DVE010 Post-Millenial Shakespeare on Film: Interpretation, Adaptation and Appropriation (Billing)

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2012
Extent and Intensity
0/0. 3 credit(s) (plus 3 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Dr. Christian Michael Billing (lecturer), doc. MgA. David Drozd, Ph.D. (deputy)
Mgr. Hana Reisigová (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Pavel Drábek, Ph.D.
Department of Theatre Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: doc. Mgr. Pavel Drábek, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Theatre Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Friday 9:10–10:45 G03
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course provides the opportunity for students to deepen and broaden their knowledge of the disciplines of Theatre and Film Studies by accessing a specific area of study: the process of transferring the works of a single playwright, Shakespeare, to the screen in a variety of different global contexts.

The module adopts particular critical, social and theoretical perspectives (drawn from film studies, intercultural performance theory, and Shakespearean studies). It also draws upon the specialist research and teaching interests of a visiting member of staff.

The course takes account of the cultural and philosophical issues at stake in (re-)producing Shakespeare for modern audiences in a variety of different cultural contexts. Issues pertaining to the cinematic presentation of literary and dramatic form are assessed, as well as the significance of Shakespeare’s plays for subsequent cultures, including a number of radically divergent global cultures. A degree of emphasis is given to the practicalities of filming Shakespeare in modern times (post 2000); and a variety of contexts for this practice are also examined.

The module looks in detail at concepts such as: cultural, linguistic and dramatic translation and/or adaptation; production design, scenography and mise en scène; fame, casting and characterisation; directorial concept, production aesthetics and the notion of auteur’s ‘vision’; film genre and performance style; photography and the cinematographic lexicon (especially the translation of poetic speech into visual metaphor and simile); as well as the significance of culturally inflected aesthetic considerations in the creation of dramatic meaning within nationally- and culturally-specific film-making traditions. Particular attention will also be paid to the work of individual directors.
Syllabus
  • Session 1 (Monday September 17th: 09:30)
  • Introduction to the Course, Explanation of Working Methods.
  • Session 2 (Tuesday September 18th: 09:30)
  • Michael Almereyda: Hamlet (2000) [Hamlet]
  • Session 3 (Tuesday September 18th: 15:30)
  • Xiaogang Feng: Ye Yan (The Banquet) (2006) [Hamlet]
  • Session 4 (Wednesday September 19th: 09:30)
  • Billy Morrissette: Scotland PA (2001) [Macbeth]
  • Session 5 (Wednesday September 19th: 15:30)
  • Vishal Bhardwaj: Omkara (2006) [Othello]
  • Session 6 (Thursday September 20th: 09:30)
  • Julie Taymor: Titus (2000) [Titus Andronicus]
  • Session 7 (Thursday September 20th: 15:30)
  • Julie Taymor: The Tempest (2010) [The Tempest]
  • Session 8 (Monday September 24th: 09:30)
  • Ralph Fiennes: Coriolanus (2011) [Coriolanus]
  • Session 9 (Tuesday September 25th: 09:30)
  • Conclusion to the Module
Literature
  • The Arden edition of the works of William Shakespeare (Variant.) : The Arden Shakespeare [Methuen] : The Arden Shakespeare [Routledge] : The Arden Shakespeare [Thomas Nelson]. info
  • Borrowers and Lenders: The Journal of Shakespeare and Appropriation Volume IV Number 2 (Spring/Summer 2009) http://www.borrowers.uga.edu/cocoon/borrowers/issue?id=7158
  • Hamlet. Edited by Ann Thompson - Neil Taylor. 1st pub. London: Arden Shakespeare, 2006, xxii, 613. ISBN 9781904271338. info
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. Hamlet. Edited by Alistair McCallum. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, 42 s. ISBN 0194232204. info
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. Othello. Edited by E. A. J. Honigmann. Repr. London: Thomson Learning, 2003, xvi, 409. ISBN 1903436451. info
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. The tempest. Edited by Virginia Mason Vaughan - Alden T. Vaughan. Reprinted. London: Thomson Learning, 2001, xx, 366. ISBN 1903436087. info
  • The Cambridge companion to Shakespeare on film. Edited by Russell Jackson. 1st publ. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, xiv, 342. ISBN 0521639751. info
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. Hamlet. Edited by Harold Jenkins. [S.l.]: Thomas Nelson, 1997, xvii, 574. ISBN 0-17-443469-3. info
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. Titus Andronicus. Edited by Jonathan Bate. [S.l.]: Thomas Nelson, 1997, xvi, 308 s. ISBN 0-17-443575-4. info
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. Coriolanus. Edited by Philip Brockbank. London: Routledge, 1996, xiii, 370. ISBN 0415026822. info
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. Macbeth. Oxford: University Press, 1973, 191 s. info
  • SHAKESPEARE, William. Macbeth. Edited by G. K. Hunter. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1967, 199 s. ISBN 0-14-070705-0. info
Teaching methods
Seminars

This course is taught through a combination of film screenings and discussion seminars.

During seminars, a range of significant film productions, drawn from a variety of different global contexts, will be analysed in order to assess their cultural significance, as well as their relationship to the original Shakespearean playtexts, and the wider international film canon.


Film Screenings:

Before each session, a film screening will take place. Viewings are centred on the adaptation of Shakespeare’s text that is to be studied in following seminar. Attendance at film screenings is COMPULSORY.
Assessment methods
One Essay of 2,000 words (60%)

One Oral Seminar Presentation (40%)
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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