return to English 212: World Cinema syllabus
updated 22 September 2006

Web Resources for World Cinema
(also see the Links page for my section of English 114: Introduction to Film:
http://english2.mnsu.edu/larsson/introfilm/Links.htm)

 

GENERAL:

The Internet Movie Database (IMDB):  http://www.imdb.com
Basic information about many films, including crew, cast, production details, and much more.  Information on foreign and older films may be less complete than that for newer American films.  Note: Foreign films are usually listed by their titles in their native languages, but you can still find them by entering the English titles on the search engine.

Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/
This site collects reviews of contemporary and classic films from the Internet.  Films receive positive ratings of  60% or better are deemed "Fresh," while films with lower percentages are designated "Rotten."  That is just a gimmick, but the site's real strength is that it provides links to the original reviews, which vary widely in quality but provide useful perspectives.  Use the site's search engine to find specific films.  (Pedro Almodovar is currently featured on the home page!)

Wikipedia: http://www.wikipedia.org/
The online encyclopedia of everything that is edited by users.  For that reason, be cautious in using it.  Take anything it says with a grain of salt (or maybe a shaker!) and verify any "facts" it relates.  Despite all that, it is not a bad place to start to learn more about films, directors, and their countries and cultures and often provides useful links to other resources.

Senses of Cinema: http://www.sensesofcinema.com
An online film journal that includes a list of great directors and a number of other useful features.  The Great Directors series includes links to other websites for each director listed.

REGIONAL RESOURCES FOR /VIEWING INTERNATIONAL FILMS:

Minnesota State University Memorial Library: http://lib.mnsu.edu/
Go to "Advanced Searches," enter "dvds" as a term, and limit the format to "Video Recordings" and you'll come up with a pretty complete listing of the all library's current and growing holdings of films on DVD.  Click here for SUGGESTED FILMS FROM MEMORIAL LIBRARY

    Beyond the Internet: the best resource for beginning film study at Memorial Library is the Film Literature Index, an annual bibliography of scholarly articles, film reviews,
        etc.  MSU,M Memorial Library --Reference Area--Indexes--1st Floor Call #- PN1998.A2 F5 

Minnesota Film Arts: http://www.mnfilmarts.org/
Formed from the union of the former Minnesota Film Society and the Oak Street Cinema, this group has premiered foreign and independent films and also revived American and foreign classics.  Check on the link above (especially once the U of M is back in session) for ongoing  updates to the calendars for shows at the Bell Auditorium on the U of M campus and the Oak Street Cinema, near the East Bank campus.

Walker Art Center: http://calendar.walkerart.org/index.wac
One of the country's great museums of modern and contemporary art, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has an especially lively film program this fall, featuring American premieres of works by Taiwan's Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Angola's Zeze Gamboa, and Portugal's Pedro Costa, as well as a series of classic Hong Kong martial arts films.  For details, go to the museum calendar at the link above and click on "film."  (Needless to say, any of these films can be used as an extra credit paper topic.)

ITALIAN NEOREALISM:

Neorealist and other major Italian films at the MSU Memorial Library include The Bicycle Thief (Vittorio De Sica); L'eclisse and L'avventura  (Micheangelo Antonioni); The Battle of Algiers (Pier Palo Pasolini);  Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore); Nights of Cabiria, 8 1/2 and Juliet of the Spirits  (Federico Fellini); Swept Away and Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmuller); Death in Venice (Luchino Visconti)

The Neorealism: Cinema: http://library.thinkquest.org/28490/data/inglese/f_cinema.htm
A web site by Italian students and teachers in English.  The translations into English are sometimes a bit rough, but the site gives detailed perspectives on historical and cultural influences on Neorealism, as well as discussion and analysis of specific films.  The home page also offers perspectives on Neorealism in Italian literature and other forms.

Roberto Rossellini: http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/02/rossellini.html
An entry by Argentianian film scholar Hugo Salas in the Senses of Cinema Great Directors series.

"Some Ideas on the Cinema": http://www.gonzomatic.com/writing/zavattini.html
A  1953 article from Sight and Sound magazine by Cesare Zavattini, the screenwriter for The Bicycle Thief, Shoeshine, Umberto D and other neorealist films.

 

POSTWAR JAPANESE FILM:

Akira Kurosawa: http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/02/kurosawa.html
Dan Harper, an American film enthusiast, offers an overview of the master's career

 

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