Loyola University Chicago

Instructor: Prof. Flaminio DiBiagi

Meeting Days: Tuesday (viewing) & Thursday (lecture)

Meeting Times: 7:00 - 9:30 pm (for viewing of films) and 10:55 am - 12:10 pm / 5:10 - 6:25 pm (lecture)

Course Description
This course is a study of the Italian Comedies of the 1960's and 1970's, known as "Commedia all'italiana," which were apparently commercial, popular, average products of the movie industry that eventually came to represent a collective but ironic portrait of Italy and its cultural transformations during (and after) the "economic miracle" (1958-1963).

The course is therefore specifically based on Italian movies; starting with the early silent one-reelers, the outline / development of comic films in Italy will be followed, and major Italian Style comedies will be presented as "samples" and analyzed in class in chronological order. The course will provide a deeper knowledge both of the Film Industry and the Film as an artistic form of expression. Class discussions focus mostly on a "textual" analysis of the films, but they imply a general background understanding of Italy. In fact, the course maintains an historical / sociological perspective in its setting, since many of our movies can also be considered a peculiar "reservoir" of information about recent Italian history, lifestyle, culture, politics, economic situation and social transformations in the 20th century. Hopefully, it will also work as an "on location" course to "see" and compare the movies and the society they represent, the Country and its cinematic expressions, the image, the mirrors.

While no knowledge of Italian is required, all films are in Italian with English subtitles.

Classwork
Attendance is a must (at every single lesson there will be an official sign-up sheet). Students are expected to come to each class well prepared and having read the textbooks. Any assigned material should be read thoroughly for the class day indicated. During projections, all students are expected to pay attention to the film, take notes, and then contribute to the following in-class discussion. Films will be only shown once, in class, usually on Tuesday, but times may vary depending on the length of the movie (expect subtitles, some extra-long, challenging movies, some simultaneous translations in class!). Screenings will be introduced and followed by lectures and class discussions (usually on Thursday), with comments, questions, etc.

Each screening will provide

• a) background information on the director
• b) historical, political, cultural perspectives
• c) textual analysis of the film.

Textbooks
There is no specific textbook available. Students are requested to purchase from the LURC bookstore - for a very reasonable fee - a set of "Selected Readings" (photocopied materials on the movies to be seen in class); some other photocopied handouts will be distributed in class and these will also be considered study texts.
Optional supports will be on reserve at the circulation desk in the Rome Center library under the instructor's name. Students should often refer to these texts:
Peter Bondanella, Italian Cinema from Neorealism to the Present
Louis Giannetti Understanding Movies
Christopher Duggan, A Concise History of Italy
John Moscowitz, Critical Approaches to Writing About Film
Ira Konigsberg, The Complete Film Dictionary

Grading
Final grade is actually the result of reading texts, attending classes, studying, "being alive and thinking." Anyhow, the following scale & percentages will be used to determine the student's grade:
SCALE: A = 100-93; B+ = 92-91; B = 90-85; C+ = 84-83; C = 82-77; D+ = 76-75; D = 74-70; F = below 70
PERCENTAGES: Mid-term exam = 25%; Final exam = 30%; Reviews = 15%; Take-home exams = 15%; Oral reports = 5%; Class discussion = 10%

Extra Information
Exams will require tasks such as identification, definition, questions, control of data, writing brief essays. Midterm and final exams will include and cover textbooks, reading materials, films, and all topics presented or discussed during lectures. To perform well on these exams, students must make an effort to come to class regularly.

Film reviews must be two pages long (Times New Roman font #12, double-spaced). Students are requested to use a proper academic vocabulary and apply the technical terminology (refer to Understanding Movies and The Complete Film Dictionary). Reviews should not be a summary of the film but a personalized "reading" (i.e., a critical interpretation and evaluation). Criticism must always be grounded on specific scenes, events, lines, characters, images, acting skills, cinematic styles, camerawork, director's point of view, etc., of the film reviewed. When using some scholar's idea in building their criticism, students must directly refer to their source by quoting the author's name, title of the book, date, page.

The final paper is to be a personal research paper and should develop a specific analysis in at least six pages (Times New Roman font #12, double-spaced). Students can choose a genre or a director, analyzing and comparing in a proper cultural / historical perspective one or two more of his films. In finding a topic, students are requested to consult and discuss with the instructor before final approval of a basic one-page outline.

Active class participation is very important for success in a course such as this; therefore, students are encouraged to discuss and intellectually interact with the instructor and all other colleagues in class. Attendance is required, especially since out "texts" are films presented only in class once. Please be aware that your absence will not only weaken your performance but also influence your grade: unexcused absences will lower your final grade by 2% for each missed class. Students should be familiar with the honor code of University life, abide by its standards at all times, and expect similar behavior from their peers.

Note: All classes, whether on Tuesdays or Thursdays, may be used for projections (check "Program").

Program of Readings and Films
Week 1: introduction, syllabus, policies, tools, requirements, technical terms, definition of comedy, beginnings, 1st comic gag: The Sprinkler Sprinkled [Lumiere, 1895], early Italian comics [clips], the Italian cinema [Neorealism]
Week 2: the Fifties, social background, Toto [clips from Toto cerca casa, Toto cerca moglie, Toto a colori, etc.], the "boom" ['58-'63][clips from documentaries], Alberto Sordi, An American in Rome, [Steno, 1954] [clips], the Sixties
Week 3: Big Deal on Madonna Street [Monicelli, 1958]
Week 4: The Great War [Monicelli, 1959]
Week 5: Divorce Italian Style [Germi, 1961]
Week 6: The Easy Life [Risi, 1962]
Week 7: Seduced and Abandoned [Germi, 1963], the "episode films," clips from Made in Italy [Loy, 1965] and others, clips from The Anti-Miracle [1963 documentary]
Week 8: comparison of Lo svitato [Lizzani, 1955] & Hands over the City [Rosi, 1963], recap Week 8: Mid-term exam
Week 9: SPRING BREAK
Week 10: Mafioso [Lattuada, 1962], The Monsters [Risi, 1963]
Week 11: individual oral reports, L'avventura di un soldato [Manfredi, 1962]
Week 12: Pane e cioccolata [Brusati, 1974]
Week 13: Swept Away [Wertmueller, 1974]
Week 14: We All Loved Each Other So Much [Scola, 1975], EASTER BREAK
Week 15: final developments of Comedy Italian Style, In the Name of the Pope King [Magni, 1977]
Week 16: recap, conclusions, evaluations
Fnals' Week: Final exam