Czech Film History

Course Description and Objectives
This course will focus on the history of the Czech / Czechoslovak film. It shall cover its whole path from the invention of cinema through the twentieth century until the current period; a special attention will be paid to the singular time of the Czech film - the New Wave of the 60s – and also to the latest era. The trends of the Czech film will be put into context not only with the period´s social and cultural milieu but also with the world film production.

We will go through the basic facts of the film production in the Czech lands, but will more closely focus on the most important changes in the film language and the issues of the films. We will discuss the main principles of the film art, its means and their functions. An important place will be given to discussions over the films assigned to students to watch, as well as over extracts of films screened in class.

By the end of the course the students should understand the main general problems and tendencies of the Czech / Czechoslovak film in the 20th century and the beginning of 21th century, as well as basic understanding of the film language. They will be able to analyze and interpret the mutual relation between film art and social development and they should broaden their understanding of the film art in general.

Course Evaluation

• ClassAssignments + Active Participation and Attendance: 30%
• Test I: 20%
• Test II: 20%
• Final Paper (an essay 5 to 8 pages + its presentation in class): 30%
  • (Instead of presenting a final paper, it´s possible to make a short film, evaluation of which focuses also on a considered process of its production)