Step 1: Choose a movie from the 1930s through 1940s and answer the following questions about that movie.
http://www.filmsite.org/30sintro.html
http://www.filmsite.org/40sintro.html
http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Movies_and_Film/Genres
Movie
· Who directed and acted in the movie? (Enhance slides with pictures.)
· What studio produced distributed the movie?
· How much did the movie cost to make?
· What genre was the movie?
· What did reviewers say about the movie? Write a capsule review of the movie, or use excerpts from real reviews of the period.
Step 2: Choose an actor or actress between the 1930s and 1940s and answer the following questions about that actor or actress.
Actor or Actress - http://www.movieactors.com/index2.htm
· What other movies did this person star in? (Enhance the slide with pictures.)
· When did this person's career start and end?
· Did this person work for a single movie company during his or her career, or many? Which ones?
· What did this person get paid to act in movies? Or what was the average pay of a movie actor at the time?
· Did this person specialize in a particular genre of movie?
· How did this person's career change over time?
Step 3: Choose a director between the 1930s and 1940s and answer the following questions about that director.
Director - http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Movies_and_Film/Genres/Classic_Hollywood/Directors/
· What other films did this person direct? (Enhance the slide with pictures.)
· Did this person work for a movie studio, or were they independent?
· Would you describe this director as an "auteur"? Why?
· Was this director famous for a particular genre or style of film?
· Did this person specialize in a particular genre of movie?
· Did this director have any special style or technique that was unique?
· How did this person's career change over time?
Step 4: Compare and contrast the following questions.
Comparisons http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos093.htm
http://www.jobbankusa.com/ohb/ohb093.html
- Cost of movies then and now - what are budgets spent on (stars, special effects)?
- Women in the movies: what are the differences in standards for women and men in the movies, then and now?
- What kinds of things are/were scandalous or forbidden in movies?
- What genres are/were popular? Are there new genres now?
- Have existing genres changed? (For instance, how has the "western" genre changed?)
- How has the role of the director changed?
Film vocabulary
Auteur (auteur theory): according to auteur theory, the director of a film is its author, because the director creates and executes a unique vision, marking the film with a signature style. Others disagree with this theory, because films are complex to produce and could not be made without the collaboration of a large team. In the Hollywood studio system, the director was considered to be just part of the team, while the producer was supposed to provide the unique signature.
Capsule review: a short movie review.
Continuity editing (or continuity cutting): part of the basics of "film language", continuity cutting was developed early in the 20th century. A system of editing movies that provides clear and continuous movement.
Filmography: a complete list of films by a particular actor or director, usually organized by year.
Genre: a way of categorizing films according to styles and themes (westerns, sci-fi, etc.) Independent film: films not produced by a major movie studio. An independent film has to find funding and distribution that would otherwise be provide by the studio.