FILM 134AFall 06

AMERICAN FILM 1930-60

FILM MARKETING & RECEPTION PROJECT

Choose an American narrative film made between 1930 and 1960, one we have not studied in class, and research how the film was marketed and reviewed at the time of its original release. Materials you gather might include original movie reviews, posters, trailers and commercial "tie-ins" such as toys, games and music. You will need to find a minimum of five items.

Once you have completed this research, write an essay analyzing how the film was promoted and reviewed at the time of its release. Your essay should be a minimum of 5-7 pages (or 1,500 words) in length. Questions to consider in your analysis:

  • What aspects of the film are highlighted (or downplayed) in the marketing campaign?
    (Its directors and/or stars? Its genre? Its themes or social issues? Its use of technology?)
  • What kinds of viewers does the marketing campaign appear to be targeting?
  • How does the look of the ad campaign complement the film’s visual design?
  • What aspects of the film are discussed (or avoided) in the reviews? Did critics consider the film controversial or innovative?
  • Do reviews mention who saw the film and how they responded?
  • Do reviews emphasize the same issues stressed in the studio’s ad campaign?

You are encouraged to use this assignment to begin exploring the topic you will eventually pursue for your research paper. Choose a film that highlights an issue that interests you:

  • a genre or type of film (science fiction, film noir, screwball comedy, black cast films)
  • a social issue (the Depression, World War II, race relations, immigration)
  • a new technology (sound, color, CinemaScope)
  • an aspect of Hollywood history (the Production Code, the red scare, independent production)

Conversely, if you already have a film in mind, begin thinking about the historical issues that it raises. Please speak with Professor Stamp or your TA if you would like help choosing a film.

Please hand-in photocopies of your source material along with the essay.

Due in class Tuesday, October 24th

Useful online resources

Choosing a Film:

The National Film Registry

The American Film Institute list of top 100 films

Film Site lists

Finding Reviews:

Posters and Lobby Cards:

Trailers:

Original trailers are often included on videos, laser disks and DVDs. Check the Film and Music Center collection in McHenry Library.

Magazine Covers:

BOOKS ON TWO-HOUR RESERVE AT McHENRY LIBRARY

REVIEWS:

American film criticism, from the beginnings to Citizen Kane: reviews of significant films at the time they first appeared.

PN1995.K293.

Celluloid power : social film criticism from The Birth of a Nation to Judgment at Nuremberg

PN1995.9.P6C44 1992.

Cinema nation : the best writing on film from the Nation, 1913-2000

PN1994 .C522 2000.

The film criticism of Otis Ferguson.

PN1995.F45.

The film criticism of Vernon Young

PN1995.Y68 1990.

The pleasure-dome: the collected film criticism 1935-40 of Graham Greene

PN1995.G68.

Lorentz on film : movies 1927 to 1941

PN1995.L63.

Agee on film : criticism and comment on the movies

PN1993.5.A1 A35 2000.

POSTERS AND LOBBY CARDS:

Lobby cards : the classic films

PN1995.9.P5S39 1987.

Forties film talk : oral histories of Hollywood, with 120 lobby posters

PN1993.5.U6M217 1992.

Film posters of the 50s : the essential movies of the decade from the reel poster gallery

PN1995.9.P5 F457 2000.

A separate cinema : fifty years of black-cast posters

PN1995.9.P5K57 1992.

The art of noir : the posters and graphics from the classic era of film noir

PN1995.9.P5 M85 2002.

Crime scenes : movie poster art of the film noir, the classic period, 1941-1959

PN1995.9.P5 B38 1995.

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