The Subject of Cinema

310 Pages·2005·41.767 MB·English

by  Gaston Roberge

The Rita Ray Memorial Lectures 1987
THE SUBJECT OF CINEMA
•
Google Original from
Digitized by
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
The Rita Ray Memorial Lectures 198 7
The Subject
of
Cinema
GASTON ROBERGE
==:a
CALCu l"IA NEW DELHI 2005
Google Original from
Digitized by
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
' .
.
C Gaston Roberge 1990
First published in 198 5
Reprinted 2005
THE ENDEAVOURS OF CARDINAL LffiER
This reprint has been made possible by a grant from the Foundation
Jules Paul-lkile Uger, Montreal, Canada
Cover design: Naveen Kishore
ISBN 81 7046 055 7
Published by Naveen Kishore, Seagull Boob Private Limited,
26 Circus Avenue, Calcutta 700 017, India
Printed in India by Rockwd Offset
55B Mina Ghalib Street, Calcutta 700 016
Google Original from
Digitized by
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
IN MEMORY OF
JEAN MITRY (1907-1988)
Google Original from
Digitized by
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Google Original from
Digitized by
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Contents
A PRELIMINARY
1 2
WHY FIIM TiiEORY
I The impulse to theoriu film 2
II From film in general to particular fil.rn. 7
III Various of discourse on film 9
types
IV Interpretation 10
2 17
TiiE SUBJECT OF FIIM TiiEORY
I Oassiatl film theories before the mid-sixties 17
II Fwn and films 21
III The subject matter of these lectures 21
IV The subject of film theory 23
B. BASIC ELEMENTS OF FILMTIIEORY
3 FIIM LANGUAGE 30
I Falm language is not like vabal language 30
II Fdm is a means of cxprasion and
also a language 32
III Film ladcs three charactcristia
of verbal language 33
34
IV Signification in film: three steps
V Codes 35
VI Codes specific to the cinema 37
4 42
FIIM RHYTHM
I Rhythm 43
II Music 44
Google Original from
Digitized by
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
III Pure cinema
46
IV Film rhythm
49
5
FILM DRAMATURGY 54
I Bazin's historical approach
will not be followed
54
II Cinema and theatre: Andre Bazin
55
III Cinema and theatre: Jean Mitry
60
6
FILM NARRATIYTIY 68
I Cinema and novels: Jean Mitry 68
II A history of narrative codes
71
C. THE THEORETICAL UPHEAVAL
7 82
IDEALISM IN THE CINEMA: BAZIN
I Introduction: two problems 82
II Andre Bazin 84
III Idealism 85
IV Influences on Bazin 88
V The working of idealist thought 90
8 94
TOWARDS A MATERIAIJST FILM: EISENSTEIN
I Bazin and Eisenstein 94
II Eisenstein's early and late films 96
III Basic vocabulary 97
IV New content, new form 99
V Strike, Potemltin, October l OI
VI The working ofm aterialist thought I 07
Google Original from
Digitized by
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
9 THE IGNORED SYNTHESIS: MITRY 112
I The man Jean Mitry 112
II Why was Mitry's work ignored and
what Mitry trying to do? 114
was
Ill Mitry rejected materialism and
idealism and was rejected by both 118
IV The Raw in Mitry's Esthltufue 120
10 128
CINE-SEMIOTICS: MEIZ I
I Structuralism in France in the 1960s 128
II Cine-semiotics vs film theory 129
Ill The 'General Table of the Large
Syntagmatic Category' 132
IV Metz and Phenomenology 136
V Metz and Mitry 138
11 CINE-STRUCI1JRAUSM 141
I The structuralist activity 141
II North by Northwat". the airplane chase sequence 144
III Philosophical and psychological
discussion of the sequence ~ 149
12 155
THE IMAGINARY SIGNIFIER: MEIZ II
I The Imaginary 157
II The Signifier 158
Ill The Subject: the spectator as perceiving 164
IV Process of the mind and
strategics of communication 166
Google Original from
Digitized by
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
13 174
DECONSTRUCION: 'BROKEN BLOSSOMS'
I Deconruuaion 174
II A beautiful film 175
III Structure 176
IV Narrative strategy 181
V The Yellow Man 182
VI The moral 183
VII Sexual interrelations of the three
nw• n protagoru• sts 184
VIII Sublimation 186
IX The contradiction 187
D. OLD QUESTIONS RAISED ANEW
14 192
GENRE
I Theorization of the film genres 192
II The theory 194
15 206
AUfHORSHIP
I The death of the author: Banhes 206
II The role of the reader: F.co 211
III Authorship and cinema 217
16 224
NARRATIVTIY: A SIORY ABOUT SIOIUE.S
I Importance and pervasiveness of stories 224
II Various approaches to the study of stories 226
17 240
ADAYfATION
Google Original from
Digitized by
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN