Film Theory

1. In search of the "essence" and specific nature of cinema as an art form in the process of formation. The pioneers: Ricciotto Canudo, Louis Delluc, Hans Richter, Germaine Dulac, Léon Moussinac. Early defining concepts, manifestos, and other foundational writings. "The Manifesto of the Seven Arts" and "photogénie" (Canudo); "rhythm or death" (Moussinac); "integral cinema" (Germaine Dulac). Surrealism, Dadaism, Cubism, Futurism, and other avant-garde movements that contributed to the crystallization of the aesthetics of this new art form. The enthusiasm, mysticism, and utopianism of the early theorists.
2. From the theoretical observations of the avant-garde to the laws of montage. Dziga Vertov and Lev Kuleshov. The first coherent theories. The "Kinoki" group surrounding Vertov and its manifestos. The concept of "kinoglaz" (cine-eye). The "director-engineer" (Kuleshov).
3. The systematizers: Béla Balázs and Vsevolod Pudovkin. Rudolf Arnheim (the "theorist without hands"). Key concepts: the "creative scissors" (Balázs); "a priori montage" (Kuleshov, Pudovkin); the "iron scenario" and the "epic principle of cinema" (Pudovkin). The "anti-naturalism" of cinematic art, according to Arnheim. Attempts to define the "expressive means" of the art of film.
4. Sergei Eisenstein. "The cine-fist," "montage *a posteriori*," "montage of attractions," "intellectual montage." The "dynamic principle of cinema." The conception of the filmic work as an engineering project, versus an event of creative spontaneity: the Pudovkin–Eisenstein parallel. Pudovkin’s individualism versus Eisenstein’s collectivism in the conception of the filmic work.

The course aims to provide a comprehensive overview of early film theories, explore foundational concepts from avant-garde manifestos to montage laws, and analyze the contribution of key classical thinkers.