21L.011  The Film Experience

Welcome to The Film Experience. 

The course will begin with an introductory lecture on Tuesday, February 2, at our scheduled time and place: 4 – 5 pm in 3-270.  The usual evening lecture will be replaced by a special event:

Tuesday, February 2 , 7:15 pm in Killian Hall (the concert hall on the ground floor of Building 14) Professor of Music Martin Marks will discuss the music of the Silent Era and then perform his own score to accompany Keaton's The General.    

First assignment: prior to the introductory lecture, students should watch the following short films from the early silent era: Edwin Porter, The Great Train Robbery; D.W. Griffith, The Lonedale Operator; Buster Keaton, Cops. These shorts and all the required films in our course can be streamed on demand from a server operated by the MIT film office. If you have registered for 21L 011, you will receive an email containing instructions for accessing the course archive.

Our basic format: two required lectures, 4-5 and 7-8 pm  on Tuesday in 3-270, followed by a screening of the required film;  a recitation (discussion) hour on Thursday, as listed above.  Both Tuesday lectures are required, though the evening lecture will often last only 30 minutes, and the film will be screened immediately afterward.

I'm looking forward to a memorable semester.