Art House Movie Music: 1945-2000

3 units

This course surveys non-US films that played in US art house cinemas between 1945 and 2000, with special attention to the role of music and the reactions of US critics. The films hail from Italy, France, Britain, Spain, Sweden, the PRC, Hong Kong, and Japan. Many canonical films, directors, and composers from this era of intense cinephilia are included. Among the directors are Bergman, Truffaut, Godard, Varda, Fellini, Bertolucci, Kurosawa, Yimou, Wong Kar-wai, Almódovar, and Greenaway. Screenings will be held in St. Louis’ very own art house cinema: the Hi-Pointe Theatre, located near campus and convenient to the South Campus Shuttle. A $30 pass will provide access to all screenings for the semester. The course strives to understand the aesthetic (especially musical) qualities of these “foreign” films as experienced in the American context, both at the past moment of their US cinema premieres (when these movies were signal cultural events) and in our own streaming present (when each movie becomes just another item some algorithm might think you might like).