinema, La Vita e Bella, Genres & Case Studies, Action, Biography, Comedy, Crime, Drama, History, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

click on image to enlarge Students can find studying spectatorship challenging.  There are many theories of spectatorship, but starting with the theory can lead students to list theoretical ideas rather than engage with the texts. Let’s not forget this A2 Film Studies unit is about “emotional responses? more than critical ones. This is a good place to start with students. What is “emotion?? What is “popular film?? And what elements of the film experience trigger emotional…
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European Film Movement: French New Wave »

jclarke | Thursday March 21, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film History, Cinema in Context, Film Industry, Film Distribution, Production Companies, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Un Bout de Souffle, Les Quatre Cents Coups, Genres & Case Studies, French New Wave, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation

In 1950, when he was only nineteen years old, Jean-Luc Godard, one day to become one the great filmmakers, wrote a piece for the French publication Gazette du Cinema called Towards A Political Cinema. Even at this young age, Godard was aware of cinema’s power to communicate ideas. Jean-Luc Godard examines a strip of film: Film history describes a wide range of film movements that have each had an often-short lifespan that’s been quite specific but the legacies of which have endured.…
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International Film Styles: 1920s Soviet Cinema »

jclarke | Friday March 08, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Film History, Film Industry, Film Distribution, Production Companies, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Battleship Potemkin, Man With A Movie Camera, Genres & Case Studies, Documentary, Realism, Social Realism, Soviet Montage

click on image to enlarge Cinema is always evolving. The constantly changing quality of film styles is exciting and since the beginnings of film history many nations around the world have developed their own distinct cinematic style and this continues today in the twenty-first century. During the early part of the twentieth century one country that contributed very significantly to the development of early cinema, was Russia and now, in 2013, almost a century later, the particular film style…
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World Cinema Topics: Empowering Women - Volver (2006) and Amores Perros (2000) »

Amy Charlewood | Monday February 04, 2013

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Amores Perros, Volver, Hot Entries, Key Concepts, Audience, Film Language, Representation, Theory, Film Theory

It is important to firstly consider the context of this unit as an exploration of world cinema. World cinema is difficult to define; with most definitions reverting to that it can be defined simply as any cinema outside of the globally dominant industry of Hollywood or any non English language cinema. Often discussed as an alternative to Hollywood’s ‘dream factory’, World cinema tends to be perceived as possessing certain features offering an insight into another country’s culture, a…
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Mexican Cinema 1990 >> »

vikiwalden | Tuesday November 06, 2012

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Film History, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Cronos, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Genres & Case Studies, Mexican

Background: The Beginnings To fully comprehend any one period in a country’s cinema, there needs to be some contextualisation. Early Mexican filmmakers profited from the turbulent times the country faced at the turn of the century. The civil war was the subject of many silent films; several significant battles were documented on camera. As the country began to stabilize during the 1930s, filmmakers had a myriad of social issues to choose from as themes for their films. However, they…
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La Haine Case Study »

vikiwalden | Friday September 07, 2012

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, La Haine, Genres & Case Studies, Beur, Classic, Drama, New Realism, Social Realism

Urban Stories | Power, Poverty & Conflict | Case Study 2 | La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz , 1995) Synopsis La Haine (Hate 1995, France) focuses on a single day in the lives of three twenty-something friends from immigrant families, living in an impoverished and multi-ethnic French housing project. The housing project, or la banlieues (ZUP - zone à urbaniser en priorité), hosts a riot after a young man is shot by a policeman. The film follows the young trio in the immediate aftermath of the…
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Amores Perros Research Questions »

Rob Miller | Thursday November 10, 2011

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Amores Perros, Research, Film Research

Amores Perros Research Questions.doc
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Supersize Me Case Study »

Rob Miller | Tuesday November 01, 2011

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Non-Hollywood Films, Super Size Me, Genres & Case Studies, Documentary

Spectatorship and Documentary Synopsis and Character Profiles Supersize Me is a documentary by independent film maker, Morgan Spurlock, about Spurlock himself spending 30 days in sequence, in 2003, eating only McDonalds food, three times a day with the ensuing affect on his health – the title of film reflects his pledge of having to eat a Supersize meal (the largest on the menu) if asked. The film explores the fast food giant’s corporate influence, and lack of nutrition in its products, with…
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Man with a Movie Camera Case Study »

Rob Miller | Tuesday November 01, 2011

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Man With A Movie Camera, Genres & Case Studies, Classic, Documentary, Independent, Silent

Spectatorship and Documentary Synopsis and Character Profiles Man with a Movie Camera is an innovative silent 1929 Documentary, set in a number of cities in the Soviet Union, including Odessa (near where Eisenstein shot the iconic Odessa Steps sequence in Battleship Potemkin). Fundamentally, and on a manifest level, it is about a day in the life of a city and audiences are introduced to a city literally waking up – individuals washing and bathing, Tram Sheds opening, tramps waking up on park…
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Fight Club Case Study »

Rob Miller | Monday October 31, 2011

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Fight Club, Genres & Case Studies, Comedy, Drama, Film Noir, Romance, Thriller

A2 Film Studies Section C: Close Critical Study Synopsis and Character Profiles Fight Club is based on a surprisingly short novel by Chuck Palahniuk, where it is suggested the desire for meaning drives civilisation. The film takes this as it essence, but offers a broader range of more complex representations. In terms of narrative, the film is initially about the life of a disillusioned office worker - played by the narrator, Edward Norton – he works for a car insurance company, who appraise…
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Amores Perros (Love’s A Bitch) Case Study »

Rob Miller | Monday October 31, 2011

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Analysis, Film Analysis, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Amores Perros, Genres & Case Studies, Drama, Gangster, Romance, Thriller

Urban Stories: Power, Poverty and Conflict Synopsis and Character Profiles Amores Perros is a film about a three interconnected stories in Mexico City that borrow from, or arguably make, intertextual references to Pulp Fiction in terms of the non linear narrative. A car crash is the pivotal scene that involves, and effects, all three narratives and serves as a narrative arc – in Story 1 (like Pulp Fiction chapter headings are used) Octavio and Susana fall for each other, but not before Susana…
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Fight Club Screening Questions »

nicoleponsford | Sunday October 23, 2011

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section C: Single Film Critical Study, Films & Case Studies, Hollywood Films, Fight Club, Genres & Case Studies, Drama, Hot Entries

Associated Resources Screening Questions Pre-FM4 Close Study of Fight Club.doc For each of the following films, you will need to be able to make notes on, compare and explain the following texts in relation to Fight Club. Using American Beauty / Being John Malcovich / The Matrix you need to be aware of both the micro and macro features in relation to: Narrative and Narrative Themes, Ideology Changing Representations of Masculinity Genre and Genre Conventions Audience Responses, Critical and…
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Metropolis Case Study »

vikiwalden | Saturday October 22, 2011

Categories: A Level, EDUQAS A Level, EDUQAS A2, FM4, Section A: World Cinema, Films & Case Studies, World Cinema, Metropolis, Genres & Case Studies, Classic, Expressionist, Independent

Urban Stories | Power, Poverty & Conflict | Case Study 1 | Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927) Synopsis Freder has lived a naive existence as the son of the founder / owner of the city of Metropolis. He spends his spare time frolicking in the Club of Sons or Eternal Gardens, blissfully unaware of the tormented incarceration of the workers in the depths of the city. This is until, one day, Maria brings the children to see their richer “brothers”. Touched by the image of these poor,…
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