OBJECTIVES
Keeping visiting students in mind, this Course spans a wide range of cultural perspectives,
thus taking it beyond the limits of the cinematic and the historical strictly speaking. Movies
are perceived as audiovisual works, approachable as texts, as the artistic expression of an
author and, at the same time, as being determined by circumstances involving their social,
historical, linguistic, and literary contextualization.
METHODOLOGY
Given the amount of accumulated pedagogical experience that exists with regard to this
kind of subject matter, as well as keeping in mind the specific needs of students, the aim of
the class sessions is to ensure the fruitful interaction of the theoretical and practical
dimensions of the study process, while also potentializing the exploration of those aspects
of the Spanish language to which, in terms of comprehension and expression, the
filmography being studied draws attention.
PRACTICAL SYLLABUS
1. An anthology of significant sequences from key movies and from the work of
prominent directors.
2. Full-length Movies. The commentary and critical appreciation of the thematic and
stylistic features of the following titles: Sevillanas, by Saura, El otro lado de la cama,
by Martínez Lázaro, Belle epoque, by Trueba, La lengua de las mariposas, by Cuerda,
La niña de tus ojos, by Trueba, Los años bárbaros, by Colomo, ¡Bienvenido Mister
Marshall!, by García Berlanga, Los desafíos, by Erice, Guerín and Egea, Los nuevos
españoles, by Bodegas, Ana y los lobos, by Saura, Tristana, by Buñuel, Carmen, by
Saura, Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, by Almodóvar, and Tesis, by
Amenábar.
THEORETICAL SYLLABUS
1. Spain: Social and Political Contexts (from the Republic to the Civil War). Their
Impingement upon Movie-making. Postwar Cinema. Raza, General Franco's Vision.
The "No-Do" Newsreels and their Ideological Basis. Censorship.
2. Franco-ite Policy and Spanish Cinema. A Muzzled Movie Industry. Literary Genres as
Models for Movies. From a Thwarted Neo-realism to Social Realism. The Cinema of
Bardem and Berlanga.
3. The "New Spanish Cinema". New Directors and Producers. Critical Trends in Postwar
Cinema. Auteur Movies: Buñuel and Saura. Popular Genres. The Influence of
Spanish Literature on National Cinema.
4. Spanish Cinema and the Era of Democracy. A Congress in which to Debate Spanish
Cinema. The Socialist Party's Policy for Spain's Movie Industry. Themes and Styles in
Present-day Spanish Movies. The Case of Almodóvar. Spain's Movie-Industry and the
European Union.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
In English:
BESAS, P. Behind the Spanish Lens: Spanish Cinema Under Fascism and Democracy.
Denver: Arden Press, Inc. 1985.
CAPARRÓS LERA, J.M.; DE ESPAÑA, R. The Spanish Cinema: An Historical Approach.
Madrid: Film Historia, Published in conjuction with the retrospective on Spanish cinema
held at the University of New Mexico, September, 1987.
D´LUGO, M. Carlos Saura: The Practice of Seeing. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
1990.
FIDDIAN, R. W.; EVANS, P. W. Challenges to Authority: Fiction and Film in Contemporary
Spain. London: Tamesis Books, Ltd. 1988.
HIGGINBOTHAM, V. Spanish Film Under Franco. Austin: University of Texas Press. 1988.
HOPEWELL, J. Out of the Past: Spanish Cinema after Franco. London: British Film Institut.
1986.
KINDER, M. B. Cinema: The Reconstruction of National Identity in Spain. CD-Rom,
University of California Press.
KOVACS, K. S., ed. Special Issue on "The New Spanish Cinema", Quaterly Review of Film
Studies (Spring 1983).
MOLINA-FOIX, V. New Cinema in Spain. London: British Film Institut. 1977.
SCHWARTZ, R. Spanish Film Directors, 1950-1985: 21 profiles. Metuchen, New Jersey:
Scarcrow Press. 1986.
TORRES, A. M., ed. Spanish Cinema 1896-1983. translation from Spanish by E. Nelson
Modlin. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura. 1986.
VIDAL, N. The Films of Pedro Almodóvar. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura. 1988.
In Spanish:
BARROSO, M. Á.; GIL-DELGADO, F. Cine Español en cien películas. Madrid: Ediciones
Jaguar. 2002.
BORAU, J. L. (dtor.) Diccionario del Cine Español. Madrid: Academia de las Artes y de las
Ciencias Cinematográficas de España, Alianza. 1998.
CAPARRÓS LERA, J. Mª. El Cine Español de la democracia. De la muerte de Franco al
cambio socialista (1975-1989). Barcelona: Anthropos. 1992.
COBOS, J. (coord.) Clásicos y modernos del Cine Español. Madrid: Comisaría General de
España in Expo Lisboa´98. 1998.
GARCÍA FERNÁNDEZ, E. C. Historia ilustrada del Cine Español. Madrid: Planeta. 1985.
HOPEWELL, J. El cine español después de Franco. Madrid: Ediciones El Arquero. 1989.
PÉREZ PERUCHA, J. Antología Crítica del Cine Español. Madrid: Cátedra. 1997.
SEGUIN, J.-Cl. Historia del Cine Español. Madrid: Acento. 1995.
STRAUSS, F. Pedro Almodóvar. Madrid: El País. 1994.
VARIOUS AUTHORS. Historia del Cine Español. Madrid: Cátedra. 2001.
VARIOUS AUTHORS. Un Siglo de Cine Español. Madrid: Academia de las Artes y Ciencias
Cinematográficas de España. 1997.
VARIOUS AUTHORS. Cine Español. 1896-1988. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura. 1989.
ASSESSMENT
The final grade for this course will be based on the scores from two exams:
FIRST MID-SEMESTER EXAM
Subject-matter: Two syllabus-unit subjects, from amongst those covered up to that
point, will be included, while students will be expected to deal with one out of the two.
Length: One side of an A4 sheet.
This exam, corrected and graded, will act as proof of commitment vis-à-vis home
institutions.
END-OF-COURSE EXAM
Subject-matter: Two syllabus-unit subjects, from amongst those covered throughout the
Course, will be included, while students will be expected to deal with one out of the two.
Length: One side of an A4 sheet.
This exam, corrected and graded, will be kept by lecturers as written proof of students'
commitment.
A fail grade will be given to any student who does not sit either of the exams. The final
grade is based on the average grade obtained from both exams. Exam-session dates
cannot be put forward or back unless exceptional circumstances prevail and which
would require justification in writing on the part of Program Directors or Tutors.
The following factors will be taken into account when assigning grades:
- The adequate assimilation of fundamental syllabus content.
- A working knowledge of the orthographic rules, the correct forms of expression, and
the vocabulary content of the Spanish language.
- A capacity to set areas of subject-matter in relation to others.
- The understanding of, and the explicative capacity to analyze, any of the key
aspects of a cinematographic text which may require
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