Assignment 5

For this Optional Formal Analysis assignment, choose

EITHER

1. Analyse either Scene 1 or Scene 2, in the links above, from The Devil and Daniel Webster, describing what you think are the most important techniques of the continuity style being used. Explain, as part of your analysis, how the chosen scene functions within the plot of the film, as part of what Corrigan and White call a “classical film narrative” (265). Use the appropriate concepts from the textbook, specifically from the chapters on editing and on narrative. You may also refer to sound, as well as any aspect of mise-en-scène, cinematography, and editing that you think are relevant to the narrative and the film’s themes overall.

OR

2. Analyse the scene from Rashomon, in the link above. Describe the narrative structure of the film. In what respect is this film an example of what Corrigan and White in the textbook call an “alternative film narrative” (266-67)? How does this scene function within the larger narrative? What might we conclude about the Woodcutter’s story? How might this relate the the film’s general theme? Use the appropriate concepts from the textbook, specifically from the chapters on editing and on narrative. You may also refer to sound, as well as any aspect of mise-en-scène and cinematography that you think are relevant.